Another frustrating loss for PWHL Toronto as Ottawa goalie stands tall

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Another strong effort and another domination of play resulted in yet another frustrating loss for PWHL Toronto.

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A 3-1 loss to host Ottawa before 6,316 delirious fans at TD Place in the nation’s capital gave Ottawa a 2-0 lead in the PWHL’s Battle of Ontario, but more importantly took away some of the momentum that Toronto had been building after a rough start to the year.

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Ottawa captain Brianne Jenner got the game-winner 12 minutes into the game. It was her first goal of the season and it stood up for the 48 minutes that remained in the game.

Outside of the beginning of the first period and a short stint to start the second, Toronto once again dominated possession and chances, but for the second time this year could not get more than a single puck past Ottawa netminder Emerance Maschmeyer.

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Toronto outshot Ottawa 31-20 in the game and limited Ottawa to just five shots in the third period, when they were constantly buzzing around the Ottawa net. Unfortunately, one of those shots was a clearing attempt by Ottawa with Toronto on the power play and having opted for the extra skater with starting netminder Erica Howe on the bench.

The clear by Ottawa’s Lexie Adzija went hard off the boards just outside the Toronto zone, popped up on its edge and rolled all the way into the empty net to salt the game away.

Following a complete-game-effort win in Montreal over the weekend, this one paled in comparison, though all that was really missing was the finish. But that has been the pervasive theme for Toronto for most of this young season. Scoring is very difficult for this team and a league-worst power play doesn’t appear to be getting any better.

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Toronto had four power-play opportunities in this one to Ottawa’s two and didn’t manage to add to its 1-for-15 success rate with the extra skater. Worse, the empty net goal they gave up was the first time this year they had given up a goal while on the power play.

Toronto head coach Troy Ryan said after the game there was very little to like in this one despite the chance domination.

He made the decision to start Howe ahead of his normal starter Kristen Campbell.

Campbell was coming off a stellar game-saving overtime and shootout performance against Montreal in a game that Toronto would go on to win. It was arguably her best start of the year. But it was also her sixth start in a row to begin the year and she had played all but two periods of the season to date.

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Howe had not started a game yet and this being a homecoming – she hails from the east-end Ottawa suburb of Orleans – it was a good time to get the backup some game action.

It was a rough start for Howe, who saw Emily Clark’s shot from the corner bounce off her pad and in when Howe left the post a little early.

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The second Ottawa goal wasn’t necessarily a hard shot as Jenner appeared to fan on the shot that wound up in the back of the net, but that goal was more about Toronto’s inability to clear the defensive zone. Renata Fast got stripped of the puck coming out of the zone, leading directly to Jenner’s opportunity on a nice drop pass from Amanda Boulier.

Howe, though, more than earned her coach’s trust throughout the rest of the game, particularly in the early going in the second period when the Ottawa women came out and owned the first four minutes or so. Howe kept Toronto in the game with three quality stops. The play was so one-sided Ryan made the decision to call a timeout and reset his charges.

It was a pivotal moment in the game as Ottawa to that point looked like they were going to run away with it. Toronto, though, responded to their coach and immediately re-established the upper hand in play.

Toronto still had no answer for Maschmeyer, who has now beaten Toronto twice in two games.

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Toronto’s lone goal came in the first period, six minutes after Clark opened the scoring for Ottawa.

Captain Blayre Turnbull knocked one out of her own zone to an open wing, where Brittany Howard pounced on it and carried it into the Ottawa zone. She delayed and drifted into the centre of the ice as Emma Maltais drove the net.

Howard’s shot was a snipe finding the far corner for the lone blemish on Maschmeyer’s night. They were the first points of the season for Howard and Turnbull.

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