In the course of a season, there are small battles, and large battles fought on the ice, and sometimes off. In the eyes of Montreal Victoire head coach Kori Cheverie, her team is still winning their share of those on-ice battles.
When asked repeatedly about what her team needs to improve, and if they'd feel more positive heading into the international break having not lost four of their last five, along with questions of there being enough time following the break to turn things around, Cheverie fired back. Cheverie addressed the messaging from outside sources, when she asserted her team is built around positivity and lifting each other up.
"My vibe in the room is I celebrated so many positive things, and I think that's what we need to focus on a little bit, instead of being negative all the time, it's constant," Cheverie said of the negative questioning.
The questions came following Montreal's most recent loss, a 1-0 defeat to the desperate New York Sirens, who have won four of their last six as they fight for their slim playoff hopes.
"The vibe in the room...[Jennifer] Gardiner misses an empty net on a 6-on-5, we lift her up, we don't take her down. Our PK was amazing, [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 room and that locker room, is really really special and there's really great things that are happening in that dressing room," continued Cheverie.
"Do I hate to lose? 100% I hate to lose so that is where my mood is at right now. But in terms of being proud of that team, it's through the roof. So I hope when they come in here, that maybe you guys could celebrate some of their positive things, it would be nice."
Cheverie was criticized for her comments by RDS, TSN's French language arm, following the game. The article, in an English translation, stated that "Cheverie foolishly confused the work of journalists with that of Maude Lanteigne, the bubbly crowd-pleaser who keeps Place Bell on its toes at every Victoire home game."
Lanteigne is the Montreal Victoire's in game host at Place Bell.
In the article written by RDS' Nicolas Landry, Cheverie was described as having a "murderous gaze," and as "growing impatient" with media. Landry also said that in previous interviews Cheverie had appeared "in a sour mood" and was not the "generous woman we'd met a few weeks earlier..."
Comments Lost In Translation
Media in the post game press conference stated there may be some misunderstanding due to the differences between French and English. Some of those discrepancies were also apparent in the translation of Cheverie's own comments back from French to English.
Translating the RDS article to English, using Google Translate, Cheverie's comments were made to target media directly. For example, Cheverie's statement saying "I celebrated so many positive things, and I think that's what we need to focus on a little bit, instead of being negative all the time," was shifted to more explicitly target media in the translation reading "I celebrated a lot of positive things in the locker room today and I think that's what we should all be focusing on, rather than always being in the negative like you all are."
Cheverie did not refer to "vous" (you) in the comment as identified in the printed quote. When asked to clarify if Cheverie was referencing media related to negative comments, she did however, confirm, "yes."
There were other inaccuracies in the translation. In a later comment Landry inserted words not spoken by Cheverie. For example, Cheverie stated "Do I hate to lose? 100% I hate to lose so that is where my mood is at right now. But in terms of being proud of that team, it's through the roof. So I hope when they come in here, that maybe you guys could celebrate some of their positive things, it would be nice."
The RDS article stated "Est-ce que je déteste perdre? À 100%. C'est ce qui explique mon humeur présentement. Mais ma fierté pour ces filles est sans limite et j'espère que quand elles se présenteront devant vous, vous pourrez célébrer quelques-unes de leurs réussites avec elles. Ça serait bien."
The inclusion of words like "filles" ("girls" in English) was not a term Cheverie used to refer to the adult women on her team. The RDS frequently used the term, "équipe," which translates to "team," which is the term Cheverie used when referring to her roster.
The Montreal Victoire remain first overall in the PWHL standings with three games remaining. Second place Toronto is only three points behind the Victoire, who remain the only team in the PWHL to clinch a playoff berth.