Takeaways: Connors Shines, Sceptres Strong Defensively, Can't Overcome Frost

The Toronto Sceptres couldn’t complete the comeback as they lost 2-1 in overtime to the Minnesota Frost. 

Here are three takeaways from the Sceptres' Sunday afternoon loss. 

Despite the shot totals, the Sceptres did a good job neutralizing the Frost’s offensive chances Sunday Afternoon. 

Of their 21 shots, the Frost only managed four in the high-danger zone in front of Campbell. The Sceptres effectively used their bodies and sticks to force Minnesota to the perimeter, taking away lanes to cut in and move the puck towards the center of the ice.  

 “It's been a focus the last two games, cutting off the opponents a little bit, and I thought we did a really good job against it in our game versus Montreal, and it showed,” said Renata Fast. "I still think we can do a better job with it, but the more we can get bumps and keep them to the outside and shut them down quicker, the quicker we can get on offense.”

When they did make it through the steady presence, Kristen Campbell limited the damage making multiple game defining saves.

Overall, Minnesota had only seven high-danger scoring chances in the game, including a shot off the crossbar by Claire Thompson. This allowed the Sceptres to limit Minnesota's offensive output to just one goal in regulation. 

While the Sceptres like to play close to the line, Toronto stepped over it too often against the Minnesota Frost. Throughout the game, Toronto committed unnecessary stick infractions, including two tripping calls at center ice. 

Toronto took a season high five penalties in the game, costing them 10 valuable minutes in a close affair. 

Despite this, the Sceptres didn’t allow them to extend their lead with the extra attacker. On those five penalty opportunities, the Frost managed to direct only six shots towards Campbell. 

“The penalty kill has just been successful. I think there's been a good emphasis on not worrying about killing the whole two minutes,” said Troy Ryan. “With the new rules, it's just killing that first 15-10 seconds to get it clear, so we can get the people that we want to be on the ice  to kill the rest of the penalty.”

Their success on the penalty kill against the Frost improved their percentage to just over 80% on the season, fourth best in the league. 

Ever since being paired up with Laura Kluge, Maggie Connors has emerged from the shadows driving Toronto’s offiensive play when she is on the ice. 

In a first period where the Sceptres couldn’t get any offensive looks, the duo of Kluge and Connors created two of their three chances.

They opened the game with a two-on-one opportunity that saw Kluge pass to a wide open Connors, who was denied on the one timer by Nicole Hensley. 

Over the past two games Connor has really stepped up her game for the Sceptres as she has gotten more involved on the rush and offensively. 

It will be interesting to see if she can continue this momentum after the team's ten day break from the action.