With a home record this season of 1-1-3-5, the Toronto Sceptres have let important points slip away as they battle for a spot in the playoffs.
For most teams, home ice is supposed to be an advantage. Last season, it largely was for the Toronto Sceptres.
This year, it hasn’t been.
Through the first two thirds of the 2025-26 PWHL season, Toronto has struggled to turn Coca-Cola Coliseum into a reliable source of points. Instead, the Sceptres have found more success away from home, producing a split that stands in sharp contrast to their performance a year ago.
Toronto’s home record this season sits at 1-1-3-5, while the club has posted a 5-0-0-3 record on the road over the same span. That's right, one single regulation win (against Ottawa in early December), and one overtime win at Scotiabank Arena, which counts as a home game but notably was not at Coca-Cola.
In other words, the Sceptres have collected twice as many points away from Toronto than in their own building.
That represents a significant shift from last season, when home ice played a large role in Toronto’s second-place finish. In 2024-25, the Sceptres earned a 7-2-3-3 home record, with 28 of their 48 points at Coca-Cola Coliseum. By comparison, they were far more inconsistent on the road, going 5-1-3-6.
The difference wasn’t just in the standings column. It showed up in the underlying results as well. Toronto finished last season with a +9 goal differential at home. On the road, that flipped to a –8 differential.
So far this season, that dynamic has reversed. Toronto has been able to find results in opposing arenas, picking up road wins in places like Minnesota, Montreal, Seattle and Vancouver. At home, however, the results have been far less consistent.
Three losses in extra time have been the bane of the Sceptres' hopes, including last weekend's 3-2 overtime loss to Minnesota which immediately followed their 4-3 shootout loss to Montreal, games where they held leads but didn't earn three points.
After the loss to the Frost, Emma Woods said, "I think it's tough to ignore, you know, we look at the standings, you know it's gonna be a battle until the end, it's playoff hockey at this point. We have 10 games left and we're fighting for a playoff spot, so we know how important these points are.
"I think we found a way in the last four games since the break to get points, obviously, we want to try to find more where we can, so that's the focus. It's definitely something you think about, but at the end of the day you've got to play your game and and you'll earn those points."
Meanwhile, coach Troy Ryan is stressing the small plays that seem to get away from the Sceptres at home:
"From a team perspective, I’d love to see the little details of the overall game tighten up — the not getting to a line for an icing call, the offsides. Those are the things that can tilt a game without anybody really noticing."
Most teams aim to build their season around strong play at home while trying to survive difficult road stretches. Toronto has effectively flipped that formula.
The Sceptres have had challenges this season: power play, consistent offense, and finding steady goaltending. But the home ice 'disadvantage' they have experienced is one of the biggest markers of their frustrating run so far in 2025-26.