ANALYSIS – The Toronto Sceptres were dominant at both ends of the ice, as well as on special teams. As a result, the Sceptres earned their first win against the Montreal Victoire in the 2024-25 PWHL season.
Toronto Sceptres Were Dominant at the Coca-Cola Coliseum
The Toronto Sceptres Special Teams Were Excellent
Two of the Toronto Sceptres four goals came from the powerplay. Both of those goals were scored by Natalie Spooner. These goals included:
- Julia Gosling delivered a fantastic pass to Natalie Spooner, who after a few whacks at the puck scored.
- Spooner deflected Renata Fast’s shot to score her second goal of the game.
Spooner was awarded the IIHF Women’s Player of the Year last year as well as leading the league in goals scored and total points in the Sceptres’ inaugural season. However, she has just recently come back from injury and now has scored two goals for her team.
Add in the fact that the Victoire were 0-5 on the powerplay and also 0 for 17 on the powerplay against the Toronto Sceptres this season. The Sceptres did a good job on the penalty kill, not allowing the Victoire to get a shot on goal on the last two powerplays as well as Hayley Scamurra almost scoring a shorthanded goal.
Toronto Sceptres Had Many Goal-Scoring Opportunities
The Montreal Victoire defence had trouble containing the Sceptres offence. One clear example was Hannah Miller, who was able to get past the Victoire defence and generate several scoring chances for her team.
Some others included:
- Maggie Connors was left unattended by the Montreal Victoire. This led to a one-on-one with Elaine Chuli, in which she scored a goal for the Sceptres.
- From very close range, Allie Muller was able to get to the puck and score for the Sceptres.
The shots on goal for both teams are misleading when one just looks at the box score. The Sceptres had by far the more dangerous scoring chances and it played a role in shaping the result of the game.
Toronto Sceptres Defence and Goaltending Was Excellent
The Sceptres really did well with both their defence and goaltending. They limited the number of high opportune scoring chances that the Victoire had throughout the game. Some examples of this include:
- Megan Carter blocked shots throughout the game and made sure Laura Stacy did not get comfortable early in the game.
- Kristen Campbell made an acrobatic save late in the game. She also saved a shot from Erin Ambrose that was deflected by Carla Barnes.
The Sceptres might be disappointed by allowing the late goal to Marie-Philip Poulin. Still, it was a fantastic game played by the Sceptres as they shut down the Victoire for most of the game.
Other Factors: Montreal Victoire Defence Was Not Solid
As highlighted by Connors goal, the Victoire had trouble preventing the Sceptres from having many scoring opportunities. They were also many one-on-one scoring opportunities with Hayley Scamurra and Hannah Miller, that was stopped by Ann-Renée Desbiens and Chuli.
The Victoire will also need to figure out their powerplay as they had trouble scoring goals. They are now 0-for-17 against the Sceptres alone this season. Still, credit should also be given to the Sceptres, who were hungry for a win at the Coca-Cola Coliseum.
State of Both Teams
The Montreal Victoire, despite the loss, are still first in the PWHL with 31 points. They are still clear favourites to have the most points at the end of the PWHL season.
READ MORE: Toronto Sceptres Powerplay Was Clinical Against the Boston Fleet
This is while the Toronto Sceptres, in their last eight games, have lost only one game. Every other game the Sceptres have either been won in overtime or in regulation. As a result, the Sceptres now jump to second place in the PWHL standings. It is important to note though that the Boston Fleet, who has played one less game, are only one point behind the Sceptres.
The Sceptres only have nine games left while the Victoire has eight games left in the PWHL season. As the regular season comes to a close, these games will become more important as PWHL teams try to earn playoff spots.
Games Coming Up For Both Teams
For the Sceptres, they will continue to look to continue their run at the Coca-Cola Coliseum. They will have two more games against the Minnesota Frost at 1:00PM EDT on March 9 as well as the New York Sirens at 7:00PM EDT on March 19.
All two games for the Sceptres will be shown live on TSN. In addition, the Minnesota game will be shown live at FanDuel, and the New York game at MSGSN.
This is while the Montreal Victoire’s schedule will be quite tough. They will continue playing on the road for three more games with the Boston Fleet at the Agganis Arena at 2:00PM EST. Then they travel to the Prudential Center against the New York Sirens on March 12 at 7:00PM EDT. They will then travel again to face the Boston Fleet on the road, but this time at the Tsongas Arena at 7:00PM EDT.
Both games against the Boston Fleet will be shown on NESN in the U.S. In Canada, the first game against Boston will be shown on CBC and Radio-Canada, while the second game against Boston will be shown live on Prime. The Sirens game will also be shown in the U.S. at MSGSN, as fans in Canada can watch the game on TSN and RDS.
READ MORE: Toronto Sceptres Played Well, But Lose in a Shoot-out
The Victoire will then host the Sceptres at Place Bell on March 23 with another game against the Victoire at 12:00PM EDT. The game will be televised live in Canada on TSN and RDS.
Photo Credit: PWHL Toronto X Account on March 7, 2025.
