Sceptres look like old hands at playoff pressure in Game 1 win

Article content

It was by no means a perfect start to the Toronto Sceptres’ second chase of the Walter Cup, but it was the start they needed.

The Sceptres got off to a quick start on Wednesday night, scoring first and then adding two more before the Frost even got on the board in an eventual 3-2 win by the home side in its best-of-five semifinal with the visiting Minnesota Frost.

Again, turning a 3-0 lead into a nailbiter wasn’t exactly ideal, but the result was the one the Sceptres came looking for, and the one they got.

If there was one lesson the Sceptres learned from their five-game semifinal series loss a year ago to this same Frost team, it was handling the momentum swings of a series.

Last year, they got up 2-0, and while the series-ending injury to Natalie Spooner certainly played a role, there was a feeling the Sceptres just didn’t handle things well when Minnesota started to get a little confidence.

There were plenty of momentum changes on Wednesday in Game 1, but each time the Sceptres were challenged, they found an answer.

Minnesota got to within a goal on rookie Katie Knoll’s first playoff goal 2:33 into the third period. Rather than fold into a defensive shell trying to hold the Frost off, the Sceptres went on the offensive, generating a number of quality scoring chances that forced Frost goaltender Nicole Hensley to be at the top of her game.

Toronto temporarily took control of the game in the second period, largely on the sniper skills of Julia Gosling.

Gosling was already having an eventful week before she put two pucks behind Hensley in the second frame to put Toronto up 3-0.

On Monday, in the Sceptres’ second-to-last practice before the playoffs began, Gosling lost an edge going into a corner and had to be helped from the ice.

Initially, team medical suggested she would be fine for practice the following day (Tuesday) but that decision changed Tuesday morning as the Sceptres staff opted to err on the side of caution and kept Gosling out of practice.

Gosling was clearly showing no ill effects from her brush with injury.

Gosling got her first PWHL playoff goal picking off an attempted clearing pass at the Minnesota blue line. Her first shot was rejected, but the rebound popped right back to her and Gosling made good on the second attempt for a 2-0 Toronto lead.

Gosling’s second goal was a little more traditional. It came on a Toronto power play with Hannah Miller dropping the puck back for Gosling, who picked a corner and beat Hensley clean.

The second period also saw the Frost get on the board and then promptly lose their only goal-scorer.

The ever-controversial Britta Curl-Salemme banged home a rebound on the power play to cut Toronto’s lead to two goals, but minutes late got her elbow up on Renata Fast as she tried to rub her out along the boards. After a league video review, Curl-Salemme was charged with a five-minute major and ejected from the game.

Curl-Salemme’s hit will get another post-game review, and could yet lead to a suspension.

Blayre Turnbull got the Sceptres on the board first after some strong work behind the net by linemates Jesse Compher and Hannah Miller.

Compher and Miller won a board battle behind Hensley, with Compher feeding a short touch pass to Turnbull, who was lurking during the board battle and had an uncontested path to the net along the goal line. In tight is where Turnbull is best, and she gave Hensley no chance on this one, deking around her before tucking it into the far side of the net.

The game began very tentatively with neither team really pushing the pace.

It was understandable on both sides, as the Frost were on the road while the Sceptres were well aware of Minnesota’s penchant for fast starts.

The Frost have been the PWHL leader in early goals all season, while the Sceptres have been among the worst teams keeping an opponent off the scoreboard in the early going.

So there was a real focus on keeping Minnesota from getting off to its usual good start. Minnesota contributed to this with a rather passive first period, amassing just six shots to the Sceptres’ 12.

The two teams will go at it again in Game 2 back at Coca Cola Coliseum on Friday night with a 7 p.m. puck drop.

Mganter@postmedia.com