EDMONTON – Sunday marked the third time the Toronto Sceptres have performed in an NHL-sized enviornment this season.
The workforce talked little or no about what it will be wish to play in entrance of a sold-out Rogers Place, as a result of they’d already performed within the massive arenas the Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks name residence.
However the Sceptres, regardless of being on a three-game win streak, got here out flat, gave up a purpose to Ottawa’s Gabbie Hughes on the primary shot of the sport, and had been outshot 17-2 within the opening interval.
But, they discovered their means again into the sport, and when Daryl Watts scored a wraparound purpose 51 seconds into time beyond regulation, it lifted the surging Sceptres to a 3-2 Skilled Ladies’s Hockey League victory over the Cost.
It was Watts’ second purpose of the sport following a second-period power-play marker. Julia Gosling additionally scored for Toronto (6-2-4-6) with the person benefit. Gosling’s marker discovered its means by the pads of Cost goalie Emerance Maschmeyer with 23.4 seconds left within the second interval.
Ottawa fell to 6-0-3-8 with the loss.
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The Edmonton recreation was the fifth of 9 PWHL “Takeover Tour” neutral-site video games which can be on the league’s schedule for 2024-25.
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“That is such a cool expertise for all of us,” mentioned Watts. “It’s not on a regular basis that you simply get to play in an NHL rink, particularly this one, it’s so lovely. It was electrical. It was exhausting to not get extremely excited.”
However, had it not been for the play of Sceptres netminder Raygan Kirk, there would have been no Toronto comeback. She gave up a purpose on Ottawa’s first shot, however then held the Sceptres within the recreation, permitting Toronto to exit the primary solely down 1-0.
“Kirky performed very well,” mentioned Sceptres coach Troy Ryan. “She simply appeared assured in there. She was very stable and gave us somewhat time to get our legs beneath us.
“They (the workforce) simply settled down and had a dialog between durations and constructed off the inspiration that Kirky supplied, and gave us a window again into the sport.”
Toronto outshot Ottawa 19-5 within the second, and scored two power-play objectives to take the lead.
“I clearly actually appreciated our first interval, in all probability the most effective durations we’ve had all season,” mentioned Cost coach Carla MacLeod, who hails from the Edmonton suburb of Spruce Grove.
However she mentioned her workforce wasn’t prepared for Toronto’s pushback.
“They had been on their toes. We knew they had been going to should be that means. That’s the response to a interval like they’d within the first.”
Ottawa tied the sport at 4:10 of the third, because the Cost’s Tereza Vanisova walked right into a shot from the slot. It was the Czech’s team-leading eighth purpose of the season.
Maschmeyer stopped 31 of 34 photographs. Kirk made 33 saves.
Maschmeyer hails from the close by city of Bruderheim, whereas Cost teammates Danielle Serdachny and Stephanie Markowski are from Edmonton. Every mentioned they needed to discover between 70 and 100 tickets for buddies, household and outdated coaches and teammates.
“We’re going to understand this second far past this time, no matter whether or not we gained or misplaced,” mentioned Serdachny. “It’s sort of particular for everybody concerned, and we’re grateful for the help we obtained as we speak.”
“It’s a house recreation for us,” mentioned Maschmeyer. “It’s really a house recreation, in entrance of our family and friends and the coaches and the individuals we went to high school with.”
Toronto scratched reigning league MVP Natalie Spooner, who made her return from damage in Wednesday’s win over Minnesota. With this being the workforce’s third recreation in 5 days, Spooner was given the afternoon off for “load administration.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Feb. 16, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
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