Stacey nets OT goal to lift PWHL-leading Victoire over Fleet 3-2

MONTREAL (AP) — Laura Stacey scored the winning goal 4:43 into overtime as the Montreal Victoire defeated the Boston Fleet 3-2 in front of 17,324 fans at Bell Centre on Saturday.

Kati Tabin scored a pair of goals for Montreal, doubling her career goal output in 42 prior games with Montreal. Ann-Renée Desbiens stopped 15 shots to earn her 11th win of the season, tops among PWHL netminders.

The Victoire earned their second straight win and have now won eight of their past 10. Montreal remains atop the PWHL standings with 39 points, seven more than second-place Toronto, with two games in hand.

Amanda Pelkey, with her second goal in as many games, and Sidney Morin scored for Boston, which snapped a four-game winning streak.

Aerin Frankel made 27 saves in a losing effort.

The Victoire welcomed forward Catherine Dubois back to the lineup. She had missed Montreal’s last four games with an upper-body injury suffered on Feb. 2 against New York.

Fleet: Boston failed to convert on its four power-play opportunities. The Fleet have scored at a 16.1% clip with the advantage, second-worst in the league.

Victoire: Montreal won for the second straight game despite trailing. The Victoire have seven come-from-behind wins this season.

It took the Victoire 36 seconds to get on the board. Tabin accepted a feed from Jennifer Gardiner before firing a point shot that made its way through traffic past Frankel.

Tabin’s goal 36 seconds in was the fastest goal to start a game in franchise history. It came almost two minutes quicker than Montreal’s previous best, scored by Dubois at 2:33 of the first period against the Minnesota Frost on Jan. 12.

Up next

The Victoire host the Minnesota Frost on Tuesday. The Fleet host the New York Sirens on Wednesday.

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

Montreal Victoire's Laura Stacey (7) reacts to a goal by teammate Kati Tabin against Boston Fleet goaltender Aerin Frankel (31) during the first period of a PWHL hockey game in Montreal, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Boston Fleet's Amanda Pelkey (16) scores against Montreal Victoire goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens during the first period of a PWHL hockey game in Montreal, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Victoire's Laura Stacey (7) celebrates with teammates after scoring the winning goal against the Boston Fleet during overtime in a PWHL hockey game in Montreal, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP

Boston Fleet's Sidney Morin (7) tips the puck past Montreal Victoire goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens during second period PWHL hockey action in Montreal, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Victoire's Kati Tabin, center, defends against Boston Fleet's Shay Maloney (27) as she moves in on Victoire's goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens during the first period of a PWHL hockey game in Montreal, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Victoire's Laura Stacvey (7) moves in on Boston Fleet goaltender Aerin Frankel during second period PWHL hockey action in Montreal, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Boston Fleet goaltender Aerin Frankel is scored on by Montreal Victoire's Kati Tabin (not shown) as Victoire's Jennifer Gardiner (12) and Fleet's Sydney Bard (15) look for a rebound during third period PWHL hockey action in Montreal, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Victoire's Laura Stacey (7) moves in to score on Boston Fleet goaltender Aerin Frankel (31) as Fleet's Megan Keller (5) defends during overtime in a PWHL hockey game in Montreal, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP

ST. LOUIS (AP) — World champions Ilia Malinin and the ice dance duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates will anchor one of the strongest U.S. Figure Skating teams in history when they head to Italy for the Milan Cortina Olympics in less than a month.

Malinin, fresh off his fourth straight national title, will be the prohibitive favorite to follow in the footsteps of Nathan Chen by delivering another men's gold medal for the American squad when he steps on the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.

Chock and Bates, who won their record-setting seventh U.S. title Saturday night, also will be among the Olympic favorites, as will world champion Alysa Liu and women's teammate Amber Glenn, fresh off her third consecutive national title.

U.S. Figure Skating announced its full squad of 16 athletes for the Winter Games during a made-for-TV celebration Sunday.

"I'm just so excited for the Olympic spirit, the Olympic environment," Malinin said. “Hopefully go for that Olympic gold.”

Malinin will be joined on the men's side by Andrew Torgashev, the all-or-nothing 24-year-old from Coral Springs, Florida, and Maxim Naumov, the 24-year-old from Simsbury, Connecticut, who fulfilled the hopes of his late parents by making the Olympic team.

Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were returning from a talent camp in Kansas when their American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy Potomac River in January 2025. One of the last conversations they had with their son was about what it would take for him to follow in their footsteps by becoming an Olympian.

“We absolutely did it,” Naumov said. “Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family. It's what I've been thinking about since I was 5 years old, before I even know what to think. I can't put this into words.”

Chock and Bates helped the Americans win team gold at the Beijing Games four years ago, but they finished fourth — one spot out of the medals — in the ice dance competition. They have hardly finished anywhere but first in the years since, winning three consecutive world championships and the gold medal at three straight Grand Prix Finals.

U.S. silver medalists Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik also made the dance team, as did the Canadian-born Christina Carreira, who became eligible for the Olympics in November when her American citizenship came through, and Anthony Ponomarenko.

Liu was picked for her second Olympic team after briefly retiring following the Beijing Games. She had been burned out by years of practice and competing, but stepping away seemed to rejuvenate the 20-year-old from Clovis, California, and she returned to win the first world title by an American since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium two decades ago.

Now, the avant-garde Liu will be trying to help the U.S. win its first women's medal since Sasha Cohen in Turin in 2006, and perhaps the first gold medal since Sarah Hughes triumphed four years earlier at the Salt Lake City Games.

Her biggest competition, besides a powerful Japanese contingent, could come from her own teammates: Glenn, a first-time Olympian, has been nearly unbeatable the past two years, while 18-year-old Isabeau Levito is a former world silver medalist.

"This was my goal and my dream and it just feels so special that it came true,” said Levito, whose mother is originally from Milan.

The two pairs spots went to Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, the U.S. silver medalists, and the team of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe.

The top American pairs team, two-time reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, were hoping that the Finnish-born Efimova would get her citizenship approved in time to compete in Italy. But despite efforts by the Skating Club of Boston, where they train, and the help of their U.S. senators, she did not receive her passport by the selection deadline.

“The importance and magnitude of selecting an Olympic team is one of the most important milestones in an athlete's life,” U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell said, "and it has such an impact, and while there are sometimes rules, there is also a human element to this that we really have to take into account as we make decisions and what's best going forward from a selection process.

“Sometimes these aren't easy," Farrell said, “and this is not the fun part.”

The fun is just beginning, though, for the 16 athletes picked for the powerful American team.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Amber Glenn competes during the women's free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Alysa Liu skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Maxim Naumov skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the "Making the Team" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Gold medalist Ilia Malinin arrives for the metal ceremony after the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)