By The Canadian Press

Poulin, Stacey shift focus to leading Victoire to Walter Cup after Olympics

Mar 1, 2026 | 4:32 PM

LAVAL — After suffering the disappointment of losing in the gold-medal game of the Olympics just over a week ago, Marie-Philip Poulin and Laura Stacey had to quickly re-focus on the next goal: to win the Walter Cup.

Poulin missed the Montreal Victoire’s first game back last Thursday with a lower-body injury but returned on Sunday and had an assist in the team’s 4-0 win over the Minnesota Frost. The win moved them into first place in the PWHL, although the Boston Fleet have two games in hand.

“It’s extremely special that we now have this league that gives us the opportunity to come and play and chase another dream, another goal of winning that Walter Cup,” said Montreal forward Stacey.

Stacey, who had a goal in the win on Sunday to snap her eight-game PWHL goal drought, chose to return to the now-defunct Canadian Women’s Hockey League in 2018 after winning a silver medal at the 2018 Olympics. She ended up scoring the overtime winner that clinched the Clarkson Cup for the Markham Thunder.

“It’s hard at first,” she said. “The Olympics has obviously been our pinnacle since we were little girls. So, with the tough ending, to pull ourselves back together, to come back here it took a lot of mental fortitude. The biggest learning curve is how to handle all those emotions all at once when they smack you in the face and you’re flying back after the Olympics.”

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“It was a hard week,” Poulin said. “Emotionally, it hasn’t necessarily been easy. The chance we have to come back to our PWHL teams, the chance to be surrounded with outstanding people, by our friends, our teammates, it puts things into perspective.”

“You learn how much you love it. To come back here, it reminds you why you do it,” she said.

The Victoire came back to a group of 13 players who had been practising over the Olympic break, and prepared themselves to come out strong. The Victoire have outscored opponents 8-1 in their two games since the Olympics.

“To surround yourself with amazing people once you get back, I think that’s the best part,” Stacey said. “We have an incredible team that we could jump right into and surround ourselves with, and that’s exactly why I did it in 2018 because I needed to be around good people. I needed to be around people that could help lift me up too and this is no different.”

DESBIENS’ STRONG RUN

Ann-Renée Desbiens only had to make 17 saves for her fourth shutout of the season, but it extended a pretty remarkable run she has been on this season. Last year’s PWHL goaltender of the year now has an 11-4 record this season, with a 1.06 goals-against average and .958 save percentage. She leads all starting goaltenders in each of those categories.

She has not allowed more than two goals in a game this season.

TEAM USA WOMEN SHINE ON SNL

After watching her Team USA teammates Megan Keller and Hilary Knight on Saturday Night Live, Victoire forward Hayley Scamurra gave a rave review.

“I was so stoked to see them do that,” she said. The two American women were flanked by host Connor Storrie and Jack and Quinn Hughes in the show’s monologue, and Knight opened by saying that it was only going to be them, but they decided to invite the men, referencing the post-game controversy from the men’s locker room.

“They did such an incredible job and I think put that all to rest, just staying focused on our success and what we accomplished. It was really funny.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 1, 2026.

Jared Book, The Canadian Press