A 4-3 overtime loss to the Montreal Victoire probably wasn’t exactly what the Toronto Sceptres had been hoping to take into what will be a short Christmas break, but it wasn’t all bad.
The Sceptres did get its first point in three games courtesy of a gritty effort against a Montreal squad they had owned all of last season, getting wins in all five games in which the two teams squared off.
But it was the obvious improvement in their overall play that had to leave even the most jaded fan at least optimistic that the tide was turning for this club.
Here are our takeaways from the game, which ended 15 seconds into overtime with Laura Stacey scoring the overtime winner on a breakaway.
THE STEPS ARE BEING TAKEN
For two weeks now we’ve been hearing from the Toronto Sceptres about the long and sometimes difficult conversations they were having within about another poor start and how they were going to fix things.
Saturday felt like the first time since the season opener that things were actually turning for the better.
There were sustained periods of possession in the Montreal end leading to all three goals Toronto would score.
Raygan Kirk provided the kind of top-notch goaltending necessary in this league just to keep pace with the talent opposing teams boast.
Kristen Campbell has shown that in the past for Toronto but has not been at that level so far this season. Head coach Troy Ryan made the switch to his rookie and he was not disappointed with what he saw.
“I think obviously Kirky, for her first full game in this league, showed that she belonged and she can be a key goaltender in this league,” he said.
The other big area of improvement was on the penalty kill, which was a porous 61% coming in, and then killed off three minors and a five minute major. Against a team with snipers like Marie Philip-Poulin and Laura Stacey, that has to be a confidence boost.
“Our penalty kill has struggled,” Ryan said, “but it responded today. The amount of blocked shots that people were willing to get in front of some pretty dangerous players (spoke volumes).”
Ryan and his players would have loved nothing more than to head off for a Christmas break with a three-point win, but in the grand scheme of things, the one point for an overtime loss is nothing to be taken for granted.
“If you put it in perspective, for where we are at as a hockey team right now, we will take that point and we’ve definitely got something to build on for sure,” he said.
BATTLE ON THE ICE WAS ACTUALLY SECONDARY
In terms of battles Saturday, the fight to win the game was only the second biggest challenge. Far bigger and far more important to the vast majority of the players in the game was the fight former PWHL and Toronto Sceptres goaltender Erica Howe is taking on right now.
Howe, who goes back to the NWHL and CWHL days with some of the women still playing in the PWHL, was diagnosed with breast cancer last summer, leaving her no option to continue with the Sceptres this year.
The two teams gathered after the game at one end of the ice as Howe addressed the crowd thanking them for the donations for the Canadian Cancer Society and the support they have shown during her fight of the dreaded disease.
Montreal Victoire forward Laura Stacey goes way back with Howe and admitted the day was both uplifting and difficult all at the same time.
“It was the first time I actually saw her since [being diagnosed],” Stacey said. “I’ve talked to her a ton of times. But to see her in that vulnerable state, it’s pretty tough to see, so it’s emotional.
“I think being that young and fighting something like that is something you never want to see. But she has an amazing support group behind her. I know that Toronto and their whole team, and honestly, the whole organization and the fan base is behind her and so are every single one of us who are a little further away.
“I know she’s got this,” Stacey said fighting back tears after the game.
It was no less emotional for Jocelyne Larocque, who like Stacey has a long history with Howie as she is affectionately known in the locker room.
“I mean it was great seeing her and Erica is someone who is a tremendous teammate and a tremendous person,” Larocque said. “The strength she is showing is inspiring. We are all behind her. We care so much about her. But it was great to see her and hear her speak. It brought chills. It was hard to even focus on the game after. It was all I was thinking about. We love her and we’re just so proud of her fight. She’s just incredibly inspiring.”
Money raised Saturday went to various cancer fundraising initiatives including Howe’s Hockey Fights Cancer Assist.
BUT ABOUT THAT PENALTY KILL
A big part of Toronto’s success in Year 1 was its penalty kill which allowed just six goals on 73 chances all season.
It’s been a different story so far in Year 2, but the Sceptres appear to be getting a handle on things.
Coming into Saturday’s game, the team had allowed five goals their first 11 times shorthanded. Montreal went 0-for-4 on the power play, improving Toronto’s penalty kill success rate to just under 67%.
Ryan credited a little luck and a better understanding of what was necessary to be successful by those on the kill not necessarily known for the penalty kill work.
“They just did the job they needed to do for 10 or 15 seconds so we could get the right people on the ice,” Ryan said. “That’s a big part of it. If you can get the people that can commit – I mean they don’t need to become penalty killers. It’s like a first responder mentality. You just got to get the job done until someone else can take over. I think people were able to do that and then we were able to get our penalty killer players out there and they showed how dangerous they could be.”
It’s no secret that when Toronto can get the likes of Blayre Turnbull, Emma Maltais, Renata Fast and Larocque out for the majority of a penalty kills, that’s the ideal scenario for the team.
“You don’t have to kill two minutes,” Ryan said of the others. “You just have to kill 10 seconds and make one play and then we’re good. We have the people we want to get out in those situations. But those things don’t happen overnight. They get learned. Today was a great step in the right direction.”