It was a night of firsts for the Toronto Sceptres topped by the home side’s first win this year in five games with the visiting Montreal Victoire.
The Victoire had won all four previous games this season between the two teams after Toronto swept the head-to-head battle last season.
Toronto got a small measure of revenge taking this one 4-1 as it chased Elaine Chuli from the net with three unanswered goals midway through the second and then greeted Ann-Renee Desbiens with a fourth before the period was out.
But the night of firsts narrative expanded well beyond the result.
The game also saw Natalie Spooner, last year’s league MVP, get her first and second goals of the year and first since her playoffs-ending torn anterior cruciate ligament last spring.
Spooner was out eight months before her return and typically her first goal came right from her office as she tipped in a Julia Gosling pass from the corner on the power play to open the scoring.
Defender Allie Munro, a player normally more comfortable dishing out punishment than receiving accolades had to switch hats as she scored her first goal of the season and second in her PWHL career as she got net front and swatted one in behind Chuli to make it 2-0.
Kristin Campbell had a shutout taken away from her with four minutes to go in the game as, who else, Marie-Philip Poulin beat her high glove side to deny the Toronto goalkeeper the shutout.
With the win Toronto moved back into second place ahead of the Boston Fleet by a point, though the Fleet have a game in hand.