After Wild Weekend vs Whitecaps, Riveters Will Enjoy Bye Week
October 17, 2019 - Premier Hockey Federation (PHF)
Metropolitan Riveters News Release
The mood was light at the Metropolitan Riveters Monday night practice, just over 24 hours after they left Minnesota with a weekend split against the defending champs. The chatter on the ice was noticeable. Not that they hadn't had lively practices before, but even if they were running on fumes after a dramatic overtime triumph for their first win of the new season, there were no signs of fatigue.
"I told them before tonight's practice: we got in late from our flights, so today would be a recovery practice, have fun and be loose," Rivs bench boss Ivo Mocek said following the hour-long session. "Thursday we'll get back to work."
Injured defender Leila Kilduff (lower body) stood along the outside of the sideboards for the duration of practice and banged on the glass when her teammates skated by while shouting their names or words of encouragement. Kilduff will be back on the practice ice very soon and when the Riveters head up to Boston for a two-game set against the Pride on Oct. 26-27, they should have a full roster for the first time all season. Veteran blueliner Kiira Dosdall will be joining the team for her first practice this week and on Thursdays, before their weekend games, Colleen Murphy and Kate Leary will be descending upon New Jersey to join their mates for some on-ice work.
Mocek felt his team's play on Saturday's 9-2 loss didn't truly reflect how they played in the game and informed goaltender Sam Walther after their team dinner that night that she'd be starting again on Sunday. "I felt that we did a lot of good things that game, and we obviously did some bad things (too)," he said. Turnovers and defensive mistakes were backbreakers, but the team watched video Sunday morning and corrections were made.
Walther brought her A-game on Sunday (37 saves) and backstopped the team to its first win along with her and coach Mocek's first NWHL win. "After the game Saturday I told her that I believe in her and we all do. She prepared well and she made some huge saves for us," he said. "They may have out-shot us (Sunday), but most of those shots were not high-quality shots. I kept telling the team on the bench, in the locker room, to keep them to the outside and let's be patient."
As for the upcoming rematch with Boston, who downed the Riveters 4-2 on opening day, Mocek is already looking forward to another opportunity against the league's lone remaining unbeaten team. "Having our entire squad for those games will be huge," said Mocek. "That will make a big difference that weekend with back-to-back games in Boston."
Mocek also noted that the team's mood would have been a tad bit different if they were sitting at 0-3-0 heading into a long bye week were the sluggish start would linger. "I think we needed that win on Sunday," added the Rivs coach.
"He's been awesome. He knows the game, he knows how to talk to us and explain things to us the right way," rookie forward Kendall Cornine replied when asked about her new coach.
"I still have that game (against the Pride) from two Saturdays ago in my head," Mocek replied with a chuckle when asked if he had watched any video yet on Boston's weekend sweep of the Buffalo Beauts. "Like, vividly. We'll go over their games from the weekend but I already have an idea of what our game plan should be to have a better outcome than we did two Saturdays ago."
Cornine, for one, is looking forward to a chance at redemption after the Rivs nearly came away with a win in the opener. "We had the lead late in the third period," said the team's leading goal scorer, "so we're definitely hungry to get back on the ice against them. I think we'll be a lot stronger because we've had more practices, games, we'll have more players in our lineup."
The Riveters still have more work to do but for now, they'll enjoy this bye week, use it to their advantage and be ready to go when they take the ice in Boston.
Premier Hockey Federation Stories from October 17, 2019
- Montreal-Based ROCKET SPORT Becomes An Official Sponsor of the NWHL - PHF
- After Wild Weekend vs Whitecaps, Riveters Will Enjoy Bye Week - Metropolitan Riveters
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