Day of losses Sunday afternoon in Denver for the Montreal Victory. Kori Cheverie’s squad lost a hockey match, the first place in the Professional Women’s Hockey League standings and, along the way, one of its leaders.
The Minnesota Frost scored two unanswered goals in the third period and won 4-2 against the Victoire who, essentially, spent the last 40 minutes of the match without Laura Stacey.
The forward and great leader of the Montreal team was seen leaving the ice at the very beginning of the middle period after suffering what appeared to be an injury to her left leg.
During the meeting, a team spokesperson confirmed that Stacey would remain sidelined “as a precautionary measure.”
At the Victory post-match press conference, there were no questions about Stacey’s injury. Some two hours after the end of the confrontation, the same spokesperson indicated that it was too early to provide further details, limiting himself to saying that Stacey’s case will be re-evaluated daily.
Maggie Flaherty scored the eventual game-winner against Elaine Chuli at 7:27 of the third period. Michela Cava added an insurance goal with 1:39 to play.
Britta Curl-Salemme, in the first period, and Sophie Jaques, in the second period, also thwarted Chuli, who faced 29 pucks.
Catherine Dubois (1st), early in the match, and Jennifer Gardiner (2nd), in the second period, responded to the victory against Maddie Rooney, who received 23 shots, but only four in the third period.
Cheverie felt that his team had missed scoring opportunities during the match.
“I don’t want to take anything away from Minnesota. It’s a team that plays at a high pace, is quick in transition and makes you pay for your mistakes,” said the Victoire head coach.
“We had opportunities to score enough goals to win today, and we didn’t capitalize. And I think there were a few puck decisions that we would like to review at the team level, because we talked about it so much. But it will happen. It’s hockey. Against a team like Minnesota, you have to limit the mistakes you’re going to make,” she added.
With this defeat, the Victory (4-2-1-2 – 17 points) slips to second place in the LPHF ranking, two points behind the Frost (4-3-1-2 – 19 points).
The same two teams will meet again Friday evening at Place Bell.
The Victory players therefore complete this journey, which took them from Seattle to Denver via Vancouver, with a record of one victory, one defeat in regulation time and one setback in a shootout.
“It was a challenge for our players, but I think they were ready and we had the right mindset,” said Cheverie about these three matches. »
“We knew there would be challenges ahead and I really like the way our team responded to everything we went through. We’ve had some adversity on this journey, and that’s almost what you want as a team. Getting through those moments and learning early.”
The game drew a crowd of 14,018 to Ball Arena, the regular home of the Colorado Avalanche. This is a record for a professional women’s hockey game in the United States.
“The product we put on the ice is what fans like to see. We work a lot day after day. There are a lot of people behind the scenes who have done a lot of work to get us to where we are,” said American defender Cayla Barnes of the Victory.
“We wouldn’t be here without the fans either. It’s amazing that in every building we’ve been to, we’ve seen signs and heard chants that they want a team, and I think that’s really amazing. I hope one day we will have teams all over the country. »
A first for Dubois
Since returning from the Christmas break, the Victoire players have more often than not adopted a very good habit: that of scoring the first goal.
Against the Frost, they accomplished the feat in a fourth match in a row, and thanks to a player who was not necessarily expected.
Barely two minutes had passed in the first period when Dubois scored his first goal of the season.
Revealing good offensive flair, Dubois found herself alone near Rooney’s net and hit the target with a lively shot, after receiving a pass from Dara Greig.
The Frost tied the game midway through the first period when Curl-Salemme beat Chuli with a stick-side wrist shot, immediately after Taylor Heise won a faceoff against Kristin O’Neill at right from the Montreal net.
Returning after a five-game absence, Jaques broke the tie during a minor penalty to Mikyla Grant-Mentis at 9:30 of the middle period.
It was the first time since the first period of the clash on December 28, against the Frost, that the Victoire players suffered a deficit during the course of a match.
But about five minutes later, during a Claire Butorac penalty, Victory tied the game when Gardiner’s pass attempt, from behind the Frost net, hit one of defender Mae Batherson’s skates to slide behind Rooney.
Flaherty broke the tie when she grabbed a stray puck in the slot, and the Frost were rarely in danger after that.
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