Sad familiar refrain for Sceptres in shootout loss to Montreal Victoire

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For the second game in a row, the Toronto Sceptres rallied back from deficits, only to fail to finish the job in a shootout.

The 4-3 loss in overtime to the Montreal Victoire on Thursday night, marked the Sceptres’ fifth consecutive loss in overtime, an area they were actually very good at in the first year of the PWHL.

Montreal’s Marie Philip-Poulin, shooting for the second time in the shootout after being stopped on her first by Kristen Campbell, came in with speed and went left to right before finishing it off high into the net on a backhand for the eventual shootout winner.

Campbell stopped three of the five shooters with Laura Stacey the only other member of the Victoire to beat her after the three-on-three overtime ended without a goal.

The night though belonged to Stacey who was making her return after a three-game stint on the injured list. She set up the first two Montreal goals and scored the third one before her shootout strike to put the Victoire in the driver’s seat.

It was eerily reminiscent of the recent result the Sceptres just suffered against the Minnesota Frost when birthday girl Claire Thompson scored twice in regulation and then had the game winner in the shootout.

It’s been that kind of month for the Sceptres, who outplayed both the Frost and Victoire in the two games but could not get a win.

The Sceptres, with the single point, get out of the PWHL basement, jumping past Boston on the strength of more regulation wins, but there’s no question they are going through a real test of resolve this past month in which they have continually owned the majority of play in a game only to come up short of the desired result.

Toronto will play one more game before the PHWL goes into an early-February break to accommodate the Rivalry Series. The Sceptres host the Ottawa Charge on Saturday afternoon, back home at the Coca-Cola Coliseum for the first time since New Year’s Eve. Game time is 2 p.m.

mganter@postmedia.com