PDub ReDub: Everything, everywhere all in the third period

Wednesday, March 25: Toronto Sceptres 4, Boston Fleet 2

The first game of a Wednesday night doubleheader was the second of two Fleet games at Agganis Arena, rather than their usual home of the Tsongas Center.

First period

Boston opened the scoring at home, courtesy of Hilary Knight continuing her torrid scoring pace on their first power play of the game. Alina Müller sent a cross-ice pass to Susanna Tapani, who stepped in to take a wrister.

Allie Munroe blocked it but it ricocheted right back to Müller, allowing her to one-time it back on net for Knight to put in the rebound, her tenth point in the last four games and change.

Toronto has struggled to stay out of the box of late, taking a combined sixteen penalties through their last three games and the first two of this one, though the second would be negated by a late Theresa Schafzahl hold.

Second period

Each team controlled one half of the second period, and the first ten minutes belonged to the Sceptres. They controlled the momentum as they attempted to tie up the game, but Aerin Frankel stood as tall as her 5’5″ frame allowed.

Similarly, as the Fleet took control back in the latter half, Kristen Campbell was there every time, preventing them from pulling further ahead. The middle period would end scoreless, but the dam would quickly break in the third.

Third period

Toronto came out flying, landing the first seven shots of the period in under a seven minute span, two of which would find twine. Daryl Watts collected a Kali Flanagan rebound off the back boards and banked it in off of Frankel, a goal somewhat reminiscent of her 2021 NCAA Frozen Four overtime winner given the circumstances.

Soon after, Anna Kjellbin stepped into a slap shot from the blue line that Hayley Scamurra tipped in for her long awaited first goal of the season. In less than two minutes, the game had gone from 1–0 to 2–1 in the other direction.

They weren’t done there, though. Renata Fast found herself with lots of time and space in the Fleet zone and wheeled around the net, the right-shot defender able to pivot to her forehand and snap it through Frankel’s five-hole.

While it had been over twenty seconds since she last touched the puck, forward Laura Kluge was credited with the secondary assist for her first career point, and the first by a German player in PWHL history.

Boston’s captain struck again to pull her team a little closer, as Knight poked in an uncovered puck off her initial wraparound attempt to make it 3–2, but there was only so much she could do.

Megan Keller and Jessica DiGirolamo would take simultaneous minor penalties, leaving the Fleet down five skaters to three with all three being forwards, thanks to the No Escape rule. With a full two minutes to work with, Watts sniped another for her second multi-goal game in a week and a 4–2 Sceptres lead, one that would hold as such for the remainder of the game.

Nat’s Stat: The Toronto Sceptres have posted a record of 9–2–3–2 since second-round draft pick Megan Carter returned from injury to make her PWHL debut on January 25. Their 34 points and .708 points percentage over this 16-game span matches Montréal’s first 16 games of the season, though the Victoire lost one fewer game in the process (9-3–1–3).

Wednesday, March 25: Montréal Victoire 4, Minnesota Frost 1

The next game on Wednesday’s slate saw the Victoire with a chance to become the first team to clinch a playoff spot.

First period

Montréal would get off on the right foot towards this goal, courtesy of their captain and the league’s leading goal scorer. Marie-Philip Poulin picked up a loose puck and blew by Lee Stecklein, one of the most reliable defenders in the league, and roofed a breakaway for her 16th of the season.

While that would be all for the scoring in the opening frame, each team had their uneasy moments. A Dara Greig giveaway would open up a shot for Liz Schepers in front but Elaine Chuli was at the top of her crease to stop the Frost’s best chance.

At the other end, Maddie Rooney ventured out of the net to play the puck but it found its way onto the stick of former teammate Abby Boreen, who didn’t have the angle to get it on net from her backhand.

Second period

The second period was highlighted by quite a few players mired in slumps getting on the board. Victoire coach Kori Cheverie put her lines in the blender, stacking her first line with her three Team Canada talents to try to get Kristin O’Neill going.

It paid off early in the second, as Laura Stacey whacked in a loose puck with O’Neill registering the sole assist for her first point in 19 games. Minnesota’s answer came from their struggling second line as Grace Zumwinkle dug a puck out along the boards and sent it in front to Kelly Pannek, who directed in a backhand for her third of the year.

Late in the period, O’Neill rushed the puck down and took a shot on Rooney, bowling her over while chasing her own rebound. Catherine Dubois put the puck into the wide open cage, and, while called a goal on the ice, would be reviewed for goaltender interference. After a few minutes, the referee signalled that it would not count, and the Victoire lead remained at 2–1.

Third period

In something of a rarity this week, the third period was solid and decisive for the leading team. Poulin dug the puck out of the corner and sent it to Stacey, then headed towards the net to roof the eventual rebound on her backhand for her second of the night.

Late in the game as the Frost got into penalty trouble, Stacey blasted a one-timer with the two-skater advantage, giving her points on all four Montréal goals in an eventual 4–1 win.

Nat’s Stat: Laura Stacey recorded at least three shots on net for the eleventh straight game. Through 23 games, she has 10 goals on a league-leading 98 shots, which is nearly identical to her numbers from last season where she scored 10 goals in 23 games, but did it on 96 shots.

Saturday, March 29: Ottawa Charge 2, Boston Fleet 1 (Takeover Tour Stop #9)

The PWHL makes their final Takeover Tour appearance in St. Louis, Missouri, concluding a successful season-long effort and amplifying the buzz around potential expansion across the league.

First period

Jincy Roese heralded her return to her home state by taking a holding penalty less than six minutes into the game. On the ensuing kill, Philips was knocked off her skates making a save but reached out with her glove to rob Tapani on the rebound.

Her team very much did not reward her effort, as Markowski sent her second brutal turnover in two periods right on to Tapani’s tape, and she wouldn’t miss twice. The Fleet’s pressure continued after taking the lead through two more power play opportunities off of infractions by Ottawa defenders, including a second by Roese.

Their best chance was a breakaway from Jill Saulnier after pushing off Boyd, but Philips made the stop to keep the Charge in it.

Second period

The second period was a quiet one save for a couple loud moments from Keller, both figuratively and literally. Her point shot made it through a crowd of players and past Philips, but rang the post.

A few minutes later, she led a two-on-one rush but Tejralová covered the pass well and Philips stood tall on the shot. Keller’s struggled of late despite the Fleet’s solid run of play, going without a point in her last eleven games while being outscored 10–3 at 5v5, and her strong period could be an indicator that she’s starting to turn it around.

Third period

Ottawa continued to struggle with generating high danger opportunities in the third as well as periodically making trips to the penalty box. That would all change in an instant though, just as it started to look like they’d finish out another disappointing final frame.

Tereza Vanišová settled down an airborne puck with her stick, with the referee in perfect view to call it a legal play. She turned and slapped it five-hole on Frankel, however, Fleet coach Courtney Kessel challenged the play. With insufficient evidence to overturn the call on the ice though, the game remained tied and Boston would head to the box for delay of game.

The Charge got to work right away. Vanišová sent a cross-ice pass to Hughes who centred it, creating havoc in front of the net. Jenner got a stick on it, poking it slowly past Frankel, and Vanišová made a desperation effort to put it the rest of the way over the line before it could be cleared out. In less than one minute, the game had gone from 1–0 to 2–1 in the other direction. I’m not experiencing déjà vu, you are.

In typical Ottawa Charge fashion, they didn’t make it any easier on themselves. Jenner took a holding penalty of her own with under two minutes left in the game, leaving the Fleet on the power play for the rest of regulation save for a goal on either side.

However, the rookie netminder Philips would keep all of Boston’s chances out of her net, and all of Boston’s players out of her crease as she landed a punch on Tapani in a late pileup. As the dust settled though, Ottawa came away with a narrow 2–1 victory.

Nat’s Stat: With her two goals on Saturday, Tereza Vanišová has now scored thirteen more times than she did last season, comfortably the greatest difference in the league. Even if rookies are considered to have scored zero goals last season in order to be included in this statistic, Vanišová would still rank first, as the rookie leader in goals (Sarah Fillier) has twelve.

Sunday, March 30: Toronto Sceptres 2, Minnesota Frost 5

First period

The Frost came ready to play, and the Sceptres defence was not ready for the speed of Kendall Coyne Schofield, who cruised down the ice to set up Taylor Heise’s one-timer for a quick strike. On the very next shift, less than two minutes into Minnesota’s Pride Game, Britta Curl-Salemme would double the lead.

After their flat-footed start, Toronto recovered enough to prevent the Frost from breaking through again, but couldn’t muster much of their own on Nicole Hensley.

Second period

While the first period’s offence could reasonably be laid at the feet of the Sceptres’ defenders, Minnesota’s output in the middle frame was moreso on Campbell. Four minutes in, Sophie Jaques fired a dart from the point that the goaltender reacted late to, putting the Frost up three.

Campbell would make an impressive toe save on a two-on-none between Coyne Schofield and Heise later in the period, but would let up a soft one in exchange. Much like Fast’s goal in Toronto’s last game, Liz Schepers circled the net and found an opening under Campbell’s leg, squeaking it through for a commanding 4–0 lead.

Third period

Toronto coach Troy Ryan pulled Campbell in favour of Raygan Kirk to try to spark the team, and the move had its intended effect. Kali Flanagan roofed one early to cut the lead to three and Watts beat Hensley five-hole soon afterwards to make it 4–2, creating a palpable and, given the last week, understandable tension in the arena.

However, the Sceptres couldn’t convert on their following chances, and Heise later buried a wraparound for her second of the game to give Minnesota a sigh of relief and a 5–2 victory.

Nat’s Stat: Sophie Jaques has yet to go more than two consecutive games without recording an even strength point this season, and is the only qualified defender in the PWHL to do so.

Standings Synopsis

1. x – Montréal Victoire (11-6–3-6, .615, 48 pts)
2. Toronto Sceptres (12–2–5–8, .556, 45 pts)
3. Boston Fleet (8–6–4–8, .513, 40 pts)
4. Minnesota Frost (8-5-4–10, .469, 38 pts)
5. Ottawa Charge (10-1-4–11, .462, 36 pts)
6. New York Sirens (6-4-4–12, .385, 30 pts)

With their win, the Victoire secure their playoff spot, while the Sceptres fail to do so for the time being after losing in regulation to the Frost. Despite their win on Saturday against the Fleet, the Charge sit on the outside looking in again after failing to close out the Sirens, but they retain a game in hand on Minnesota.

News and Notes

Babstock suspended, Dempsey returns

Boston Fleet forward Kelly Babstock received a two-game ban ahead of her team’s game against the Charge. She was assessed a match penalty for slew-footing Sceptres forward Jesse Compher with three seconds remaining in Wednesday’s game.

Despite receiving just 43 minutes of ice time across six games, this is Babstock’s second suspension of the season. Boston signed forward Jillian Dempsey to a Standard Player Agreement a few days later, and moved Babstock back to their reserve list.

Desbiens to LTIR, Deguire signed

The Montréal Victoire moved goalie Ann-Renée Desbiens to long term injured reserve, retroactive to March 18 when she suffered a lower-body injury. While she is eligible to be activated again in just one week’s time, the move allows the team to sign netminder Tricia Deguire to an SPA in her stead.

World Championships imminent

After Wednesday’s game, the league goes on break until April 26 due to the 2025 Women’s World Championships, held in České Budějovice. Of the participating countries, the PWHL will have representation on Canada, host Czechia, Finland, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States.