The Toronto Sceptres fought back from early struggles but couldn't overcome Seattle's late surge, ultimately falling in a shootout after a rollercoaster game.
Toronto showed resilience through multiple momentum swings but ultimately fell 3–2 in a shootout to Seattle on Saturday afternoon in Hamilton, in front of an announced crowd of 16,012 as part of the PWHL Takeover Tour.
Seattle controlled much of the opening period, outshooting Toronto 14–6 and capitalizing on breakdowns in front of the net. The opening goal came when Seattle's Lexie Adzija was left unguarded in the slot and collected her own rebound to slip the puck between Raygan Kirk’s pads.
Toronto, still without Allie Munroe on the back end, looked disjointed early but began to settle in midway through the first. That push carried into the second period, when the Sceptres came out with pace and cut into the deficit just 55 seconds in. After Daryl Watts dug the puck off the boards, Emma Maltais set up Natalie Spooner on a two-on-one, and Spooner finished for her second goal of the season.
"I thought Spooner was great, showed signs of little bursts of speed, some good quality shots, it's nice to see. We just had a meeting recently that talked about the expected goals that she has and just to stick with it and it's nice to see that play get rewarded with a goal," said coach Troy Ryan.
Toronto continued to generate chances in the second, including another two-on-one with Maltais and Spooner and a breakaway for Jesse Compher, but Seattle goaltender Corinne Schroeder stood tall to keep the game tied. By the end of the period, Toronto had nearly erased the shot deficit, heading into the third trailing 22–20 in shots.
The third period tilted slightly back toward Seattle, particularly following a delay-of-game penalty to Hanna Baskin, but Kirk made several key saves to keep the game level. Toronto flipped momentum at the midway point of the period when Watts found a Renata Fast rebound, firing high on a sharp-angle shot to give the Sceptres a 2–1 lead.
Seattle answered late, however, when Toronto was outnumbered down low and the puck found the stick of Alex Carpenter, who buried the tying goal with just over four minutes remaining. The teams finished regulation with Seattle holding a 35–29 edge in shots.
A scoreless 3-on-3 overtime featured extended possession at both ends and a pair of standout saves from Kirk, but neither side could find a winner. In the shootout, Seattle converted twice — while Toronto was unable to score on attempts from Spooner, Watts, Claire Dalton, and Hjalmarsson — sealing the extra point.
Despite the loss, Toronto handled the game’s momentum swings well after a sluggish start, getting goals from two key contributors in Spooner and Watts. Ultimately, some lost coverage around the net at key moments and an inability to convert in the shootout proved costly.
After the game, Spooner said losing the points stings: "I think it's disappointing when you don't get the points you want. We could have gone into that third period when we got the lead and held onto that we would have won the game.
"When you go into the shootout, we also have to have the expectation that you can finish those and I know I'm guilty of that this season of not finishing my shootouts, so got to practice that more and make sure we're ready for those moments and get all the points we can."