Sports

Zumwinkle, Heise help Minnesota rally for 3-2 shootout win over Montreal

Montreal Minnesota Hockey
Fans cheer after a goal scored by Minnesota forward Grace Zumwinkle on Jan. 6, 2024, in St. Paul. Zumwinkle scored a pair of shootout goals, Taylor Heise added another and Minnesota rallied from two goals down to beat Montreal 3-2 on Sunday.
Abbie Parr | AP file

Grace Zumwinkle scored a pair of shootout goals, Taylor Heise added another and Minnesota rallied from two goals down to beat Montreal 3-2 on Sunday in Professional Women's Hockey League action.

Montreal grabbed the lead just 2:36 into the match on defender Kati Tabin's first goal of the season. Gabrielle David and Maureen Murphy notched assists. Murphy's helper was her ninth of the season.

Murphy gave Montreal a two-goal lead 5:53 in with her fourth goal of the season, scoring off David's second assist.

Minnesota bounced back in the second period, scoring a pair of goals 24 seconds apart to knot the score at 2-2 heading to the final period. Natalie Buchbinder scored first 5:40 into the period with assists from Maggie Flaherty and Clair DeGeorge. Lee Stecklein buried the equalizer at 6:04 with assists from Sophie Jaques and Kendall Coyne Schofield. It was the second goal of the season for both players.

Ambrose had the lone shootout goal for Montreal.

Minnesota goalie Nicole Hensley totaled 21 saves on 23 shots on goal. Montreal's Elaine Chuli turned away 33 of 35 shots.

Minnesota (8-4-4-3) trails first-place Toronto by a point, while Montreal (7-5-3-4) is in third — five points off the pace.

The two teams have split four matches this season. Montreal has dropped 2 of 3 on the road in the series.