By Lisa Wallace
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 huge for Ottawa (7-0-6-6) as it looks to create space between itself and Boston for the league's fourth and final playoff spot. Ottawa currently 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,” said Watts. “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. After a 45-minute wait for head coach Troy Ryan, assistant Rachel Flanagan spoke to media.
"We’re just chatting as a team and there’s different, like, meetings with leadership groups and so Troy was busy so he sent me over,” said Flanagan.
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,” said Spooner. “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 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 fired a loose puck past Campbell.
"We had a quick one there in the third to tie it up and I just love that,” said Ottawa coach Carla MacLeod. “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 Mrazova and Jenner breaking in on a 2-on-1. Mrazova 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.
Earlier this year Ottawa struggled to hold on to leads late in games. But the club seems to have gained confidence as the season wears on.
"I think it’s just some details that we’re getting better and better at,” said Jenner. “We’ve done a lot of work on our D-zone, we’re clearing pucks out of the net a little bit better and helping (Maschmeyer) out a bit more."
Ottawa leads the season series 9-3 in points over Toronto. Ottawa is also the only league team to beat first-place Toronto three times this year.
NOTES
Ottawa’s Becca Gilmore left the game late in the third after taking a hit from Blayre Turnbull. Ottawa forward Tereza Vanišová was fined $250 for a hit from behind in Ottawa’s game against New York earlier this week. Toronto defender Jocelyne Larocque has been suspended for one game for delivering a cross-check to the head.
UP NEXT
Ottawa hosts Minnesota on April 20.
Toronto heads to Boston on Thursday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 23, 2024
Banner image via The Canadian Press
