Huber Completes Comeback Win over Victoire, Fleet Hold Onto First Place
PWHL Boston Fleet

Huber Completes Comeback Win over Victoire, Fleet Hold Onto First Place

Published on March 15, 2026 under Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL)
Boston Fleet News Release


LAVAL, QC - The Boston Fleet scored four unanswered goals in a thrilling 4-3 overtime win over the Montréal Victoire before a sold-out crowd of 10,172 at Place Bell on Sunday afternoon. With the win, the Fleet maintain a three-point lead over the Victoire atop the PWHL standings, while handing the Victoire their first loss at Place Bell this season and ending their six-game winning streak. Fleet rookie Ella Huber called game one minute and 33 seconds into the extra frame with a shot through a screen, completing the largest comeback in team history. Boston trailed 3-0 after two periods but evened the score with a trio of goals in the game's final 14 minutes. Loren Gabel scored Boston's first goal of the game at 6:01 in the third period, with the Fleet's next two scored with an extra attacker. Megan Keller gave Boston added life when she closed the gap to 3-2 with under three minutes remaining, then Susanna Tapani sent the game to overtime with the game-tying goal less than 15 seconds before the buzzer. Montréal built their lead by besting the PWHL's top-ranked penalty kill unit with two power-play goals by Marie-Philip Poulin (14:50) and Kati Tabin (17:00) in the first period, giving the Victoire a 2-0 lead. Abby Roque finished her three-point outing when she capitalized on a 3-on-1 rush to give Montréal the 3-0 lead going into the final period. In a rematch between both starting goaltenders from the gold medal game at the Olympics, American Aerin Frankel turned away 27 of 30 shots on goal for her league-leading 13th win of the season, while Canadian Ann-Renée Desbiens stopped 22 of 26 attempts in her first loss at Place Bell since Dec. 4, 2024.

Boston and Montréal will meet again in two of their remaining 11 games this season, with the first matchup taking place on April 11 when the PWHL plays at a sold-out TD Garden for the first time.

QUOTES

Fleet Head Coach Kris Sparre on the Fleet's comeback win in overtime: "What everyone got to see tonight was something I've had the pleasure of seeing all season long with this group. The resiliency, composure in big moments, and team-first mentality was on display tonight to the fullest extent. This one was a tough one to battle back from, but really there was never a doubt."

Boston captain Megan Keller on her concern about the Fleet's first goal of the game being reviewed: "Not really, that one was out of my control. I thought I did a good job staying out of the crease there, but at that point it's in the ref's hands. Luckily, they made the right call."

Victoire Head Coach Kori Cheverie: "I much prefer this happening now than later on down the road, that's for sure. I probably liked about 48 minutes of our game. The five-minute major definitely hurt us. I thought we did a great job on the kill. There is a lot to be proud of in the game. The result certainly wasn't what we had wanted. And then with 14.8 seconds left they tie it up. And when that happens to you, you're pretty deflated, especially with the lead that you had."

Montréal alternate captain Laura Stacey on the team's mindset following a tough loss: "There is a lot of disappointment after being up by three, but at the end of the day, we're a team. It's not going to be easy, we know that. We knew we were going up against a good team who fought hard. I think the messaging, the feeling in the room is, let it hurt tonight and then we regroup. We have another game here on Thursday, and we've got to learn from it [today's loss]. We're going to take steps here, we're going to get better, and we know what we're capable of. So, I think there's a lot to learn, but there's also some really great things to be proud of."

NOTABLES

Including playoffs, 11 of the 15 all-time meetings between the teams have been decided beyond regulation.

Boston has now played seven games beyond regulation this season with two overtime wins, three shootout wins, and two shootout losses for 12 points, second behind Ottawa's 13. Montréal suffered their first loss beyond regulation in five games played with two overtime wins, two shootout wins, and one overtime loss for nine points.

Today marked the 12th consecutive one-goal game the Fleet have played, a record streak and the most in the league this season. Montréal has played in the most games all-time decided by one goal (51), and Boston has played the second most (47).

Montréal's six-game win streak ended with their first loss since Jan. 21. Four other six-game win streaks have been set for the second-best mark in PWHL history, including streaks for Boston (Jan. 14 to Mar. 10) and Ottawa (Dec. 21 to Jan. 11) this season.

The Victoire's seven straight wins at Place Bell before today is tied for the second-longest winning streak at a single venue in a season, matching Boston's seven straight wins at the Tsongas Center in 2024-25, and one behind Toronto's eight straight wins at Mattamy Athletic Centre in 2024. The Fleet are now the only team with a perfect record at their primary home venue, with six wins evenly split between Agganis Arena and the Tsongas Center.

Montréal moved past Boston today to own the best power play and penalty kill in the league. Their penalty kill has only allowed four goals in 56 opportunities for a 92.9 rating, while their power play has scored 12 goals in 50 chances for a 24.0 rating. Boston, who allowed two power-play goals today, held the best penalty kill heading into the matchup with three goals allowed in 45 times shorthanded for a 93.3 rating.

This was Montréal's first loss in 11 games when leading after two periods, and Boston's second win in three games when trailing after two periods.

Montréal has scored at least three goals in each of their last six games, the second-longest such streak in PWHL history (longest is an eight-game streak by Toronto from Jan - Feb 2025).

Ella Huber has tallied a trio of goals this season, all three of which were game winners, including two in the Fleet's last four games. The second-round rookie shares a piece of the league lead in game-winning goals but is the only skater leaguewide whose entire goal total consists solely of winners.

Megan Keller recorded the first three-point performance of her career (1G, 2A) and has now tied her career-high for points in a season with 15 (6G, 9A) in 19 games, matching her inaugural season total (4G, 11A) across 24 games. The Fleet captain snapped a season-high three-game pointless streak with today's effort and holds a four-point lead over the next highest defender.

Susanna Tapani's game-tying goal marked her fourth point in Boston's last five games, including three consecutive games with a point (2G, 1A). She sits at 12 points on the season (6G, 6A), just one shy of matching her total in the inaugural season (4G, 9A). The Fleet forward had a multi-point performance in the first game of the season series with one goal and an assist.

Loren Gabel scored her first goal of the season in her fifth game and now has points in her last two appearances with an assist in Seattle on Wednesday. The Boston veteran, activated from the team's Reserve Player list after the break, has seven goals and 12 points in her career in 42 games.

Abby Roque contributed to all three of Montréal's goals (1G, 2A) with her second three-point performance in 2025-26, her most such games in a single season, and leads the Victoire with four multi-point performances in 18 games. She has scored six goals in all three PWHL seasons and is now one of 14 players to reach 15 points in multiple seasons, ending a season-high four-game pointless streak today, while leading all skaters with a season-high six shots on goal.

Marie-Philip Poulin recorded her third goal on the player advantage this season, extending her point streak to four games (3G, 1A). She previously recorded a career-high six-game point streak earlier this season from Dec. 20 to Jan. 11 (4G, 5A). The Victoire captain left the game early in the first period and did not return.

Kati Tabin ended a 15-game goalless drought and a season-high four-game pointless drought with her second goal of the season and seventh point. It was the third power-play goal of her career and first since Mar. 12, 2025.

Aerin Frankel extended her career high win streak to seven consecutive games with her league-leading 13th win of the season. She posted her ninth start with at least 25 saves and is now tied with Desbiens for all-time wins with 33, six more than the next closest netminder.

Ann-Renée Desbiens suffered her first loss at Place Bell since Dec. 4, 2024 when New York defeated Montréal 4-1. Today marked the first time she has allowed more than two goals since March 12, 2025 when the Victoire lost 3-2 in overtime at New York.

Alina Müller became the 10th player in PWHL history to reach 50 career points (15G, 35A) with her second straight multi-assist performance. She now has at least 15 points in each of the league's three seasons. The Boston alternate captain has the second most assists in the league with 12, behind only Taylor Heise (15A).

Haley Winn is the second rookie defender to reach 10 points this season (2G, 8A), joining Minnesota's Kendall Cooper (1G, 10A). She has totaled half of her points on the road this season and is just the second blue liner in Fleet history to reach double-digit points in a season, following Keller (all three seasons).

Hadley Hartmetz's assist marked her fourth point (4A) in 16 games this season, putting her third in scoring among Fleet defenders. She did not get on the scoresheet in two games for the Fleet during the 2024-25 season.

Abby Newhook recorded her first point since Boston's first game back from the Olympic break. The Fleet rookie has seven points on the season (5G, 2A), second among the team's six new players.

Nicole Gosling recorded a pair of assists for the first multi-point performance of her PWHL career. Her rookie season total is now nine points in 19 games this season, five of which have been scored in the Victoire's last five games including four on the power play. She leads all Montréal defenders in scoring and is tied for fifth among the league's rookie class.

Laura Stacey recorded her ninth assist and 12th point in 19 games this season, putting her one away from reaching double-digit assists in consecutive seasons, something only seven PWHL players have done. The alternate captain has five points in the Victoire's last five games (1G, 4A).

Maggie Flaherty was assessed a major penalty and a game misconduct for boarding, following a review by the on-ice officials in consultation with the PWHL Central Situation Room.

THREE STARS

1. Megan Keller (BOS) 1G, 2A

2. Abby Roque (MTL) 1G, 2A

3. Ella Huber (BOS) OTWG

STANDINGS

Boston: 39 PTS (9-5-2-3) - 1st Place

Montréal: 36 PTS (9-4-1-5) - 2nd Place

UPCOMING SCHEDULES

Boston: Tuesday, Mar. 17 vs. Toronto at 7 p.m. ET

Montréal: Thursday, Mar. 19 vs. Seattle at 7 p.m. ET

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Professional Women's Hockey League Stories from March 15, 2026


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