How Ted Lasso inspired belief for Ottawa Charge players
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It sounds cliché, but, shining individual performances aside, the Ottawa Charge has uncovered its best self by coming together as a team.
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And the timing couldn't be better.
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By defeating the Montreal Victoire on Friday night at TD Place, the Charge would advance to the Walter Cup final against the defending champion Minnesota Frost, which eliminated the Toronto Sceptres in the other PWHL semifinal on Wednesday.
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Ottawa would have home-ice advantage in a best-of-five for the title against Minnesota based on a higher regular-season finish than the Frost.
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Dropping Game 4 of its showdown with the first-place Victoire wouldn't be the end of the world for the Charge, which took a 2-1 series with Tuesday's 1-0 victory in the nation's capital.
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But the importance of putting an opponent out when it's down gets amplified when the foe is led by the trio of Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey and Jennifer Gardiner — the best line in the world of women's hockey.
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Avoiding a decisive game in Montreal on Sunday evening can be accomplished if the Charge continues to minimize their damage and keep doing what it has done in winning six of its past eight games.
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'Ted Lasso is on to something,' head coach Carla MacLeod said when asked how — after two seasons of more lows than highs — the Charge was peaking with its first foray into the playoffs. 'I know a lot of people sort of fluff over it just because it was such a great, fun show, but the level of belief is a critical piece. And, as a player, when you believe in yourself and one another, I can just tell you, great things can occur. It allows you to go through adversity better as well. I think that's where we sit as a team. We're not being wavered by what the game is doing. We realize, if we're down a goal, we can get a goal back. If we're up a goal, we can work to go get the next one. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, but the energy is consistent, and I think that's the most important component.
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'We've never strayed from what we believe was going to help us be successful, and we understood that in any process, there's going to be ebbs and flows,' MacLeod added. 'I have to give a lot of credit to our room. We've faced the adversity head-on. It's not always easy, but, if you don't lose sight of what the end goal is and if you believe in the people around you, it's unbelievable what can transpire.'
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Through almost 10 periods of play on the road in Games 1 and the overtime marathon that was Game 2, Ottawa held Poulin, Stacey and Gardiner to two goals, including one on the power play.
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With the last line change at TD Place in Game 3, the Charge turned off Montreal's power source completely despite allowing that line to combine for 14 of the visitors' 26 shots on goal.
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