Boston beats Montreal 2-1 in triple overtime to take 2-0 lead in PWHL semifinal

LAVAL, Que. — As the clock struck midnight, the scoreboard art Place Bell marked the arrival of Mother's Day by showing a picture of Marie-Philip Poulin and her mom.

A few minutes after the sellout crowd of 10,1723 celebrated the holiday, there was a moment of shock as Taylor Wenczkowski scored at 11:44 of triple overtime to give Boston a 2-1 win over Montreal in Professional Women's Hockey League playoff action.

Amanda Pelkey gave Boston a 1-0 lead at 6:48 of the first period, and Kristin O'Neill tied it at 1-1 with a goal at 1:58 of the second period.

The win gives Boston a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five semifinal series with Game 3 set for Tuesday at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, Mass.

Montreal thought it had the winning goal when Poulin scored with 30 seconds remaining in regulation time, but the goal came after a whistle halted play.

Montreal was on the power play for seven minutes in the first overtime period but failed to score.

Aerin Frankel, who had a record 53 saves in a 2-1 overtime win in Game 1, broke that mark with 56 saves on Saturday.

Ann-Renée Desbiens made 50 saves in a losing cause.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 11, 2024.

Pat Hickey, The Canadian Press