PWHL Montreal general manager Danièle Sauvageau and head coach Kori Cheverie spoke to media at a year end press conference, but there remained more questions than answers.
PWHL Montreal general manager Danièle Sauvageau and head coach Kori Cheverie spoke to media at a year end press conference, but there remained more questions than answers.
It was end of season time in Verdun Friday, as PWHL Montreal held a press conference, and opened up the locker room to media for the first time this season. And if one was looking for answers, it was the wrong door to knock.
Many questions were raised, very few answers were given by general manager Danièle Sauvageau and head coach Kori Cheverie, very much like updates on the nature of the injuries throughout the season, or the fact that it took weeks before knowing that Mikyla Grant-Mentis was signed to a standard contract.
No updates of the injured players; No news if Marie-Philip Poulin was still hurting in the playoffs from the injury that made her miss games before the World Championships; No answers on if Ann-Sophie Bettez would have a place in the organization if she decides to retire, or if Montreal has a place for her on the roster.
But most of all, no accountability on why the team got swept by Boston in three games or the using of the bench during the series. The media present at the presser got numbers instead.
29 players used this year, seven who played every game. 60 missed games because of injuries.
“Our best three games of the season were the last three,” said Sauvageau, who then gave the media advanced statistics to prove her point.
Perhaps Bill James and Billy Beane wouldn’t agree, but advanced stats don’t win games. One more goal than the other team does. And that’s what Montreal wasn’t able to do. Why? Because their best players were exhausted. But that was not the answer given.
“I’m really happy with the three games aside from the outcome,” mentioned Cheverie. “We ran into a very hot goaltender. The things that we’ve asked our athletes to do all year, what we’ve put in place all year, really did all come together in those last three games."
"We had 12...scoring chances in the first game, hit some posts, missed some empty nets, and at the end of the day, we didn’t capitalize on our chances. We pretty much peaked where we needed to, but they got the bounces that happen in playoffs hockey."
What does it say about Jillian Dempsey, who played all of Montreal’s 24 games this season, but only played three minutes in the third game and none in the first? What does it say about Leah Lum, who played 23 games during the regular season, but didn’t have one shift the first game of the series? What does it say about Catherine Daoust, Brigitte Laganière, Madison Bizal, and Catherine Dubois, who regularly played during the season?
“As far as time on ice, there’s also a context to that, things that are not known to our fans and the media,” said Sauvageau. "Boston had about the same numbers of players who played more than 30 minutes. Some of our players played more than others, about 10 minutes more, and then again, there’s context to it, like power plays. And as far as why some players didn’t play as much, there are answers to these questions that you might not know.”
Transparency was not Montreal’s strength this season, and on Friday, it ended the same way.