Sceptres make it two in a row with win in Vancouver

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Under less than ideal conditions, the Toronto Sceptres did exactly what they needed to do.

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Down their top scorer in Daryl Watts who was sidelined by illness, and with most of the rest of its core running on fumes after a return from the Olympics in Italy turned immediately into a trip to the west coast, the Sceptres put all that behind them and got six of a possible six points in games in Seattle and Vancouver.

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The 2-1 win over the Goldeneyes on Sunday was pure grit as the Sceptres got an early 2-0 lead and then held on with the hosts getting stronger as the game went on.

Full marks to goaltender Raygan Kirk who turned aside 25 of 26 shots for her second win in a row.

To a player, the Sceptres were aware of the predicament a less-than-stellar first half to the season put them in and they have responded.

Both goals Sunday came from unlikely sources with Sara Hjalmarsson ripping home a puck off a nice feed from Claire Dalton.

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It was Hjalmarsson’s second goal of the season and second in as many games, although this one was a little more special given it wasn’t an empty-netter.

Dalton created Toronto’s second goal as well finding Lauren Messier, who has spent the bulk of the season on Toronto’s reserve list before being activated for this road trip with Emma Gentry nursing an injury.

Messier went low and short-side beating Emerance Maschmeyer for her first PWHL goal. Dalton didn’t just set the goal up, she retrieved the puck as a keepsake for her young Burlington teammate.

Following are our takeaways from the afternoon win in Vancouver:

PLAYING WITH DESPERATION

As good as Kirk was in the Toronto net, the defence in front of her (both defenders and forwards) deserve some credit too.

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The Sceptres blocked 13 shots, none bigger than the one by Kiara Zanon in the last couple of minutes with the Goldeneyes buzzing around the Toronto zone. Zanon, a rookie snapped her stick on the play and immediately headed for the bench as the play went the other way, allowing Toronto to get some fresh legs out to fight off Vancouver’s final push.

But it wasn’t just Zanon sacrificing. Emma Woods, Dalton and Maggie Connors probably took as many hits as they have all season to keep the Goldeneyes from getting the puck.

It was a team effort from front to back and the Sceptres needed all of it to get out of B.C. with three points.

HAS KIRK WON THE NET?

It’s no secret that Troy Ryan has been waiting for one of his two goaltenders to become the starter. Both Kirk and Elaine Chuli have had moments when they have excelled but until these past two games that Kirk put together, neither have had what one would consider defining games in consecutive starts.

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Putting a wrinkle in this theory is the fact that Toronto’s next game, Tuesday against Montreal, is probably the team that Chuli has played her best hockey against. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Chuli get this game after
Kirk played both out west. But if Ryan does want to establish a No. 1 in the pecking order he can do so by going back to Kirk.

ON THE SAME PAGE

Throughout that disappointing first half, there were a handful of occasions when Ryan and sometimes the Sceptres players themselves would talk after a loss and speak about not having the full buy-in from everyone in the room.

Through these two games on the west coast, this team appears to have full buy-in again. Pucks are being dumped in and retrieved in the offensive end for scoring opportunities. In their own end, the Sceptres are playing a structured five-person defence that is keeping opponents on the periphery forcing them to score from distance. It all feels less reactive and more sustainable.

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Of course the results they got out west would tend to push the narrative in that direction, but there just feels like there is more of an overall sense of calm.

Montreal will certainly test this on Tuesday, but if this is actually the case and the Sceptres have found a rhythm, it could just lead to the extended run of wins that they require to get all the way back into playoff contention.

QUICK HITS

Nice to see Kali Flanagan using the offensive side of her game as much as she is right now. Flanagan is a dynamic puck-carrier who can enter the offensive zone with speed to set up her teammates. She seemed to be doing more of that in these past two games … Seeing Julia Gosling thriving in Seattle and Izzy Daniel leading the Goldeneyes in scoring just underscores what the Sceptres lost in last year’s expansion draft. Throw in Megan Carter who has helped solidify its Seattle back end and you see just how good that 2024 draft was for Toronto. All three were picks in that draft and all three are now playing leading roles for teams that are realizing the benefits of the development they had over that first year in Toronto … With the three points, Toronto is now just one back of New York for the fourth and final playoff spot. Between Toronto and New York is Ottawa, also at 23 point, but like New York, has a game in hand on Toronto.

mganter@postmedia.com

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