Sceptres leap out from PWHL basement with win over Charge

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That loneliest of spots at the bottom of the standings is no longer Toronto Sceptres territory.

The local PWHL club has either owned or shared that spot for the better part of the last month. That came to an end Saturday with a 4-2 win over the Ottawa Charge before 8,351 at Coca-Cola Coliseum.

The three points that come with a regulation win moved Toronto into fourth overall as they leapfrogged both Ottawa and Boston in the standings, although Boston would have two games in hand on the Sceptres when the league resumes play on Feb. 11.

Rookie Julia Gosling got it started for the Sceptres with the first PWHL goal of her career, scoring on the power play. Emma Maltais didn’t get an assist on the play but she was pivotal screening Ottawa goalkeeper Emerance Maschmeyer who has been an impenetrable wall for most of the year when she has faced Toronto.

It was the sixth power-play goal in the past three games for the Sceptres who have improved drastically in both the power play and penalty kill areas of their game.

Sceptres captain Blayre Turnbull would play a big role in this one with a pair of goals, the first two-goal game of her PWHL career.

Renata Fast would have the other Sceptres tally as her misfire on another Sceptres power play seemed to handcuff Maschmeyer who got a piece of the puck but couldn’t keep it out of her net.

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It was Fast’s second goal of the season and second in her last three games as she took over the team lead in points with 13, one off the league lead shared by four players.

Goaltender Raygan Kirk, playing in her eighth game and sixth start of the season, earned her third win of the year turning aside 30 of 32 shots by the Charge.

mganter@postmedia.com