LAVAL, Que. — The Montreal Victoire continue to dominate on home ice in the Professional Women's Hockey League.
Montreal's 4-1 win over the Seattle Torrent on Tuesday was the Victoire's 10th this season at Place Bell, which is their primary home venue.
Montreal became the first PWHL team to win 10 games in a single venue in one season.
The Victoire were living up to their name with a 10-1-0 home record, with just one of the wins outside of regulation.
Montreal ranked first in the eight-team standings while duelling the Boston Fleet for the top of the table.
Boston thumped the Vancouver Goldeneyes 5-1 in a neutral-site game in Edmonton on Tuesday to trail the Victoire by a point.
Montreal, Boston and the Minnesota Frost have playoff berths locked in. The fourth and final playoff spot was still up for grabs.
The Victoire continue their pursuit of home-ice advantage in the first round of playoffs.
“It’s crucial,” said Montreal head coach Kori Cheverie. "We certainly talk about it as a staff. It’s not something that we talk about with the girls.
"They understand the magnitude of it, especially with having an experienced team that we do. That’s what we’re pushing towards.”
Place Bell is loud and known for its DJ sets at intermission that make it feel more of a club than an arena.
A PWHL player’s poll in The Athletic featured comments from opposing players stating that it was too loud or felt like an EDM (electronic dance music) concert.
Seattle forward Mikyla Grant-Mentis, who played parts of two seasons in Montreal, played her first game at the arena since leaving the team in free agency last summer.
“I love Montreal,” she said. “The fans, they’re one of a kind, and it’s nice to listen to the music that really buzzes through you the entire time.”
It’s an atmosphere the home players feed off of.
"Every single night here, we all talk about it at pre-game skate like we’re back home, we can’t wait to go to Place Bell,” said Victoire forward Laura Stacey. “Every player who joins the organization knows that when you get to play here, it’s really something special.”
The Victoire are 22-5-1 in the regular season all-time at Place Bell, but have won only one of the four playoff games in the arena.
They seek to bring a championship, the Walter Cup, to Montreal for the first time after two straight years of Minnesota hoisting the trophy.
Montreal extended its streak of games of at least one point to 14, with 36 out of a possible 42 points compiled. That league-record streak has spanned over half of their 26 games this season.
Making the run even more impressive is that captain Marie-Philip Poulin, currently on long-term injured reserve, has missed eight games.
“All three years, we’ve done well with the teams that we’ve had,” said Cheverie. “This year, with the way our team is rolling with their depth, it certainly puts us in a good place mentally with confidence.”
Montreal boasts 15 players with at least two goals this season, and is also the first team to the PWHL's short history to do that.
“There’s something special in that locker room,” said Stacey. “We’re not done. There’s a lot of work left to do. We still have four regular season games that are really important. The playoffs, just because it feels nice right now does not mean it’s going to be easy by any means.
"In my heart and my gut, I’m really, really excited about this group.”
TAKEAWAYS
Victoire: Won their 10th of 11 home games this season and became the first team in league history with double-digit wins in their home arena.
Torrent: Need to both win their last five games of the regular season, and need help from other teams to make the playoffs in their inaugural season.
KEY MOMENT
After Seattle halved the deficit to trail 2-1, Montreal scored just two minutes two seconds later to regain a two-goal lead.
KEY STAT
Seattle’s goal midway through the second period snapped Montreal’s shutout streak of 200 minutes 44 seconds spanning parts of four games. The Victoire have allowed two goals over that four-game span.
UP NEXT
Victoire: Visit the Boston Fleet on Saturday.
Torrent: Visit the Ottawa Charge on Wednesday.