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’Historic day’ helps put Toronto’s PWHL-opening loss in perspective


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As momentous a day as Monday was for the game of girls’s hockey, no championship was handed out.

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And that was the message inside the room for Toronto PWHL after a disappointing 4-0 loss to New York.

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As laborious as that first sport loss was to swallow, notably when everybody was celebrating the accomplishment of a league that may set girls up professionally for years to return, it was nonetheless only one sport.

So there was no video session reliving the 4-0 loss because the staff reconvened for follow in anticipation of Friday’s sport in Bridgeport, Conn., the place Toronto will see the identical opponent.

Toronto PWHL head coach Troy Ryan was in no hurry to have his staff relive what was, on one hand, the day their desires got here true and, on the opposite, a little bit of a disappointment.

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Usually, it’s Ryan’s follow to spend the day after a win or a loss going over video and studying the place his staff could be higher. And sure, that may come.

However after acknowledging Monday’s first PHWL sport wasn’t simply any outdated sport, Ryan determined it was greatest to carry off on the corrections and provides his staff a bit time to replicate on the day that modified girls’s hockey endlessly.

Ryan is aware of higher than most what this primary PWHL sport meant to so lots of the girls on his staff and with that in thoughts he’s not about to get too labored up over the outcome.

“You’ll be able to’t,” he stated. “If it surfaced too many occasions in a row, you’d have some considerations. One of many issues I stated to my household yesterday and coaches that have been round after we went for dinner after the sport, you consider how loopy it might have been for a coach to be actually adverse or be actually laborious, laborious on anybody (after an occasion like that.)

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“It’s not being gentle. It’s not as a result of they’re girls. It’s none of these issues that folks will say, however while you consider how large the sport was from a historic standpoint … simply sense of delight for all these athletes. Typically a coach who’s unaware might destroy that entire day and that have and I simply needed no a part of that.”

Fans hold signs before Toronto plays New York in their PWHL hockey game at the Mattamy Athletic Centre on Monday, Jan. 1, 2024, in Toronto.
Followers maintain indicators earlier than Toronto performs New York of their PWHL hockey sport on the Mattamy Athletic Centre on Monday, Jan. 1, 2024, in Toronto. Photograph by Mark Blinch /Getty Photos

Ryan will voice his opinion and level out the areas that want correcting, however a minimum of on this circumstance, to take action straight away and overshadow the day that was with any kind of negativity simply felt mistaken.

Kali Flanagan was like loads of the ladies reflecting on the sport a day later. The Toronto defender actually wasn’t pleased with the outcome, however acknowledged the circumstances across the sport that led to a tough begin for the Toronto girls.

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“I don’t know,” Flanagan stated when requested concerning the out-of-character play by Toronto on Monday. “It’s a kind of issues the place it was a super-emotional sport and so there was a giant anticipation and clearly a historic day. We had been ready for it for a very long time, so form of simply driving off the coattails of that.”

Flanagan stated the message from the staff management group – captain Blayre Turnbull together with assistants Renata Quick and Jocelyne Larocque in addition to Flanagan, Sarah Nurse and Emma Maltais – was principally depart this one behind and never dwell on it.

“We’re simply going to form of try to flush no matter breakdowns we had and concentrate on the positives going into Friday,” Flanagan stated.

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And whereas there might not be any actual obvious positives in that one-sided rating from Monday, it doesn’t take loads of digging to search out just a few.

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Toronto outshot New York, had extra time within the opposition finish than New York and gained the turnover battle, to checklist simply three. However none of that confirmed up on the scoreboard as a result of Toronto didn’t execute the remainder of the sport plan.

“What it exhibits is we weren’t doing the little issues to make these issues profit our sport,” Ryan stated of the battles Toronto gained. “Our offensive zone possession time was nice. We had 62 tried pictures on internet. However the best way we performed, we must have had 202 to attain a purpose. We had nobody on the internet entrance, nobody off the weak facet. If you’re not offering these variables, most goalies on this league are going to make these saves.”

Friday can’t come quickly sufficient for this staff.

Mganter@postmedia.com

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