It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the winner-take-all game between the Montreal Victoire and Minnesota Frost on Monday night at Place Bell is a must-win game. It is Game 5 of a best-of-five series.
It is the first time that the Victoire will have the chance to use their well-earned home-ice advantage with a chance to move on to the Walter Cup Final. Home-ice advantage in a best-of-five series is tricky at times for the higher seed. You are guaranteed to be trying to close out a series or stay alive on the road. The flip side is that if the series goes five, you get to come back home. The higher seed is currently 0-7 in PWHL playoff series all-time after the Ottawa Charge eliminated the Boston Fleet on Sunday.
Montreal’s first two seasons ended on the road, Game 3 against Boston and Game 4 in Ottawa last year. Those two series losses do not matter going into Monday night’s game, but the history is still there.
Lose Game 5, and you’re now facing three straight first-round exits. It becomes a trend, and I am not sure the team can come back next year without major changes if that happens.
The team is sitting at 2-4 in home playoff games. However, while North American players are still trying to figure out how to handle best-of-five series, what they will face on Monday is familiar.
Through international hockey and NCAA hockey, one game to decide whether you go on with a win or go home with a loss is almost natural. The previous four games of the series matter as much as the previous two years of history, which is to say not much.
Win one win at home, you move on.
That’s where the focus has to be for this team. So often in playoff games this season, and even last year, they have been playing more conservatively. I’m not going to say Montreal has been playing scared, but they do look like they are trying not to lose rather than trying to win.
Their defence has been very good all season, including the playoffs, but they need to generate more offence in this series. I would like to see a bit more aggression. The focus is on shutting down Minnesota’s top scorers (and they have been doing a good job of that), but I think you need to push the game for 60 minutes. The Frost have upped their game from the regular season, but the regular season Victoire have not appeared for a full game yet in this series.
Players on both sides will have a ton of muscle memory to bring into this game. The amount of NCAA tournament games, international medal-round games, and even Clarkson and Isobel Cup finals is large. They know what to expect. They know what they need to do.
Minnesota is no stranger to these games. There have been two Game 5s in PWHL history and not only have the Frost played in both, they won both — on the road. They are a team that literally has never been eliminated in the PWHL post-season. The two-time defending champions are 5-0 in elimination games, including Friday’s Game 4.
They have shown time and time again that they will not beat themselves. You have to go beat them. It won’t be easy, it might even need more than 60 minutes. The Victoire have one last chance to change the narrative.
