Ottawa PWHL opener a big hit, at least partly because of physical play

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The first Professional Women’s Hockey League game played in Ottawa was a big hit with those who watched it — and that’s partly because of the big hits that were made on the ice.

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Your typical ‘lady-like’ behaviour, it was not.

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The fledgling league obviously doesn’t have the developed stats-taking the NHL does, so there’s no way to know the final count, but players for both Ottawa and Montreal frequently played the body ahead of the puck Tuesday night.

On Wednesday, Ottawa GM Mike Hirschfeld explained that “the league and the players have decided to play more physical, so (the referees) are letting more go.”

With the hitting, of course, often comes chippy play, which can sometimes turn into stick jabs and after-whistle pushing, shoving and chirping.

In these parts, we know that as what Stompin’ Tom Connors called “the good old hockey game.”

It’s also viewed as competing hard, with a strong and passionate desire for victory.

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The way it’s supposed to be played.

“I was just happy I wasn’t playing because I was too small to play that style,” said Ottawa coach Carla MacLeod, a former 5-foot-4, 133-pound defender with the national team. “I loved it. I think we all loved it. It’s part of the game. It’s a combative game. It’s a fierce game. And we’re allowed to be fierce in this league and that’s exactly what we want.

“I think fans love it, players love it and the refs have done a tremendous job in the first two games here to let the game be what it needs to be at this level,” she continued. “These women have trained far too hard for it not to be a physical game. And when they put it on display, we can all see how skilled and talented they really are.”

For what would become a 3-2 overtime win by the visitors, Ottawa controlled play in the scoreless first period as Montreal took the only three penalties.

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Forty minutes later, the final shots count was 28-24 in favour of Ottawa, which wound up 1-for-6 on the power play while Montreal was 0-for-2 with the extra player advantage.

“The message (from the coaching staff after the slow start) was to be more physical,” Montreal goalie Ann-Renee Desbiens said. “In the first period, we kind of let them skate around us. We’re allowed body-checking now, so we (were told to) really take advantage of that. We’ll kind of figure it out as we go. Obviously, it’s new for a lot of people, but I’m really proud of how resilient we were.”

It turned into a game you just knew would be decided by a bounce, that the last shot would win. And sure enough, it did, with the last shot coming off the stick of Ann-Sophie Bettez, a 36-year-old veteran from Sept-Iles, Que.

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“Bummed a bit about the outcome, but I don’t think we were bummed about how we played,” Ottawa captain Brianne Jenner said. “I think we had a great product out there, we were pretty proud of our team and how we started, and it was pretty cool to see that the fans stuck with us the whole game. They were cheering so loud at the end it was as if we won, so we’re pretty excited about that and excited to play back here again.”

“I think it’s really fun that we get to play physical,” she added. “I think we have to own that and keep that a part of our game.”

MacLeod was overwhelmed by the support shown on Tuesday, from the opening ceremonies and introductions with pumped-up fans waving their phone lights while cheering all the way through to her post-game press conference held in a crowded locker room at TD Place.

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“This is incredible,” MacLeod said. “To see all of you here covering us and in our journey and our league, our team, I’ve never ever seen anything like this so I hope my make-up is done well enough. Dim those lights if it’s not please.

“But what a thrill and honestly from from myself and our organization and within our league, thank you. You guys tell our story, and without you we we can’t share it with everyone else. We had 8,300 fans in there tonight and through this lens of sharing it through the media, we’ll just keep growing and growing.”

Asked what she will remember most from the night, MacLeod paused and glanced to the back of the room at Jayna Hefford, a former medal-winning winger with the national team and now senior vice-president of the PWHL.

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“All of it,” said MacLeod, her voice cracking slightly. “I think I’ve actually been wiping away subtle tears, in all honesty. It’s a moment that isn’t lost on me. I just made eye contact with Jayna Hefford, and you know what she’s done for us in this league and what she’s done for the game. This game in my mind is for her too.

“I just think we have fought so, so long to have a room full of people wanting to share our story, and we have this moment. We fought so, so long to have fans get excited to watch women play hockey. I got to talk to my mentors today. I got to be with the team that I love working with. All of it is so special.

“And again, I just say thank you to everyone because this is what we wanted. And the fact that it’s here is a little bit surreal, but we’re going to run with it now. So we need you to keep telling our story, please. And we’ll keep giving the product and probably some fisticuffs along the way.

“But it’s a great product. These women are the incredible athletes, and this league is here to stay.”

dbrennan@postmedia.com

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