Claire Dalton’s hat trick leads PWHL Montreal past Ottawa 6-3

MONTREAL — Claire Dalton scored three goals, including a short-handed effort which snapped a 1-1 tie late in the second period, to lead Montreal to a 6-3 victory over Ottawa in Professional Women’s Hockey League action Saturday at Verdun Auditorium.

The win moved Montreal (5-3-2-2) into first place with 24 points. That’s three better than Minnesota, which has an opportunity to reclaim a share of the lead Sunday with a win at home over Boston.

Tereza Vanisova opened the scoring for Montreal with a power-play goal. It was only the fourth power-play goal this season for Montreal which came into the game with the worst power-play record in the league, succeeding on only 7.6 per cent of its opportunities.

Ann-Sophie Bettez and Maureen Murphy scored the other Montreal goals. Marie-Philip Poulin collected three assists.