As the Montreal Victoire prepare for Game 2 of their best-of-five playoff series, the message inside the locker room is clear: reset, refocus, and respond.
After dropping Game 1 in a high-scoring, emotional contest, players and coaches are leaning on both urgency and confidence. With little time to dwell, the focus has quickly shifted to what comes next.
Learning from Game 1 — and moving on
For veteran forward Laura Stacey, the takeaway isn’t about overhauling the game plan—it’s about executing it fully. “We learned that our game works,” Stacey said. “We just have to play it from the drop of the puck for a full 60 minutes […] when we’re able to stick our plan, to stick to who we are as a team, we’re a really tough team to play against.”
That belief has been echoed throughout the room. Despite the loss, there’s no sense of panic—only a sharper attention to detail.
“I don’t know if it’s about fixing things,” Stacey added. “I think it’s just honing in on those little details […] those small one on one battles, those little puck movements, it doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be quick.”
Details, discipline, and defensive adjustments
Head coach Kori Cheverie pointed to similar areas of focus after reviewing Game 1.
“Defence is all three zones,” Cheverie explained. “We want to be a little better one-on-one. “I thought we did a great job of applying pressure and contact. I think we could do that a little bit more […] and just get a little bit crisper.”
Cheverie emphasized that adjustments have come through a mix of video work, meetings, and a focused practice—though with a quick turnaround, the goal isn’t to overcomplicate things. “It’s not about doing a lot of teaching right now,” she said. “It’s about cleaning up details and letting the players get back out there.”
Managing momentum and emotions
One of the biggest challenges from Game 1 was maintaining momentum. Twice, the Victoire scored—only to give one back almost immediately.
“We talked about that emotional regulation that we needed to have after scoring,” Cheverie said.
Stacey agreed, pointing to the intensity of playoff hockey. “When you score a goal, obviously your heart’s racing, the crowd’s hearts are racing, our whole bench is racing. So we definitely need to find a way to manage those emotions. You never want to get scored on right after you score, and unfortunately that happened a couple times. So now it’s a focus of ours — handling those emotions, getting them in check. We know we can score. We know we can also stop the puck.”
Confidence remains strong
Despite the setback, confidence hasn’t wavered.
“Anytime it’s playoffs, there’s urgency” said defender Maggie Flaherty, who was part of Frost teams that fell behind 0-1 in all four series they played en route to back-to-back Walter Cups including the inaugural semifinal where they fell behind 0-2. “A 1-1 series sounds a lot better than going down 2-0 […] we just have to pick up where we left off and just get back to work.”
Forward Natálie Mlýnková echoed that sentiment. “We’re still in a good spot,” she said. “We are confident in our group. The locker room has good vibes […] I think we just need to start better tomorrow and go from there.
A quick turnaround — and a chance to respond
With Game 2 approching the Victoire are embracing the pace of the playoffs.
“You have until midnight to think about the last game,” Flaherty said. “Then it’s on to the next one.”
For Cheverie, the mindset is simple: trust the group and respond. “The mood was great today… the girls are just ready to get back on the ice and play another game.”
And for Stacey, the formula for a bounce-back is already clear. “That’s what the best teams do—they find a way to get back up after a loss […] and now we just need to find a way to be the one pushing them down first.”
Game 2 takes place Tuesday night at Place Bell in Laval. Puck drop is at 7pm. The game is available on Prime Video in English and French (Canada), and worldwide on YouTube.
