There is an old saying that the night brings advice, but one could add that it can also bring comfort. It’s a feeling that seemed to inhabit Catherine Daoust and Amanda Boulier a dozen hours after the heartbreaking defeat of the Montreal team in the first game of its semi-final series of the Professional Women’s Hockey League against the Boston training.
Despite unwavering support from the 9,135 spectators who occupied the stands at Place Bell and a bombardment of 54 shots on Aerin Frankel, the Kori Cheverie players left the ice rink with a 1-0 deficit in their series three of five following a 2-1 overtime loss on Thursday.
A goal from Susanna Tapani at 14:25 of the first overtime period put an end to this first duel, which could represent the starting point of a great rivalry –– another one – between Montreal and Boston, especially since the two clubs played a second intense match in just five days.
Boston and Montreal will meet again on Saturday, in the same amphitheater which could bring together even more people.
At the time, this failure obviously hurt each of the players on the Montreal team. Head coach Kori Cheverie and captain Marie-Philip Poulin expressed this feeling about thirty minutes after the match.
However, the club’s two main headliners were in no way devastated, and Daoust and Boulier echoed their comments by videoconference on Friday.
“Of course we said to ourselves that we deserved to win. (Boston) had a little luck on their side that we didn’t have. At some point, it can’t last a whole series,” Daoust first analyzed.
“If we continue to play like that, to dominate them, work on some small gaps that we had during the match, I think we will be able to continue to dominate this series. So, it was positive in the locker room (Thursday) with the players. Then, when the coaches arrived, it was the same message,” continued the defender from L’Île-Bizard.
Boulier did not seem worried when asked if it was difficult to bounce back after a setback like the one the Montreal team suffered.
“I think it’s a little easier in some ways because I feel like we really played a complete game. We did so many good things,” said Boulier, the third most requested defender in Montreal on Thursday, with almost 29 minutes of action.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Amanda Boulier (center)
“It’s obviously a high-pressure situation, but I think as a team we played – how much was it? – 72-75 minutes of very good hockey. For us, it is therefore a question of using the same recipe tomorrow. If we play the same way as yesterday, I’m really confident in the (final) result. »
This same recipe that Boulier spoke about will, however, have to be accompanied by better offensive production if Montreal hopes to tie the series and force the holding of two games in Lowell, next Tuesday and Thursday.
“We know that the chances were there. It’s just putting that little extra finishing touch so that the puck goes in (into the net) instead of quietly deflecting off a post like we saw several times yesterday,” noted Daoust.
“We will have to make sure that we have players at the net who will come and take the returns because she is a goalkeeper who left a lot of them yesterday. […] We have to be there to get those rebounds. (Frankel) is not an invincible goalie. I think we are capable of scoring several goals, more than what we did yesterday,” added Daoust.
According to Boulier, one of the keys to the possible success of the Montreal attack will be to take advantage of Frankel’s stature.
“It’s certain (that Frankel) delivered a remarkable performance. But she is a smaller goalie and I think it will be important to lift the pucks that are near her. We had a few opportunities to get there. Hockey is about inches, and we missed the target by an inch or two. There is no need to change our game plan. It’s just about being more opportunistic. »
Thursday’s defeat meant that Montreal lost its home ice advantage. The Kori Cheverie players will therefore have to seek at least one victory on the rival rink next week to recover it.
“We would have preferred, like any team, to come out of our two games in Laval with two victories. But other than that, we don’t approach (the second part) in a different way. Our expectation is to win the next three games,” said Daoust.
For his part, Boulier knows that the entire team will once again be able to count on a noisy and energetic crowd at Place Bell to tie the series on Saturday.
“The atmosphere was electrifying. As I jumped onto the ice, I felt shivers down my spine because it was so loud. I believe this energy will continue to motivate us (Saturday). It’s definitely a game we absolutely have to win, but in my opinion, in the playoffs, you have to win every game. »