The Ottawa Charge had a strong opening to the Walter Cup Final. Though the end result wasn’t what they hoped, there were certainly positives to take away. The Charge lost game one to the Montréal Victoire, thanks to a late tying goal and overtime tally.
On the Offense
Ottawa struck first in Thursday’s loss, as Rebecca Leslie capitalized on her own rebound. Leslie’s second effort, with Ann-Renée Desbiens down in the crease, led to a well-earned goal.
“It gives you a little momentum,” said head coach Carla MacLeod of scoring first. “I think what I like best about our game is just… it’s minute details that lead to those moments. We’re trying to be physical. Get sticks on pucks. We’re trying to get bodies to the net.”
Leslie worked her magic again in the third period. With just 4:04 left in regulation, she gave the Charge a 2-1 lead. Leslie waited Desbiens out, got the goaltender moving and eventually slid it in five-hole.
What came next was a heartbreaker for Ottawa. Montréal’s Nicole Gosling tied the game with less than three seconds left in regulation. Eventually, Abby Roque scored her second of the night 2:29 into overtime for the win & series lead.
Takeaways
“We played really physical and put a lot of pucks on net,” said veteran Jocelyne Larocque after the game. “We have so much belief in ourselves and each other that it’s going to shine through. I’m just as confident as I was before game one that we can win the Walter Cup.”
“There are little things that we can adjust,” Larocque added. “But we’re happy with our game. You have to have a short memory; you have to have that kind of goldfish mindset and be excited for the next one.”
The Charge led in shots on goal for the majority of the night, and led the game twice. In the end, those few minutes changed the landscape of the game. In regulation, they went 0-for-2 on the power play, but also kept the Victoire off the board in three advantages. Gwyneth Philips made 23 saves. The Charge failed to record a shot on goal in overtime.
Playoff Mentality
Hockey is a game of inches and small moments. Playoffs are even tighter.
“Welcome to the PWHL and welcome to the Walter Cup Final. That’s the reality,” MacLeod said. “It’s hard fought. It’s two elite teams. Nobody’s wanting to give an inch, and everyone’s playing as hard as they can until every buzzer and whistle.”
Above all, as MacLeod noted, this is playoff hockey at its finest.
“This is what we’ve signed up for, and what a thrill,” she said. “There’s nowhere else on the planet we want to be. And the fact that we’re here – we’ve got some business to take care of, and we’re most excited about that.”
The overall motto is: you take the good, you take the bad, and now – you move on.
“I really liked our game,” MacLeod said. “Obviously, we didn’t get the outcome. We were pretty darn close there. Montréal gave a good push there. So many elements of our game we executed incredibly well.”
“At the end of the day, it’s a five-game series. You park this one and you move onto the next,” MacLeod added.