PWHL Stars of the Week – Stacey Tops PWHL

Today the Professional Women’s Hockey League announced their Three Stars of the Week for the week of February 24th through March 2nd.

First Star – Laura Stacey (F – MON)

With a goal and an assist in each contest, Stacey helped Montréal make some franchise history, sweep its two-game week and build its first-place lead to seven points over Toronto entering Women’s Empowerment Month. Saturday against Boston, before a “Duel At The Top” crowd of 17,324 at Montréal’s Bell Centre, Stacey scored with 16.3 seconds remaining in overtime – launching herself toward the rebound of a Cayla Barnes shot and sending a 10-foot backhand into the net as she landed. The Victoire have two overtime victories this season and Stacey has scored the winner in both of them; she notched the other just 15 seconds into extra time at Toronto on Dec. 21. Just 36 seconds into The Duel, Stacey assisted on the fastest goal from the start of a game in Victoire history, teaming with Jennifer Gardiner to set up the first of two goals by defender Kati Tabin. In Montréal’s other contest, Feb. 25 against Toronto, Stacey set up Gardiner’s 1-1 goal at 4:01 of the second period and added the 3-1 tally into an empty net with exactly one minute left in regulation. With goals in three straight games and 7-5—12 for the season, Stacey is second on the team in tallies to the 12 by Marie-Philip Poulin (12-5—17).

Second Star – Gabbie Hughes (F – OTT)

Hughes earned 3 Stars Of The Week recognition for the second time in three weeks after scoring two goals and setting up a third in Ottawa’s only contest – a 5-4 overtime conquest of the New York Sirens at TD Place Feb. 26. In doing so, Hughes recorded her second three-point performance and third multi-point effort in a five-game span since the international break, totaling 5-3—8. The second Star of the Week for games of Feb. 10-16 opened the scoring 3:15 into the game and closed it just 36 seconds into overtime, giving Ottawa its first overtime victory in team history and pulling the Charge within two points of fourth-place Minnesota. She also set up the goal by Emily Clark that gave the Charge a 4-3 lead at 5:21 of the third period. Hughes has 14 goals in her PWHL career and four of them have been game-winners. With 5-5—10 for the season, she is within two points of matching last year’s 9-3—12. Hughes is tied for third on the Charge in goals, behind Clark (7) and Tereza Vanišová (9), and her point total is third on the team behind Clark (14) and Vanišová (13).

Third Star – Kati Tabin (D – MON)

Tabin had a career-best two goals, and a season-high five shots on net, in Saturday’s Duel at the Bell Centre. Her two-goal performance – the first by a Victoire defender in team history – started with a 50-foot wrist shot from the left point that sailed past Stacey’s screen and beat Boston goalie Aerin Frankel inside the post to her right just 36 seconds after the opening draw. Tabin’s second goal was a slap shot, also from the left point, that tied the score 2-2 at 13:01 of the third period and set the stage for Stacey’s dramatic OT winner. The five-shot game ended a nine-game stretch in which Tabin had totaled only six shots. The five shots also topped her previous season-high of four, at Toronto Dec. 21, and was the second-highest total of her career; Tabin had seven shots on goal at Boston, Feb. 4, 2024. With 3-2—5 for the season, the 27-year-old from Winnipeg is one point shy of matching last season’s 1-5—6.

*All Graphics and Pictures courtesy of the PWHL.

*Player Profiles written by PWHL Staff.

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