Toronto Sceptres' Carly Jackson gets her moment and makes the very most of it

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Carly Jackson is the consummate teammate.

A member of the Sceptres goaltending trio since its inception, Jackson has found herself most game nights up in the press box with the members of the Sceptres not dressing for the game.

On at least one occasion last season, Jackson was dressed and on the bench but did not get into the game.

But come practice, Jackson is there with her perpetually positive attitude and ever present life-loving smile putting in the work to stay ready on the off chance the call is made for her to see game action.

That call came last night with the Sceptres looking to solidify their seeding for the upcoming playoffs.

If there was any rust from that lack of live game action it didn’t show as the Sceptres eked out a 2-1 win in a shootout as Jackson stopped 25 of 26 shots through regulation and an overtime frame.

In the shootout Jackson stopped everything New York could throw at her. Jesse Eldridge, Alex Carpenter, Sarah Fillier, and Carpenter a second time could not beat the Toronto netminder while Natalie Spooner scored on both her attempts to earn Toronto two points in the game much to the delight of the Toronto crowd which was chanting Jackson’s name.

Jackson was tested early and often in the first period,  the lone puck to get by her was a screened shot from New York defender Ella Shelton that tied the game 1-1.

Daryl Watts got Toronto on the board in the first period as her shot deflected off a New York defender before finding its way by Sirens’ goalkeeper Kayle Osborne.

The Sirens have nothing left to play for, having already been eliminated from playoff contention and having already secured the first overall pick in the upcoming draft.

Give the Sirens credit for their game-long compete despite that being the case.

And give the fanbase credit for another sellout despite going head-to-head against a potentially clinching Leafs’ first-round playoff game just across town.

But most of all give Jackson credit for being the best kind of teammate a team could ask for and stepping up when her moment arrived.

mganter@postmedia.com