Every game feels extra important when you’ve got only 24 of them, and Sunday’s PWHL matinee between Montreal and Minnesota is certainly no exception.
A road win for Montreal would end the club’s losing skid at a pivotal time in the season. A loss would give it four straight, dating back to a 3-0 loss to Toronto on March 8 — and nearly a month to dwell on it.
That four-week hiatus from PWHL competition is due to the Women’s World Championship in Utica, New York, April 3-14. It’ll be a sprint to the PWHL playoffs upon the league’s return, with little room for error.
Moments like these require a balancing act in order to maintain an even mindset in the midst of a skid, explains Montreal forward Kristin O’Neill.
“The past three games have been super close, and acknowledging that it could have gone either way is important,” she says. “But also, just acknowledging where the mistakes were made and taking time after each game to watch your shifts and see how you can improve as an individual and see how you can impact the team more.”
It’s also about channeling emotions into action.
“If you’re thinking about the fact that we just lost a game — I mean, you should be mad about that, right? … We hate losing,” she says. “But [it’s important to] turn that into energy that we can work to improve on things instead of dwelling on it.”
That balancing act applies to O’Neill’s role on the ice, too. The Cornell grad and former Big Red captain has become known for her gritty playing style, and that edge with which she plays is a major reason she’s landed a spot on the worlds roster each year since 2021. Since being drafted seventh overall by Montreal last fall, she’s been working hard to strike a balance between the defensive game on which she’s forged her identity with the national team and the offensive production needed to help Montreal down the stretch.
She scored her first goal of the season last weekend against rival Toronto at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh — part of the PWHL’s City Takeover weekend — and now has a chance to build on that success Sunday in Minnesota.
O’Neill spoke with Sportsnet earlier this week about her experience in the PWHL, the challenges of embracing a larger role with Montreal, what lies ahead on the league and world stage and how she’s balancing it all.
We’re three-quarters of the way through the inaugural PWHL season. What has your experience been like?
It has been way more than I expected, honestly — the professionalism of everything, how we’re treated, the support staff that we have here in Montreal. And the fans have been unreal, especially at our home games.
Even the level of play is more than I expected — like, every single game feels like it’s a playoff game.
How have you seen your group come together and find chemistry these last three months?
I think at the beginning of the season, for me at least, I took team chemistry a little bit for granted. And I think when we got into our games, I think we did feel like that’s what we were lacking. Because we spent so much time on Xs and Os, but we really haven’t spent much time together. As the season has gone on and we’ve experienced ups and downs together, I think we’ve definitely been building that team feel and that team culture.
The more we experience together has been great for our group, talking about the problems that arise in the season. I mean, right now, we just lost three games in a row, but I think our group has felt closer than ever because we’ve really tried to break down what’s happening in these games — why aren’t we coming out with success? And I think, from a coaching and leadership standpoint, it’s been great to see everyone trying to solve these problems.
You’ve carved out a pretty solid identity and role on the Canadian national team. How have you viewed your role and your personal growth with Montreal?
I played a pretty defensive role in the past [with Team Canada]. … I do realize my strength in that, and the contribution I can make. But I think, sometimes, I sort of overlook the offence that I can bring myself. I really want to provide as much offence as I can while not taking a step back in the defensive role that I play. Finding the perfect balance of the two has been a bit of an adjustment for me.
I’m trying every game to keep that offensive and gritty style of play that I have played with in the past while trying to contribute to offence as much as I can.
You’ve touched on the perfect word there — gritty — that I think comes up so much when it comes to describing your style of play. Where does that physical style of play come from?
I’ve really never been asked that question [laughs]. Honestly, I don’t know. I think I just am the way I am.
Personally, I find that grittiness is kind of a quality that you either do everything with or kind of the opposite. Even in school, I feel like I’m the type of person who doesn’t just get good grades — I have to study for, like, eight hours to get good grades, but I’m willing to do that. So, I feel like that’s kind of my gritty attribute showing up in that way. I just feel like I’m the type of person who’s always had to work super hard for what they get, whereas sometimes for others, it comes super naturally. I just feel like, that gritty — I don’t know what you call it; just grit, I guess — is just what I’ve had to be in order to get where I am.
How would you describe Montreal’s fans?
Oh, my gosh. Montreal fans are honestly just what I expected — like, they are diehard hockey fans. I really feel the support, which is awesome.
We show up at the rink every day and there are letters to us and things that people want us to sign. I just really feel like the fans want this league to succeed, want to see the best for our team. They want to get behind their own city and have us represent them. It’s been an incredible experience to get to know a few individual fans, and seeing all the little girls show up to our games has been awesome.
We saw earlier this week that tickets went on sale for your April 20 game at the Bell Centre, and sold out in less than an hour. What does that mean to you?
It’s so exciting. It’s also pretty cool that we’re playing Toronto — we just played Toronto at Scotiabank Arena, and it feels like the fans here want to beat the Toronto fans [laughs].
I think it’s a safe bet.
Yeah. The Montreal-Toronto rivalry is so strong already. It’s super exciting. We’re just we’re really looking forward to it.
Obviously, some of the biggest stars of this Montreal-Toronto rivalry are also your teammates with Team Canada. What do you think it’ll feel like, having everyone back together ahead of the world championship next month?
Honestly, when I get to worlds, I’m going to be super relieved, not having to play against some of them for a couple of weeks [laughs].
We want what’s best for each other as Team Canada teammates, but I think when you’re on the ice [in the PWHL], we don’t have any friends. I think most people feel that way, and if something were to happen, there’s no hard feelings — which is the way it should be, right? It’s fun to get both perspectives.