Even though preseason games do not mean much, Kori Cheverie will be glad that her Montreal Victoire managed to win its two tilts against the Boston Fleet. Not that you get points in the standings for those Ws, but because they can be confidence builders, something that can be pretty handy to a team that has lost three of its top five scorers to the expansion process.
On Saturday, Montreal beat Boston 3-2 in overtime without dressing its three core players. On Monday, the coach decided to throw Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey and Ann-Renee Desbiens in the fold, and the results didn’t disappoint. The netminder was sharp, only giving up one goal in her 40 minutes of play, while the dynamic duo was as clutch as ever in a 3-2 regulation win.
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What stood out most in this duel, however, was the fact that Cheverie might finally have found the perfect piece to complete her first line. Acquired at the draft from the New York Sirens for Kristin O’Neil and the 28th overall pick, Abby Roque came as advertised. She’s got a robust physical presence, she’s not easy to move from the front of the net or to win a board battle against, and she’s got great offensive instincts.
While she was held off the scoresheet in both preseason games, she took a total of three shots and landed seven hits across the two games. At the faceoff dot, she won 10 of her 17 draws on Saturday and eight out of nine duels on Monday. Meaning that if Cheverie keeps using her on the first line, she’s got a viable option to take the draws when Poulin is thrown out for moving too quickly.
Like a lot of physical players, Roque is watched closely by the referees, and her powerful hits can sometimes lead to penalties for illegal body checking, as was the case on Monday, but she’s worth the risk. While it was her first game, skating alongside Poulin and Stacey, there was clearly a budding chemistry among the three linemates.
The Team Canada captain was consistently looking to spring her on the rush whenever she retrieved the puck in the defensive zone and was asking her to stand not far behind her in offensive zone faceoffs. That setup gave the Victoire a good shot option right off the faceoff when they won the draw.
Roque also featured on the first wave of the power play, along with her two linemates, Shiann Darkangelo and blueliner Nicole Gosling. While Montreal got six power play opportunities on Monday, including over a minute at five-on-three (on which they didn’t score, in true Montreal hockey team fashion), the power play could only muster one goal. Still, it was evident that the unit needs more seasoning to run smoothly. Stacey and Gosling, who were both playing at the point, collided twice trying to shoot the same puck, and that could have led to a Boston shorthanded goal had it not been for Debiens. Aside from that, though, the unit showed some promise, with Roque and free-agent signing Darkangelo being interesting complements for Poulin and Stacey up front.
My one negative comment on Roque so far has to be the way she took her time to come back to the bench after a new breakaway, as the play was going the other way fast, the puck clipped her as she was about to re-enter the bench, after her replacement had already gone on the ice, putting the team down a player as they were assessed a too-many players penalty. There was one other instance when she passed the puck back to the blueline, and the defender wasn’t where she was expecting her to be, prompting her to make an annoyed gesture, but that happens in the heat of the moment.
Overall, it looks like Roque will be a solid acquisition for Daniele Sauvageau, especially considering how much O’Neil struggled in Montreal last season. However, she did get a goal and an assist in her sole preseason game with the Sirens, so it may turn out as a good trade for both sides, which would be great for the league.
PWHL teams must finalize their rosters with a maximum of 23 players by Wednesday, November 19, leaving Cheverie and her staff little time to make tough decisions. The Victoire will kick off its season on Sunday, November 23, with a game against Boston and will play its home opener on Tuesday, November 25, when it hosts the Sirens at Place Bell in Laval.
