History
[edit]
Founding and inaugural season
[edit]
On August 29, 2023, it was announced that one of the PWHL’s first six franchises would be located in Montreal.[3] On September 1, Danièle Sauvageau, the one-time coach for Canada’s national team, was announced as the team’s general manager.[4] Kori Cheverie, a former assistant coach with the Canadian national team and the first woman to have coached a Canadian men’s hockey team, was named the team’s inaugural coach on September 13.[5][6] Montreal’s first three players—Canadian national team members Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey, and Ann-Renée Desbiens—were signed on September 5, 2023.[7] At the 2023 PWHL Draft on September 18, the team selected 15 players; their first pick, at sixth overall, was Canadian national team member Erin Ambrose.[8]
The team colours were officially announced on November 14, 2023, as burgundy, “sand”, and “storm”.[9] Later that month, it was revealed that the team would host the majority of its games at the Verdun Auditorium, with four games at Place Bell.[10][11] On December 29, the team announced that Poulin would serve as team captain, with Stacey and Erin Ambrose serving as assistant captains.[12]
.jpg)
Montreal’s first ever game took place on January 2, 2024, against PWHL Ottawa; the 8,318 fans in attendance at Ottawa’s TD Place Arena set a new attendance record for professional women’s hockey.[13] Claire Dalton scored the first goal in franchise history. Although Montreal twice trailed in the game, Ann-Sophie Bettez scored in overtime to secure the team’s first win by a score of 3–2.[13] The team hosted its first home game on January 13, with PWHL Boston securing a 3–2 overtime win in front of a sold-out crowd at Verdun Auditorium.[14]
On February 16, 2024, Montreal played a match hosted by PWHL Toronto at Scotiabank Arena in a game dubbed “The Battle on Bay Street”.[15] The game set a league and women’s hockey attendance record with a sell-out crowd of 19,285, beating the previous record of 18,013 at the 2013 IIHF Women’s World Championship.[16] Two months later, on April 20, Montréal hosted Toronto in its first-ever home match at the Bell Centre, selling out the arena and setting another new attendance record at 21,105.[17] This game was known as “The Duel at the Top”, with the two teams vying for first place in the standings.[18] Montréal managed to draw large crowds throughout the season.[19]
Montreal clinched a berth in the inaugural PWHL playoffs on March on April 24 with a 5–2 win over PWHL New York.[20] They faced Boston in the first round of the playoffs, and lost three straight games in overtime—including a triple-overtime affair in the second game of the series—to get eliminated from contention.[21][22] After the season, Erin Ambrose was named the league’s top defender for its inaugural year.[23]
In September 2024, the team announced that Place Bell would serve as its primary home venue for the 2024–25 season.[24]
Montreal operated with league branding during the PWHL’s inaugural season, along with the other charter franchises. The team was known as PWHL Montreal and wore a league-wide jersey template that featured the city’s name diagonally on the front.[25] The team did have its own colour scheme, featuring burgundy, black, and beige. In October 2023, the league registered a trademark for the name Montreal Echo.[26] Ultimately, when the league unveiled franchise names in September 2024, the team was given the name Victoire in a nod to the city’s history of success in ice hockey.[27] According to a report from The Hockey News, other names in contention for the team included the Lumieres and Metro.[28] In addition to the Victoire name, the team’s logo was unveiled, featuring “MV” initials and a fleur-de-lis, Quebec’s national symbol.[27] The team retained its colour scheme.
