Ottawa gutted out a 3-1 win over PWHL Toronto in front of an involved crowd of 6316 at TD Place Arena on Tuesday.
Ottawa gutted out a 3-1 win over PWHL Toronto in front of an involved crowd of 6316 at TD Place Arena on Tuesday.
PWHL Ottawa would take the second game of the “Battle of Ontario” against Toronto Tuesday night with a 3-1 win. A couple of quick goals in the first ten minutes would give them the momentum early on, and the home team kept the lead for the rest of the game.
Goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer, who has started all four of Ottawa's games, stopped 30 shots. While a low scoring game, captain Brianne Jenner was still fond of the team’s performance.
“It was an ugly game, for sure. Not our prettiest game; I think we have had better games moving the puck," said Jenner. "But I thought we fought hard in the third [period]. There were some big penalty kills, blocks, saves from Masch. Those are things you want to see, especially later in the season, so when we are seeing that now it’s a really good sign.’”
Just minutes into the first period, a breakout pass would land on the stick of Emily Clark. As she streaked down the left side, a bank shot caught Erica Howe off guard and opened the scoring. It was the fourth game in row that Ottawa scored the first goal.
Just after a successful penalty kill, Toronto looked to strike back and gain some momentum in their favour. Turnbull would find Brittany Howard in stride and the winger would rip it off the post and in past Maschmeyer.
But Ottawa was determined to make an immediate push back. Natalie Spooner would send an outlet pass near the right hashmarks, but defender Amanda Boulier skated into the puck and intercepted it. As she flew into the slot with speed, Boulier dropped it off to Brianne Jenner who had a clear lane to the net. Jenner suck the puck under Howe’s glove, giving the captain her first goal of the season.
Despite being outshot 9-6, Ottawa managed to come out with a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.
The second saw the game even out a little more, with both teams trading chances. Shots were nine a piece in the middle frame, but no one on either side beat Howe or Maschmeyer. Ottawa did run into some penalty trouble from forwards Gabbie Hughes and Fanni Gasparics, but the home team shut it down on the penalty kill.
With 20 minutes left to go, and Ottawa still leading 2-1, Toronto ramped up the pressure. Shots were getting on net, but Maschmeyer was quick to cover the puck as Toronto continued to carry most of the pressure.
With 2:16 left in the third, a late slashing penalty against Emily Clark sent Ottawa to the penalty kill. Toronto pulled Howe from her net, creating a six on four situation for Toronto. With 50 seconds on the clock, Ashton Bell pushed a puck loose to Lexie Adzija in the left corner. Adzija, fired the puck all the way around the boards and down the ice. While the puck skimmed down, it flipped on its side near the Toronto bench, and trickled into the open net giving Adzija her second goal in as many games, and Ottawa a 3-1 lead.
Ottawa closed out the final 43 seconds and gave the TD Place crowd their first home win of the season. Ottawa now sits at a 2-0-2-0 record, including a point in each game. Ottawa went 4/4 on the penalty kill tonight and has gone 10/11 on the season, good for second in the league at 91%. Head coach Carla MacLeod joked about the success solely linked to coaching but went into detail on their strong defensive play.
“I think our group has done great all season," MacLeod said. "Part of that is how we are moving as a unit of four or five with our goaltender. But it’s the willingness to block shots and gut it out. You have to be willing to sacrifice your body and we are doing that right now. We’re in it together and you can feel it.”
As fans began to leave TD Place Arena, the players topped off the night with the viking thunder clap with their fans, who sent the team out on a high note, as they prepare for their next game on Wednesday. Jenner was impressed by how in-sync the players and crowd were.
“The crowd looked like they knew what they were doing, it looked pretty organized for the first time.”
Ottawa will be back in action Wednesday as they host Boston for the first time at 7pm ET.