Montréal’s 3-1 win over Toronto on Sunday at Place Bell was defined by one element more than any other: physicality. Toronto’s players suggested afterwards that this was the most physical Montréal lineup they had faced and Victoire star Laura Stacey didn’t downplay it.

Addressing the question during the postgame media availability, Stacey confirmed it was exactly what the team has been building toward.

“That’s nice to hear,” she said. “That’s a goal of ours, for teams to come in here and feel that we’re a tough team to play.”

Stacey explained that Montréal has made it a priority to establish themselves as a physically demanding team to play against. She said the group wants visiting opponents to immediately feel that edge, and given that Toronto is a strong physical team in their own right, experiencing that in this matchup shows the progress they’ve been pushing for.

“So for them to feel it tonight and for them to have that and say that I think that’s huge for us,” she added.

The game itself reflected that identity. Montréal opened the scoring at 8:38 of the first period when Kati Tabin’s point shot beat traffic. The sequence leading to the goal was created by sustained pressure along the boards and a strong forecheck that kept Toronto from clearing their zone cleanly.

Montréal repeated the same formula early in the second period and it paid off again. At 8:36, Hayley Scamurra finished a play from close range to make it 2-0.

Stacey shares her take on physically allowed in the league

Stacey also shared that the team’s increased physical edge is not a coincidence. “This league is allowing a lot of physicality and we want that,” she said. “I think it’s extremely important for our team and you can see when we are physical, when we’re taking the body the right way, we’re tough to play against.”

“It was a big part of our offseason and our training camp, our 10 days off. And I think we’re going to continue to push and and be a team that’s really difficult to play against.” Her comment matched what Toronto dealt with all game of heavier contact, more contested ice and fewer clean exits than in previous matchups.

Stacey rewinds her goal from the night

Toronto briefly cut into the lead early in the third period when Emma Gentry scored at 1:36 but Ann-Renee Desbiens handled the rest. She stopped 21 shots, 11 of them in the final period. Montréal regained control on a power play at 5:41 when Stacey scored from her knees on a rebound. She described the play as chaotic.

“I was all over the ice and didn’t know where I was going,” she said. “The puck was placed off the pad right to me and I ended up in the right spot at the right time.”

The game also served as a test of Montréal’s readiness after a long 10-day break. Stacey said the time off wasn’t downtime. “We put in a lot of work the last 10 days,” she said. “When you don’t play often, timing and connectedness can slip but our goal was to keep it simple and play hard.”

Montréal wanted to become a more difficult team to play against and on Sunday they were exactly that. And according to Stacey, the league will see more of it from the Victoire.