(Laval) Five o’clock. The Montrealers admitted defeat after 111 minutes and 44 seconds of hockey, Saturday evening, at Place Bell.
Another game where Montreal gets more quality chances. Another match where Montreal cannot overcome Aerin Frankel.
Taylor Wenckowski scored in the third overtime period to give Boston another 2-1 victory, taking a 2-0 lead in the first round series.
Erin Ambrose spent 61:33 on the ice. Kati Tabin, 56 min 49 s. Laura Stacey? 52 mins 30 secs.
Stacey appeared crestfallen at a press conference around midnight. It didn’t take Papineau any thought to understand that she would have preferred to be elsewhere, and we understand. When asked how she was doing physically, the attacker immediately replied:
” Perfectly. We have a match coming up. We’re going to do whatever it takes to make us feel good to face them. »
PHOTO CHRISTINNE MUSCHI, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Taylor Wenczkowski (12) scored the winning goal in the third overtime
Montreal had numerous opportunities to win. At the end of the third period, the puck crossed Aerin Frankel’s net, but the referee had already blown the whistle; after video review, the goal was disallowed.
In the first overtime period, Montreal benefited from 7 minutes of numerical advantage. They were unable to take advantage and break through the Frankel Wall.
In the second overtime, fatigue was visible in both camps. Laura Stacey got a golden chance to close the debate with a shot from the top of the slot, without success.
“In a few minutes, it will officially be Mother’s Day,” said the crowd announcer at the start of the third overtime, after announcing that it was officially the longest match in the young history of the LPHF .
How did the players hold on, despite the pain?
“Recently, someone came to talk to us and said: When the body no longer functions, or when you feel that you have nothing left to give physically, that’s when you have to get through it, a Stacey said. You never know what’s left inside. »
That’s what we kept saying to each other in the locker room, on the bench. It hurts, it’s not pleasant, but let’s keep pushing and doing everything we mentally can to get through this.
Laura Stacey
In the end, the result was not what we hoped for…
Who will score?
We’ve been saying it for months: Montreal relies especially on its first line to score goals. In the playoffs, that can sometimes create problems. The team is playing well in this series, but cannot find the back of the net.
“I think that’s what’s going to make the difference [en séries] : our attackers 7 to 12 and our defenders 5, 6 and 7. These players must be able to contribute,” said Kori Cheverie before the start of the series.
It must be admitted that this is not the case so far. Between them, Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey and Kristin O’Neill shot the net 23 times in the game. But nothing seemed to work. And once again, no one else was able to take over and find the back of the net.
PHOTO CHRISTINNE MUSCHI, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Aerin Frankel (31) makes the save in front of Laura Stacey.
Conversely, Boston’s two scorers in the victory were fourth-line players – Amanda Pelkey and Wenczkowski.
Obviously we’d like to get more offense, but I like what we look like right now. And then, obviously, we play against a smoking goalkeeper.
Kori Cheverie
“I wouldn’t say it’s a problem. [le fait que plusieurs ne contribuent pas]. »
Montreal’s only two goals so far in the series have been scored by Kristin O’Neill on the power play. Not once did the team score at five-on-five, although it wasn’t for lack of trying.
“I think our players are doing something good. These are the series, the players are tighter defensively. We certainly need to find a way to exploit some of our chances, but I wouldn’t say there’s anything going wrong. »
PHOTO CHRISTINNE MUSCHI, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Kori Cheverie gives her instructions.
Before the start of the playoffs, Cheverie cited resilience as the number one quality of his team in the regular season. This is what would help her in the playoffs, she said.
After Saturday’s match, Laura Stacey’s words echoed those of her coach.
“We can be frustrated as much as we want, but at the end of the day, the fact that we were resilient, that we continued to push… We’re going to continue to push. I think that’s the most important thing we can take from these two games. Let’s forget the rest. »
“We will get up tomorrow, the sun will shine. It will be a new day and we are going to Boston to seek victory. »