Win streak snapped
Ottawa rallies from two-goal deficit to deny Toronto its 12th win in a row
Daryl Watts and Ottawa’s Professional Women’s Hockey League team put an end to Toronto’s winning ways Saturday.
Watts had three goals as Ottawa rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat Toronto 5-3. That snapped the league leaders’ 11-game win streak.
The win was big for Ottawa (7-06-6) as it looks to create space between itself and Boston for the league’s fourth and final playoff spot. Ottawa has 27 points, five more than Boston, which faces New York on Monday before the league’s international break.
“It’s just great to build on,” Watts said. “And then come out of the break fast and furious.”
Ottawa captain Brianne Jenner had a goal and two assists while Hayley Scamurra scored her fourth of the season. Emerance Maschmeyer made 19 saves.
Natalie Spooner, with two, and Sarah Nurse had the goals for Toronto (10-3-0-6) while Kristen Campbell stopped 20 shots.
Toronto opened the scoring after taking advantage of a turnover at Ottawa’s blue line with Spooner beating Maschmeyer to the glove side. Spooner scored her second less than four minutes later on a great feed from Kali Flanagan on a 2-on-1. Spooner leads the league with 15 goals and 20 points.
“I think I’m just finding pucks around the net, taking pucks to the net and using my body around the net,”she said. “I think I’ve always been a player that likes to be around the net and likes to score goals.”
Watts scored her first of the game with 4.5 seconds remaining in the second period to cut Toronto’s lead to one.
Ottawa rode the momentum of that late goal, scoring just 38 seconds into the third when Scamurra put a loose puck past Campbell.
“We had a quick one there in the third to tie it up and I just love that,” Ottawa coach Carla MacLeod said. “We’re building a resiliency in our game that, you know, early on we were struggling with. But now we’re quite comfortable regardless of the scoreboard. We know we can always dig out.”
The home team took its first lead at 8:24 with Katerina Mrázová and Jenner breaking in on a two-onone. Mrázová made a perfect pass to Jenner, who scored to send the 8,448 fans at TD Place into a frenzy. Watts gave Ottawa a two-goal lead at 14:58, which led to the chant, “End the streak.”
Nurse cut Ottawa’s deficit in half at 16:21 after Maschmeyer mishandled a shot. But Watts scored into the empty net for her first PWHL hat trick and Ottawa’s third win over Toronto in four meetings this season.
Ottawa struggled to hold on to leads late in games earlier this year but the club seems to have gained confidence.
“I think it’s just some details that we’re getting better and better at,” Jenner said. “We’ve done a lot of work in our (defensive) zone, we’re clearing pucks out a little bit better and helping (Maschmeyer) out a bit more.”