WASHINGTON, DC — DC celebrated women’s hockey on Sunday when the PWHL’s Takeover Tour came to Capital One Arena, but that didn’t mean the game itself was all sunshine and roses.
The New York Sirens edged out the Montreal Victoire in a tight, 2-1 win on Sunday, though Montreal battled for a game-tying goal through the final seconds of the game. Once the buzzer sounded to end the game, the two teams broke out into a line brawl in front of the Sirens’ net.
Postgame brawl
While fighting is generally tolerated in the NHL (albeit punished with matching five-minute major penalties), the PWHL takes a far stricter approach to physicality, making scrums like Sunday’s almost unheard of. Some forms of bodychecking are prohibited, and fights can result in ejections.
Four players from each team were assessed 10-minute misconduct penalties for their role in the scrum, with New York’s Taylor Girard earning an additional 20-minute penalty for leaving the bench to join in.
Victoire forward Hayley Scamurra chuckled when asked about the scuffle.
“It was just crowded in front of the net,” she said. “People were getting upset, getting close to the goalie. It happens, emotions flare up, and everyone is just grabbing a body out there, so just protecting your teammates.”
“I would have loved for our group to have shown the emotion that they showed in the scrum at the end of the game all the way through,” added Montreal head coach Kori Cheverie. “Because that is the type of fight, grit, passion, determination, fight tooth and nail for absolutely everything. Nothing is given in this league. You have to earn absolutely every inch of ice. And when we decide to figure that out, like, we’re going to be a very scary team.”
After officials separated the combatants, players took part in a far more cordial handshake line. The two teams then posed for a photo together at center ice.
The line brawl came at the end of a historic day for the PWHL. A total of 17,228 fans were at Capital One Arena on Sunday, breaking the all-time US attendance record for a women’s hockey game by more than 1,000.
Sirens forward Kristýna Kaltounková broke the ice early in the game, capitalizing on a too-many-players penalty for Montreal with a power-play goal. After an initial shot by Sarah Fillier, Kaltounková tucked in a rebound from the netfront.
Sirens PPG scored by Kristýna Kaltounková – 1-0 New York
Montreal got its own power-play tally with just over 30 seconds to go in the first, with Maggie Flaherty beating Sirens goaltender Kayle Osborne for a one-timer.
Victoire PPG scored by Maggie Flaherty – 1-1 tie
The lone goal of the second period came from New York’s Anne Cherkowski, who redirected a shot from Paetyn Levis off the faceoff for a goal that surprised even play-by-play announcer Jamie Hersch.
Sirens goal scored by Anne Cherkowski – 2-1 New York
“We run faceoff plays as much as we can,” Sirens head coach Greg Fargo said of the play postgame. “A little bit more of an emphasis in the second and third period, for everybody to help out on those faceoffs. I think Filly was able to scrape it back, and we were able to get a great shot through. Nothing special, but just good execution on a great play.”
Victoire captain Marie-Philip Poulin thought she’d tied the game in the third period: Osbourne caught a speedy shot from Poulin, but Montreal argued her glove crossed the goal line. A video review from the league’s Central Situation Room, however, could not find conclusive evidence that the puck had crossed the line, maintaining a Sirens lead they would hold for the remainder of the game.
No goal from Victoire captain Marie-Philip Poulin
“A shot that fast with a goalie glove, just trajectory, usually it’s kind of in, at least inside of the post,” Cheverie said. “We were told that it was inconclusive from the referee box, so they had to rely on the central station. So it was definitely a tough one, for sure, because watching on the Jumbotron, it looked like it was in. And I think it motivated our team, the fact that it was called no goal, which I really loved.”
With the win, the Sirens moved up to second in the PWHL standings, now four points behind the leading Boston Fleet.
