By the Numbers: Montréal Victoire in Good Form Heading into Olympic Break

15 down, 15 to go.

The Montréal Victoire are officially at the halfway point of their season, as we head into the three-week long Olympic break. There have been some ups and down so far, but they enter the pause in good position, with wins in six of their last seven games. The Victoire currently sit third in the league with 27 points, posting a 7-3-0-5 record.

Before getting into the excitement of Olympic hockey, here's a look at some key numbers that defined the first half of the season for Montréal:

6-0

So far this season, the Victoire hold a perfect 6-0 record at Place Bell, making the most of their home ice advantage. Better yet, all but one of those wins came in regulation, collecting 17 of a possible 18 points at their home rink.

With wins in Vancouver, Quebec City, and Halifax, the team's only loss in all of Canada this season came at the Bell Centre, falling 2-1 to the Toronto Sceptres in late December. The Victoire will play five more games at Place Bell this year.

92.9%

Montréal boasts a strong 92.9% penalty kill percentage, allowing just three power-play goals against. Their PK% is second in the league, just behind the Boston Fleet's 94.3% efficiency. The success of the Victoire's penalty kill has been a big contributing factor to maintaining a league-lowest 21 goals against, especially as they've had issues with discipline at times.

14.60

Speaking of keeping pucks out of the net, the Victoire currently have 14.60 blocked shots/game, the second-highest total in the league, behind only the Seattle Torrent. Last summer, they lost two of the league's best shot blockers in Mariah Keopple and Anna Wilgren, but have kept their block numbers strong with the help of some new and returning players. Maggie Flaherty leads the league with 4o blocks, while Jessica DiGirolamo (23), Erin Ambrose (22), and Amanda Boulier (22), all join her in the top-12 in the PWHL.

The willingness of their blue line to put their bodies on the line has been a key factor in their low goals against. Not to mention, having one of the best goaltenders in the world in Ann-Renée Desbiens behind them for any shots that do get through.

68

Laura Stacey currently leads the league with 68 shots on target, but has just two goals on the season, posting a dismal 2.9% shooting percentage. Stacey finished top-ten in the PWHL in goalscoring in the first two seasons, but has been snakebitten in finding the back of the net so far this year. However, it's only a matter of time before she sees some positive regression in making good of her league-leading shot total. Over the final games before the break, she played wing on the second line alongside centre Shiann Darkangelo and Jade Downie-Landry. The veteran trio have yet to unite for any goals, but anyone watching can see plainly that it's only a matter of time before Stacey starts lighting the lamp again.

5-7-12

Meanwhile, things have been more fortunate for new Montréaler Abby Roque. The 28-year-old has developed strong chemistry with Marie-Philip Poulin on the top line, tallying five goals and seven assists for 12 points on the season so far. She has nearly tied the six-goal total she posted in each of her first two seasons, and (as I predicted pre-season) she is on pace to set career highs in goals and assists with double-digits in both categories. That being said, she has looked a little slower over the past five games as compared to her first 10. It remains to be seen if she can keep up her strong scoring pace through the latter half of the year.