Canadian head coach Laura Schuler walked into the mixed zone at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City. She was asked what she thought of her team’s performance in their 5-2 loss in the exhibition series opener against the United States.
She paused. Then she began.
“We played awful,” she said, before another pause. “It was just a horrible performance from all of our players and we’ll address it tonight and make sure we’re better and ready in Boston.”
This was the first of six exhibition games between the top two women’s hockey countries in the world as they prepare for the 2018 Olympics in February.