The ‘extraordinary’ ambience of Montreal Victoire home games

The game experience still has a down-home feel to it. Partly it’s because it’s a smaller rink. Place Bell has a capacity of 10,000 and there were 8,392 people there Monday for Montreal’s dominant 4-0 victory, pun intended, over the New York Sirens. There’s just a different vibe. Of course the atmosphere can be electric at an exciting Habs game, but the crowd Tuesday was whooping it up early in the first, cheering wildly for even the slightest hint of rush from the Victoire players. And the reaction to the player introductions was off the charts and positively stratospheric for the last player to come to centre ice, captain Marie-Philip Poulin. The place just erupted in the third period when forward Abby Roque, acquired during the off-season from the New York Sirens, scored a stunner of a goal on a breakaway against her former team, putting the puck in with a eye-catching shot from between her legs.