Having not played since January 2, PWHL Ottawa is ready to return to game action today against Toronto.
The battle of Ontario will commence for the first time in PWHL history at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto tonight.
Though we’re almost two weeks into the season, Ottawa will play just its second game of the year. Their last match was back on January 2nd, their inaugural home opener, against Montreal who handed Ottawa a 3-2 overtime loss.
With a record of 0-0-1, head coach Carla MacLeod and co. are ready to get back on the ice.
“We’re excited to play, there’s no shortage of wanting to play,” she said. “We’ve been able to take advantage and to practice a little bit more and work on some other details.”
On the home side, Toronto comes back to Mattamy with a record of 1-2-0. With the first scheduled game of the season against New York, the party was spoiled by New York who won the game 4-0. Toronto found themselves close trailing 1-0 after 40 minutes but allowed three goals in under 5 minutes.
Toronto rebounded a week later, winning on the road in New York. Goaltender Kristen Campbell would go 29/31 in the save department, carrying Toronto to a 3-2 win. A short handed goal 6:34 into the third period by forward Emma Maltais would be the lone goal in the third period, guiding Toronto to their first win on the season.
Next up, Toronto fell to Minnesota 3-1, but will look to get back in the win column.
Ottawa’s Carla MacLeod likes how her squad matches up against the home team.
“They’re like every team in this league, every team is good,” she said. “They’re all fast, physical, we’re all of the above and Toronto is certainly that too.”
Players to watch:
Sarah Nurse - One of the most notable names in women’s hockey, Nurse has had a quiet start on the scoresheet so far this year. She recorded her first goal of the season last game against Minnesota, and hasn’t been shy to shoot the puck.
We know about Nurse’s ability to dominate on both sides of the puck. Her performance at the 2022 Winter Olympics took her game to a new level, with 18 points in 7 games. At 29 years of age, the NHL 23 co-cover athlete is in the prime of her career. As a local product from Hamilton, Ontario, Nurse has the ability to be a top player in this league.
Daryl Watts - The Toronto product will be the player to watch for Ottawa as she returns home. Watts won a Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) championship with the Toronto Six last year. She was one of Toronto’s better scorers, with seven points in twelve games. Watts holds a prestigious five-year career in the NCAA, with Boston College from 2017 to 2019 and the University of Wisconsin from 2019 to 2022. Through 172 games, she recorded 297 points. That sits fifth in NCAA history.
The 24-year-old finds herself as the team’s third line center, in between wingers Katerina Mrazova and Akane Shiga. Watts did not manage to record a point in the season opener, but her homecoming may warrant a couple of points in the bank.
The battle of Ontario will be in full force for another sell out crowd at the Mattamy Athletic Centre. The game will be televised on CBC, while being streamed on CBC GEM and YouTube at 1pm Eastern.