The series between Montreal and Boston in the semi-final of the LPHF can be perceived in several ways depending on what is scrutinized and the more we dig, the more we realize that the final result must be painful for the Montreal troop.
A first glance shows a sweep of Boston in three games. Another look allows us to see that each victory was acquired in overtime, including that in the third period of extra time during the second match.
At the end of Montreal’s 3-2 defeat on Friday, Montreal recorded an impressive total of 147 shots on Aerin Frankel’s cage, which allowed only four goals. For her part, Ann-Renée Desbiens gave up seven times out of 112 shots.
Montreal was only a few minutes away during the third game from extending the series at least until Thursday with the holding of a fourth clash, but Boston made a comeback in the third period and Susanna Tapani scored a end the series in the 62nd second of overtime.
With those numbers and more at her disposal, Montreal head coach Kori Cheverie was obviously very disappointed after Tuesday’s 3-2 loss and she was also proud of her players. She also found that her team had done better than their rivals in the majority of the series, even losing the count of periods played.
“I’m trying to digest it all. It’s important that the players understand how well they played during these three matches. It’s important to feel these emotions right now. This is one of those situations where you couldn’t do much more differently. »
“Out of the 12 periods we played, I feel like we were better than them in 10 of them,” she said.
“We played well for the majority of the series, but we weren’t able to get the jumps to go their way. Congratulations to Boston who won all three games,” analyzed Ann-Renée Desbiens.
The subject of the usage time of many players within the Montreal team was documented following the two matches played at Place Bell. We invite you to read the text by our colleague Nicolas Landry on the issue.
The point came back on the agenda following the elimination of Montreal as to whether this management could have caused fatigue among the players. Both Cheverie and Desbiens did not believe that fatigue was a factor in the outcome of the third game.
“We didn’t just use two lines. We went with three and at times there was the fourth line. We try to win games, to put people in situations where if they have to score, they can score and if they have to defend, they can do it,” explained the head coach.
“I wouldn’t say we were tired. We did a good job coming back, had a good second half. We may have tried too hard in the third period and that’s what cost us the game, but it’s definitely not a lack of recovery,” Desbiens said.
The latter became emotional when she commented on the support felt by the players to play this season in front of the Montreal crowd.
“I am proud to have played for the Montreal team in front of the best fans,” she commented.
It is therefore a first professional season which ends for the Montreal team in the LPHF. It will remain to be seen, as Desbiens clarified, the adjustments that will be made for the next campaign.
“We will take the time to reflect on what worked and what needs to be worked on, and we will continue to work for the next season,” she concluded.