Toronto beats Boston for eighth straight win
Natalie Spooner had a goal and an assist as Toronto won its eighth straight game, defeating Boston 3-1 in a Professional Women’s Hockey League game Wednesday.
Allie Munroe and Maggie Connors added the others for Toronto (10-5-0), which has also won nine of its last 10 games.
Kristen Campbell made 22 saves in front a sold-out crowd of 2,479 at Mattamy Athletic Centre.
Jess Healey scored for Boston (66-2), which dropped its second in a row.
Aerin Frankel stopped 15 shots in the first two periods. Emma Soderberg turned away all 11 shots she faced in relief in the third.
It was Toronto’s second straight victory over Boston, following a 5-3 win on Feb. 14. Toronto now holds a 2-1 edge in the season series, with Boston winning the first meeting 3-2 on Jan. 17.
Munroe opened the scoring 3:25 into the game with her first goal of the season. Sarah Nurse drove down the right side of the ice, cut across into the slot and sent a shot on net. Munroe buried home the rebound after a couple whacks at the puck.
Spooner doubled the lead with 2:23 remaining in the opening period. She took the puck from Jamie Lee Rattray just outside of Boston’s blue line and went in on a breakaway.
Spooner then got Frankel to bite on a deke and went to the backhand to push her PHWL-leading goal total to 12 on the season.
Renata Fast almost made it a three-goal game for Toronto just under eight minutes into the second period. Nurse found her in the slot but Frankel turned aside the shpt.
Connors scored with 3:26 remaining in the second. Thirty seconds after killing a Boston power play, she sent in a wrist shot from just inside the point that beat Frankel glove side for her third of the campaign.
Healey finally got Boston on the board with 5:35 left in the contest. She picked the puck up from the left faceoff circle and whipped in a rocket of a shot that went off the post and in for her first of the year.
Things got heated in the final three minutes. Spooner was driving in against Healey to score into an empty net but was taken down. Rattray then checked Spooner into the net and a scuffle ensued by the end boards. Munroe went to the penalty box for roughing. Healey was called for hooking and Rattray for roughing.
Nurse was later taken down in Boston’s zone by Megan Keller, with the Boston defender getting penalized for interference. Nurse took exception to Keller’s antics while she was down and waved goodbye to Keller as she was sent to the penalty box.