2024-05-10 02:18:00
LAVAL – They were victims of their passivity to end the regular season. They had promised to set their terms to start the series. They kept their promise.
And that wasn’t enough.
Imperial for two periods, the Montrealers succumbed to a resurgence of life from their Boston rivals and cruelly came up short in their introduction to the LPHF playoffs. A goal from Susanna Tapani at 14:25 of overtime broke the hearts of the local favorites, who bowed 2-1 on Thursday night at Place Bell.
Boston had just stifled, under high tension, a Montreal power play when Tapani pushed a puck into an open cage that mightn’t find a footing in the chaos that reigned in Ann-Renée Desbiens’ semi-circle.
The defeat hurts all the more as it would not have been possible without the superhuman contribution of goalkeeper Aerin Frankel, who delivered a performance of 53 saves. The American national team player blocked all 39 shots aimed at her following she was beaten by Kristin O’Neill early in the second period. She was especially credited with just 11 saves in extra time.
Frankel was spectacular. Her acrobatic saves at the expense of Laura Stacey, who also missed the target on a breakaway in overtime, will particularly trouble the Montrealers. She was also lucky, saved here by her posts, there by some advantageous deviations.
“The jumps have been favorable for us,” Frankel said. Someone told me the puck went into my pants at one point, I never realized that. »
“It’s true we had some luck tonight, but we’ll take it,” coach Courtney Kessel admitted.
In the end, Frankel’s impact was such that despite the defeat, those who faced his exploits still felt they were taking advantage of a tailwind in preparation for the second game of the series.
“I think you just have to keep going, keep putting a lot of shots on net, hide your eyes, put traffic in front of you, keep going,” Marie-Philipe Poulin insisted. We can’t take this fight and say we’re starting over [à zéro]. We have the speed. You have to continue like this, take as many shots if not more and find the back of the net. »
“We can’t spend too much time feeling sorry for ourselves,” head coach Kori Cheverie said. We had our chances to score. It is obvious that we need to be more opportunistic, but although it is disappointing I am happy with the effort. I know we need results, but overall I’m happy with what we showed and I think it gives us momentum for the future. »
Waste
If it’s true that Frankel will have trouble duplicating the replica she produced Thursday, the same logic applies to Montreal’s defensive effort. If the defeat hurts so much, it is because it mars a near-perfect performance by the ladies in burgundy.
Boston had generated just two shots on goal in the first period and trailed 20-5 in that regard following 33 minutes of play, but the hosts were never able to turn their dominance into a comfortable cushion. Not without effort, they produced nothing but O’Neill’s goal, which scored on the power play.
Furthermore, Montreal’s last four goals were scored with a female advantage. It is 135 minutes and 37 seconds since the team had a chance at even strength.
Boston regained its color following the second intermission. Lexie Adzija tied the game shortly following the start by deflecting a Sophie Shirley shot off Desbiens’ glove.
More details to come.
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