MONTREAL — Montreal Victoire head coach Kori Cheverie sat in front of a microphone at her post-game press conference and used it to send a message to her team after a 1-0 loss to the New York Sirens on Tuesday night.
Only it wasn’t the message you would expect.
“I celebrated so many positive things,” Cheverie said. “And I think that’s what we need to focus on a little bit instead of being negative all the time. It’s constant."
In their first game after clinching a Professional Women's Hockey League playoff berth, the first-place Victoire were outshot 31-16 by the last-place Sirens fighting for their playoff lives. Corinne Schroeder earned her third shutout of the season.
“The vibe in the room, (Jennifer) Gardiner misses an empty net on a six-on-five, we lift her up. We don’t take her down. Our penalty kill was amazing. (Goaltender Elaine Chuli) was amazing. Our power play had great looks. That’s what we’re celebrating in the room. We’re not down on ourselves because that locker room is really, really special and there’s really great things that are happening in that dressing room.”
After a six-game winning streak that ended Feb. 18, Montreal has lost seven of its last 12 games, with two wins and five losses coming in regulation. Despite that, the Victoire still hold a three-point lead over the second-place Toronto Sceptres with three games remaining after the PWHL’s international break for the IIHF Women's World Championship.
“Do I hate to lose?” Cheverie said. “A hundred per cent. That’s where my mood is at right now. But in terms of being proud of that team, it’s through the roof.”
Despite having her team’s back, there were some issues that the coach saw, especially in the second period in which her team was outshot 15-5.
“I thought we gave away the second period,” Cheverie said. “We basically wasted 20 minutes of the game. We talk about it a lot, when you play for Montreal you’re expected to play with structure and we gave up on our structure in the second period.”
“It was little turnovers,” said Montreal defender Erin Ambrose. “The second period was a crummy one. You want to wipe it and I thought we did a really good job of coming out in the third and kind of turning the tide.”
Montreal outshot New York 7-6 in the final period looking for an equalizer after Jade Downie-Landry scored with 11.7 seconds remaining in the first period to score what turned out to be the game’s only goal. They also had two power-play opportunities, including the final 1:17 of the game.
Cheverie said she was happy with a lot of things in the team’s process aside from the second period, despite being on the wrong end of a one-goal game.
“The process is so important because you could go out and play a perfect game and it’s hockey and that could end up as a loss, that’s the reality of it,” Ambrose said. “You could play a horrible game and come out on the winning side and sometimes hockey does not make sense.
“It’s infuriating sometimes, but it’s the reason that we love the game. I don’t know the percentages but most of the time, if you do things the right way, it’s going to turn out in your favour."
“It's a part of learning how to push through in moments where the puck is just not rolling across that line for you,” Cheverie said.
SECONDARY SCORING WOES
Over their last 11 games, only four of Montreal’s 21 goals have come without a member of the top line of Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey, or Jennifer Gardiner on the ice.
“I thought we did a nice job of trying to limit (Poulin’s) line,” said New York head coach Greg Fargo. “When you do that against this team, you have a chance to win.”
Despite trying different combinations, the Victoire have not been able to get the production they are looking for.
“At the end of the day, the players have a great opportunity to take a spot and run with it and they’re not,” said Cheverie.
“I want to help the team in any way I can,” said forward Kristin O’Neill, who is one of many players in that group struggling to put pucks in the net. “It is a mentally challenging situation, but that’s what practice is for. I have a lot of great resources around me, great teammates to ask questions to and lean on for support.”
FOES TO FRIENDS
New York’s Sarah Fillier was involved in most post-whistle scrums on Tuesday’s game, including at least one with Canadian national team teammate Erin Ambrose.
The two were opponents on Tuesday, but will be teammates as soon as they board their plane for Czechia this week for the upcoming world championship.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 1, 2025.
Jared Book, The Canadian Press