Marie-Philip Poulin’s shootout winner lifts Victoire to 4-3 win over Charge

LAVAL, Quebec (AP) — Marie-Philip Poulin scored the shootout winner for the Montreal Victoire in a 4-3 win over the Ottawa Charge to open the season for both teams on Saturday night.

The Victoire captain buried the only goal of the five-round shootout after missing a previous attempt and a breakaway late in overtime.

Jennifer Gardiner, Laura Stacey and Abby Boreen scored for Montreal before a crowd of 10,033 at Place Bell. Goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens stopped 29 shots.

Tereza Vanisova, Danielle Serdachny and Emily Clark scored for Ottawa, which missed the playoffs last season.

Ottawa’s goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer had 42 saves.

Clark opened the scoring 7:49 into the first period after her open-ice hit on Victoire forward Kristin O’Neill went unpenalized.

Serdachny, drafted second overall in this year’s draft, doubled the lead 2:20 into the second. The Edmonton forward’s pass in front deflected off the skate of Montreal’s Kati Tabin and into the net.

Victoire: First-round draft pick Cayla Barnes drew into the lineup after missing nearly all of training camp with a lower-body injury.

Charge: Captain Brianne Jenner, who led the team with 20 points last season, was out for the game with an upper-body injury.

In the dying seconds of overtime, Poulin powered her way to a breakaway after a strong backcheck, but didn’t beat Maschmeyer.

The Victoire dominated in shots on net by a 36-19 margin through two periods, but Maschmeyer held the Charge in the game. Ottawa’s netminder repelled 19 shots in the first period.

The Charge host the Toronto Sceptres in their home opener Tuesday. The Victoire host the New York Sirens on Wednesday.

AP women’s hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey

Montreal Victoire's Laura Stacey (7) collides with Ottawa Charge's Anna Meixner (94) during first period PWHL hockey action in Laval, Que., Saturday, November 30, 2024. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Victoire goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens (35) is scored on by Ottawa Charge's Emily Clark (26) during first period PWHL hockey action in Laval, Que., Saturday, November 30, 2024. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Ottawa Charge goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer, left, looks back on her net as she is scored against by Montreal Victoire's Jennifer Gardiner during third-period PWHL hockey game action in Laval, Quebec, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Victoire's Abby Boreen (24) takes a shot on Ottawa Charge goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer as Charge's Ashton Bell (21) defends during first period PWHL hockey action in Laval, Que., Saturday, November 30, 2024. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Victoire's Laura Stacey reacts after scoring against the Ottawa Charge during second-period PWHL hockey game action in Laval, Quebec, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Victoire's Kristin O'Neill takes a shot on Ottawa Charge goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer during second period PWHL hockey action in Laval, Que., Saturday, November 30, 2024. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Ottawa Charge's Teresa Vanisova (13) celebrates with teammate Katerina Mrazova (16) after scoring against the Montreal Victoire during second-period PWHL hockey game action in Laval, Quebec, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Victoire goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens (35) is scored against by Ottawa Charge's Teresa Vanisova (13) during second-period PWHL hockey game action in Laval, Quebec, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Victoire goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens is upended as she stops Ottawa Charge's Gabbie Hughes, bottom right, during third period PWHL hockey action in Laval, Que., Saturday, November 30, 2024. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Victoire players celebrate their win over the Ottawa Charge in a PWHL hockey game in Laval, Que., Saturday, November 30, 2024. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Victoire's Marie-Philip Poulin scores against Ottawa Charge goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer during shootout PWHL hockey action in Laval, Que., Saturday, November 30, 2024. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

LONDON (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy insisted Sunday that Europe must play a key role in any negotiations to end the war with Russia as he arrived for talks in London with key European allies.

Ahead of the meeting hosted by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Zelenskyy said the talks will focus on further efforts to help Ukraine's war effort, including air defense.

“Europe must be part of the negotiations and must be strong,” he said on X.

Also present at the meeting at 10 Downing Street are French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

The U.K., France and Germany, the so-called E3 group of European nations, have been prominent backers of Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. The U.K. and France lead the “coalition of the willing” initiative to provide security guarantees for Ukraine as part of a peace process.

The meeting comes in the wake of a Russian drone strike that killed three people waiting at a bus stop in southeastern Ukraine. Another person was wounded in the drone attack in Balabyne in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region, the head of the regional military administration, Ivan Fedorov, wrote on his Telegram channel.

A separate drone strike damaged a storage center for spent nuclear fuel in the Kyiv region, just 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Ukraine’s General Staff said. The attack sparked a fire that was extinguished within an hour. Radiation remains within safe levels, officials said.

The International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said the incident was “deeply concerning” due to the large amounts of nuclear material held at the facility. He said in a statement that the agency would visit the site of the attack soon.

Elsewhere, a Ukrainian attack killed one man and injured a woman in Russia’s Kursk region, local Gov. Alexander Khinshtein said.

The Russian attacks follow a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack on Saturday that targeted Saint Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city, underscoring Kyiv’s growing ability to hit deep inside Russia.

With the front line barely moving as swarms of drones hinder advances, both sides have sought an edge by launching long-range strikes. The war that followed Russia’s invasion of its neighbor is more than four years old, with no end in sight.

The St. Petersburg attack, which came less than 24 hours after the end of the city’s flagship economic forum, was an embarrassing blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to cast the conflict as a distant event that doesn’t affect Russian daily life.

Putin on Friday rejected Zelenskyy’s offer for a meeting, saying he sees “no point” in it.

Associated Press writer Katie Marie Davies in Manchester, England, contributed to this report.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz visits the German Armed Forces Laage airbase, Germany, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (Stefan Sauer/dpa via AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks with the media as he arrives for the EU-Western Balkans summit in Tivat, Montenegro, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Risto Bozovic)

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer looks at a Vanta system as he visits STARK, a leading defence tech company in Swindon, England, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, Pool)

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to journalists during a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)