Coaching feud erupts in PWHL during postseason!
We have our first PWHL coaching feud:
It looks like we have our first PWHL coaching feud. When Montreal entered the playoffs, they quickly became the opening round favorite to advance beyond Boston. However, Montreal was eliminated on Tuesday night after a complete collapse and Boston is now on to the inaugural Walter Cup final after a 3-2 overtime win. Boston-Montreal best-of-five series saw all three contests need overtime to determine the winner, but ultimately Boston and head coach Courtney Kessel came out on top.
It did not stop Montreal coach Kori Cheverie from making a bold statement regarding the series:
“You obviously had a team on the other side who was pushing back,” Cheverie said following Montreal’s loss. “I don’t know if they matched our push in the first two (periods) and then in the third, they decided they wanted to win in 60 (minutes), I guess, and they had that push back.
“I think out of the, how many periods that we played, 12, I would say we probably outplayed them for 10. It wasn’t quite enough.”
To which coach Kessel had no problem clapping back:
“I mean, good for her. Here we are. We’re heading on to the championship. I think that’s all that matters.”
Montreal and coach Cheverie couldn’t predict that all three games would head into overtime. But, plain and simple, Montreal lost the goaltending battle, on top of dealing with many injuries that took out Dominika Laskova, Kennedy Marchment, Ann-Sophie Bettez, and Sarah Bujold from the roster.
But, in all, Kessel is right. She and her team are moving on to the Walter Cup and will face the winner of the Toronto-Minnesota series.
Funny enough, later on Wednesday, the league announced that Kori Cheverie (Montreal), Courtney Kessel (Boston) and Troy Ryan (Toronto) have been voted in as finalists for Coach of the Year.
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