A single point in overtime loss is something, but clock is working against Sceptres

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Another decent performance from the Toronto Sceptres earned them a point on Sunday in an a 3-2 overtime loss to the visiting Minnesota Frost.

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Decent, however, is going to cut it for only so long. This Sceptres team is running out of runway as it tries to land on a PWHL playoff spot.

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The team now has 10 games remaining and five games in total that are head-to-head clashes with the two teams they must pass to secure a playoff berth.

For the second game in a row, though, the Sceptres settled for one point in a game in which they had the lead and let it slip away.

On Sunday it was power-play goal in regulation by Taylor Heise that tied the game, then another power play goal, engineered by Heise but scored by Kelly Pannek in overtime that denied Toronto the multiple point game it coveted.

Again, all is not lost. Those five games that remain against the Ottawa Charge (2) and New York Sirens (3) will likely decide this team’s playoff fate.

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After their overtime loss Sunday combined with New York’s 6-2 win over Ottawa, the Sceptres are in sixth place, a point back of the Charge and two behind the Sirens. Both teams have a game in hand on Toronto.

Following are out takeaways:

KIRK SOLID AGAIN

Two goals on the man advantage and one five-on-five is not a bad afternoon’s work for a goalkeeper.
Sceptres head coach Troy Ryan believes Raygan Kirk would like to have one of those back, but all things considered — and considering Minnesota threw 35 pucks at her — it was another solid day for Kirk who was playing in her fourth consecutive game since the Olympic break.

Ryan maintains he has yet to name a No. 1, so don’t be surprised to see Elaine Chuli get the nod in the Sceptres’ next game Sunday at home to the first-place Boston Fleet.

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But Kirk seems to be slowly building her case for No. 1 status.

The lone five-on-five goal she allowed came on a breakaway to Denisa Krizova in the first period.

She stopped at least two other breakaways in the game and did a nice job of limiting rebounds this time, coming out of her net to smother the puck before those pesky Minnesota forwards could do any damage.

ALL THAT WORK

Ryan and his team spent plenty of practice time this past week working on their power play which has been a major cause of consternation for all involved from the coaches right down to the players on those units.

Unfortunately, the officials didn’t see fit to call the Frost for any infractions on Sunday, meaning that work now won’t get game-tested until at least next Sunday.

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Minnesota, meanwhile, had three player advantages, including that one in overtime that led to the game-winning goal.

Renata Fast, who just moments earlier had her stick snapped in half midway up the shaft courtesy of a Britta Curl slash while parked net-side looking to push a loose puck across for the winner, was in the box for a trip on Curl as the Sceptres were breaking out of their zone.

Fast was incensed at the call given the non-call she just endured a whistle prior.

Ryan traditionally plays down moments like these as potential game-changers. He was more upset on the play just before Minnesota tied the game off a faceoff in Toronto’s zone. The Sceptres appeared to win a board battle and were on their way out of the zone when the officials blew the play dead thinking the puck was tied up.

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Ryan correctly pointed out that this would have negated the stoppage and prevented Minnesota from winning that Toronto zone faceoff that eventually led to Heise’s game-tying goal.

THE POSITIVES

When the Sceptres were good on Sunday, they were really, really good. Whether it was maintaining possession in the Frost zone with some hard work behind the net or getting the opposition running around a bit with a series of drop passes as they skated circles in the Minnesota end, there were times in the game when it looked like Toronto could do no wrong.

Ryan admitted post-game that that was something the team had been working on through the week and it looked great when it was all clicking.

THE NEGATIVES

In the third period, Minnesota seemed to spend 17 of the 20 minutes in Toronto’s end, outshooting the Sceptres 12-4 and owning the bulk of the possession time.

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Natalie Spooner, playing on a line with Emma Maltais and Maggie Connors, felt the Sceptres had their chances and liked the way they played in chunks of the game, but felt it was a matter of finding a way to play that way for a full 60 minutes, a target they have yet to hit this season.

QUICK HITS

Heise, the league’s first ever first overall pick, has had success against most teams in the PWHL, but for whatever reason, she seems to save her best for the Toronto Sceptres. Heise had a goal and two assists, factoring in on all three Minnesota goals on Sunday. She was a major force in both playoff wins over the Sceptres in the Frost’s two Cup runs … Coming into the current season, Minnesota was thought to be up against it from a defensive standpoint. In the off-season they lost both Claire Thompson and Sophie Jaques in the expansion draft and then saw Maggie Flaherty and Melissa Channell-Watkins depart in free agency. That’s a big chunk of Ken Klee’s defence corps, but Minny has filled the caps. They drafted Kendall Cooper and brought in Sidney Morin as a free agent. Mae Batherson has a full year under her belt and is logging more ice tine while Natalie Buchbinder has seen her playing time increase and has responded accordingly. What was once thought to be a bit of a hole in Minnesota’s championship pedigree no longer looks like such a big issue.

mganter @postmedia.com
X: @mike_ganter

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