TORONTO, ON (March 6, 2024) – Natalie Spooner had a goal and an assist, leading Toronto to a 3-1 victory over Boston at Mattamy Athletic Centre on Wednesday evening.
With the win, Toronto has now won a season-high eight straight games—they now have 27 points on the season and sit in a tie for second place with Minnesota.
Toronto starter Kristen Campbell made 22 saves to secure her ninth straight victory between the pipes.
Spooner’s first point of the game came by way of an assist on Allie Munroe’s first period tally, which gave the home team a 1-0 lead at 3:25 of the frame.
Sarah Nurse picked up the puck at the offensive blue line and took it across the ice in front of a Boston defender, snapping a shot on net and forcing Boston goaltender Aerin Frankel to make a pad save. Munroe followed up the rush and got a stick on the rebound, putting the puck in for her first goal of the PWHL season.
Spooner extended Toronto’s lead to 2-0, scoring her league-leading 12th goal of the season late in the first when she stole the puck from a Boston stick at the attacking blue line, creating a breakaway chance in tight. Spooner made a slick move to her backhand and roofed the puck over Frankel. Spooner leads the PWHL in goals and sits third in points with 15, just two back of co-leaders Alex Carpenter (NY) and Marie-Philip Poulin (MTL).
Toronto continued their bid for eight straight by extending their lead to 3-0 early in the second period off the stick of Maggie Connors.
Connors picked up her third goal of the year when the forward took a pass at the point from Renata Fast and walked the line, allowing a screen to set up in front of Frankel before firing a shot on net that found the top corner. Captain Blayre Turnbull picked up the secondary assist.
Goaltender Emma Söderberg started the third period in the Boston net. The change seemed to spark the Boston team as they outshot Toronto 12-11 in the frame, the only period in which they had the advantage in the category.
Boston got on the board late in the third when forward Amanda Pelkey denied a clearing attempt by Toronto at the blue line, sending the puck to teammate Taylor Girard at the sideboards. Girard carried it across the ice where she dropped it to a trailing Jess Healey. Healey wired a wrist shot through a screen and over the glove of Campbell for her first PWHL marker, which made the game 3-1 with just over five minutes remaining in the game.
Spooner had a chance to seal the victory with Söderberg on the bench and the Boston net empty, but Toronto was instead awarded a late powerplay when a footrace to the puck resulted in a hooking penalty against the visiting team.
Toronto had a 5-on-3 advantage shortly after but was unable to convert on the opportunity.
Frankel stopped 15 shots in two periods of play. Söderberg stopped all 11 shots she faced in the third period.
Up next, Toronto hosts first-place Montréal on Friday at Mattamy Athletic Centre at 7:00 p.m. ET. Boston returns home on Sunday for an afternoon tilt against New York, with the puck drop set for 3:00 p.m. ET at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell.
Postgame Quotes:
Head Coach Troy Ryan on the 3-1 victory: “The game is in a much better place, but I’d probably echo the same comments to be honest. I think if you talk to our group, they’re happy and they’re gaining confidence, but we still have a long way to go. We have to clean up our game. I thought there were a lot of good things, but there’s some passive sides of us when we get the lead. We got to learn to really put teams away.
Toronto’s Allie Munroe on her first PWHL goal: “It was pretty cool, not the prettiest one, but just going hard to the net and Nursey made a good play so just happy to get my first and get the win.”
Boston head coach Courtney Kessel: “I think we’re seeing the same thing over and over again. We’re waiting until we’re down to play with urgency and that’s not going to work in this league. We need to see it consistently for 60 minutes.”
Boston forward Susanna Tapani: “I think we played well. It’s tough to lose when you fight a good battle. We just have to do the small things better.”
Notes:
- Attendance: 2,479 – Mattamy Athletic Centre, Toronto, ON.
- Three Stars: 1) Natalie Spooner 2) Allie Munroe 3) Kristen Campbell
- Shots ended 29-23 in favour of Toronto — They outshot Boston in the first (6-5) and second (12-6) but were outshot 12-11 in the third.
- Boston’s Susanna Tapani led all players with five shots — Natalie Spooner was second with four.
- Toronto was 0/2 on the powerplay — Boston was 0/3.
- Toronto scored two goals in the first period for the first time all season.
- Toronto’s eighth straight win accounts for one-third of the total regular season schedule (24 games).
- Campbell’s 10th win leads the league and doubles the next highest totals.
- — She has also faced the most shots (360) and made the most saves (331).
- Spooner’s league-leading 12 goals put her four ahead of Alex Carpenter (NY) and Marie-Philip Poulin (MTL), who sit second in the category.
- This was Spooner’s fifth multi-point game of the season and second in a row.
- Blayre Turnbull extends her point streak to four games (1G, 3A).
- Sarah Nurse (2G, 3A) and Renata Fast (5A) extend their point streaks to three games.
- Maggie Connors has scored in back-to-back games.
- Toronto now sits tied with Montréal in goal differential at +6.
- Toronto (7-3-0-5) collects three points to tie Minnesota for second in the PWHL standings with 27 points — Toronto has a game in hand and one more regulation victory (7) — They sit three behind first-place Montréal.
- Boston (4-2-2-6) remains in fourth place with 18 points, one point ahead of Ottawa and two ahead of New York — They are nine points back of both Minnesota and Toronto.
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