Onward and upward for the Toronto Sceptres after finally vacating PWHL basement

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Timing is everything in the world of sports and the Toronto Sceptres are on the right side of it for the first time in weeks.

Facing a 10-day PWHL break for international play — in Toronto’s case, it won’t be a break from much of anything except the PWHL schedule as nine players plus its head coach and GM will be representing Canada or the U.S. during the break with a 10th player, Noemi Neubauerova joining her native Czechia for their international tuneup — the Sceptres ensured a team-wide positive feeling with a well-earned 4-2 win over the Ottawa Charge on Saturday.

Not only did this finally come with a three-point reward in the standings for a team that has been playing solid hockey for the past month but not always getting the justified results, it pushed them all the way from sixth (and last) in the standings to fourth.

That’s a playoff spot, albeit the final one, but after being in last place or tied for last since Jan. 2, it’s a morale booster that can only help.

“It was huge,” team captain Blayre Turnbull said after leading the way with two goals and an assist. “With the timing of the break, it was really important for us to end on that note. We have been getting points, but not the three-point wins we have been wanting, so I think we have been working hard and moving in the right direction to get wins and getting this one was really timely for us.”

The game marked the halfway point of the season as well with 15 now in the books and 15 more to play and Turnbull likes what she is feeling among the team right now.

“We understand we have a long way to go before the season is done,” Turnbull said. “There hasn’t been too much frustration in the locker room. I think everyone has been feeling good about the direction we have been moving in and how we have been playing. We knew the wins would come eventually and we would figure out how to score some goals, but I think the morale is really high right now and we’re hoping to keep the momentum up when we get back.”

That morale has further been boosted with the return to practice by the league’s reigning MVP, Natalie Spooner, who is coming back from a torn ACL in her knee. The Sceptres received permission from the league to have Spooner join them on the their most recent road trip that took them to Minnesota and Montreal and while she didn’t play, head coach Troy Ryan left no doubt that she still had an impact.

“I think it’s a nice transition for her to get back with the group, to be on the road,” Ryan said. “Our GM (Gina Kingsbury) noticed one of the days the bus was quite loud and I just looked at her and said: ‘Spooner’s back and you can tell with the laughs and the energy on the bus and with the jokes,’” Ryan said. “It’s good. It’s good to have her back. She’s close and we are looking forward to the day when she gets to suit up.”

Don’t be surprised if that day arrives Feb. 11 against the Minnesota Frost, ironically the same opponent Toronto was facing when Spooner was injured.

For weeks now, Spooner has been skating and for at least the past two taking and making contact in practices with her teammates.

Watching her even in those sessions where it was just her and Megan Carter (who was also coming back from a lower body injury) getting some work in, you would swear she was ready a month ago, but being able to skate and that knee being able to withstand collisions and the rigours of a 60-minute hockey game is completely another matter.

Carter, who made her PWHL debut a couple of weeks ago, has already had an impact. A solid stay-at-home defender with a big shot who plays a physical brand of hockey, she has given the Sceptres’ defence more depth but also freed up Ryan from depending so much on Renata Fast who has been logging huge minutes and allowed her to be fresher to chip in on the offensive end.

Over the games since Carter got back on the ice, Fast has been jumping into the offence and carrying the puck into the offensive zone far more often than she had been previously.

She’s also having a bigger impact on the scoresheet with a team high 13 points, both goals in that total coming in the past three games.

And if a raw rookie, even a mature one like Carter, can have that kind of impact on the Sceptres, just imagine what getting the league MVP and the player who lapped the field in goal scoring a year ago can do for them.

mganter@postmedia.com