By Eli Silverstone
The Ottawa Charge defeated the Toronto Sceptres 2-1 Tuesday night at Coca-Cola Coliseum in one of the last sporting events to take place in the year 2024.
The win has the Charge feeling energized heading into the new year after both teams entered the match with a disappointing record of 2-0-1-3.
The two worst teams in the PWHL at goal prevention this year—Toronto had allowed 22 goals, while Ottawa allowed 18 heading into the affair—combined for a goalie duel in which Ottawa’s Emerance Maschmeyer only allowed one goal to sneak by her despite Toronto winning the shots battle 38-13.
“The reality is, this is not a great game for us… but in this league where points are tight, you always take your three when you can get them,” said Charge coach Carla MacLeod.
Ottawa took the lead halfway through with Ronja Savolainen’s first goal of the season and desperately held on until Toronto evened the score with five minutes to play. Though Hannah Miller’s power play marker meant Toronto found a crack in Maschmeyer’s armour, that was all they would get. With a minute left in the game and the whole arena preparing for overtime, Ottawa forward Jincy Roese snuck in the game winner and the Charge snuck out a win.
This could be a sign of good things for both teams after they made the largest trade in PWHL history on Monday, just a day before they’d face off. In an attempt to get younger and more offensively-focused on the blueline, Toronto sent lockdown defender Jocelyn Larocque—who has played heavy minutes this year—as well as forward Victoria Bach to Ottawa for a dynamic offensive talent on the blueline in defender Savannah Harmon and forward Hayley Scamurra.
“This is a game that I'll remember for the rest of my life,” said Larocque in an emotional post-game interview. “I’ve had a lot of great memories in Toronto that I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.”
Ottawa continues to dominate Toronto, boasting a 5-0-0-2 record against the Sceptres in two seasons of the PWHL. But that was not evident in the way the game started. Ottawa didn't record their first shot until the seven minute mark of the first while Toronto had a few close scoring chances, bringing the sold out New Years Eve crowd to their feet.
“I thought there was a lot of good things from our group this week,” said Toronto head coach Troy Ryan. “I think if you dive too deep into why you didn’t score, you go a little crazy”.
A little bit before the halfway mark of the second period, a rebound bounced out to Savolainen, who unleashed a slap shot under Raygan Kirk’s blocker on just her team’s seventh shot of the game. Toronto upped their offensive intensity but were not able to solve Maschmeyer and her league leading .947 SV% and 2.00 GAA.
“I feel like I’ve just found my flow and the [defence] and forwards have made it very easy for me to see the puck,” said Maschmeyer.
Three minutes into the third, the Sceptres caught a break. Charge forward Emily Clark picked up a rebound in front of the net and buried it past Kirk. However, after review, the goal was called off for a kicking motion and momentum swung back to Toronto.
“Our video coach, Steph Thompson, is reviewing those plays as quickly as possible… so she deserves the credit on that one,” said Ryan.
Momentum continued in the Sceptres’ favourwhen a major penalty was assessed to Ottawa’s Teresa Vanisova for a hit from behind on Renata Fast, sending Toronto to the powerplay for five of the final eight minutes of the game.
Sure enough, two and a half minutes later, a puck bounced out to Hannah Miller, who made no mistake in bringing all 8,278 fans who had been on the edge of their seats all night out of them completely.
However, Roese proved to be the game’s hero. With a minute left in the game, Ottawa snatched the momentum and game away as Roese went end-to-end before sliding the puck under Kirk’s right pad to seal the win.
A successful first year for the PWHL—season one kicked off a year ago today on Jan.1, 2024— was completed with a last second trade and a nail-biting finish that encapsulated the excitement the PWHL brought to the hockey world this year.
The Sceptres now head out on a three game road trip, which kicks off Sunday, Jan. 12 at Prudential Center against the New York Sirens.
Stay tuned for lots more Toronto Sceptres and PWHL coverage from Intermission Sports.
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