Toronto Sceptres captain Blayre Turnbull knows what a must-win game looks like.
She made multiple NCAA Tournament appearances with the Wisconsin Badgers and won three world championships with Team Canada and Olympic gold in 2022. Turnbull is as competitive as they come and a natural leader.
So, when she called Saturday’s matinee at Scotiabank Arena against the New York Sirens a must-win game for Toronto, it was sincerity — not hyperbole.
“We’re in a spot right now where we have to win,” she said ahead of the game on Friday afternoon. “Based on where we are in the standings, we have to approach every game like that for the next little while.”
Toronto entered Saturday’s game with the PWHL’s worst record over one-third of the way through the 2024-25 season.
In their desperation to get a win — and with an expected capacity crowd for the second edition of the “Battle on Bay Street” at Scotiabank Arena — the Sceptres treated the game as if it was Game 5 of the Walter Cup Finals.
“Instead of allowing everybody else to put the pressure on you and the pressure of the environment, they’ve decided to put a little bit of it on themselves,” explained Toronto coach Troy Ryan. “It puts the control more in your hands instead of letting the environment and the atmosphere take over the game for you.”
The approach worked well and Toronto beat New York 4-2 in front of 19,102 fans — the biggest crowd of the season and third all-time in the league’s brief history. Hannah Miller paced Toronto with two goals — and now leads the league in scoring (6) — while Sarah Nurse scored the game winner.
It was a massive win for Toronto, and while the team still sits last in the league standings, it’s not an unscalable mountain ahead.
Toronto is only two points behind New York, which holds the fourth and final playoff spot with a lot of hockey (18 games) left to play. In a six-team league with three points for a regulation win, Toronto can catch up quickly if the team can string some wins together.
And — without putting too much pressure on a player who had surgery in the offseason — Natalie Spooner appears to be nearing her return to the lineup, which could be a huge advantage for Toronto.
There’s no official timeline as of Monday morning, but the reigning league MVP has been skating with the team.
Here are a few more takeaways from a relatively quiet week in the PWHL.
What hasn’t worked for Toronto?
Before the Sceptres can go on any kind of win streak, there are some obvious areas that need improvement. First is their starts.
In four of the team’s six regulation losses, they’ve been scored on within the first six minutes, which means Toronto spends a lot of time chasing the game.
“I don’t think we’ve had very many good starts this year,” said Turnbull. “It’s something we talk about often and I don’t think we have the answer. (To me), it’s all about mentality and being ready to go at first puck drop.”
Some of those early goals against have been, frankly, weak. This brings us to the next issue: Toronto’s No. 1 goalie Kristen Campbell is struggling.
She had a slow start last season and turned her game around to win Goalie of the Year. But she’s already eight games into her 2024-25 campaign and hasn’t really shown sustainable signs of improvement yet.
Her goals-against average (2.88) and save percentage (.887) are second-last among goalies who’ve played at least five games. Not to put it all on Campbell, because Toronto has had some defensive issues this season, but the Sceptres still allow the fewest shots per game (25) in the PWHL.
Campbell has also given up three or more goals in five of her eight starts, which is compounded by Toronto’s lack of consistent offensive production to dig out of those kinds of holes. The Sceptres are averaging a modest 2.4 goals per game this season, but that calculus doesn’t work in their favor with 2.9 goals against per game.
Raygan Kirk, who started the must-win game on Saturday, has been fine in her four starts (2-1-1). But ideally, Campbell finds her game — otherwise, Toronto will be forced to ask a lot out of its rookie goalie.
Could an SDHL partnership be coming?
One of the fans at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday was Angelica Lindeberg, Chief Commercial and Chief Operating Officer of the Swedish Women’s Hockey League. She was in town for a few days to meet PWHL executives, watch the game and ultimately grow the relationship between the two leagues.
The current iteration of the SDHL has been operating since 2016-17 and has 10 teams across Sweden. Lindeberg said the league has been growing in recent years but is struggling to attract big audiences like the PWHL since its launch in January 2024.
“We have been operating the league for nine years and we have been doing a lot of good things, but we are struggling with the audience,” Lindeberg told . “The PWHL does that very well and we thought it would be a good idea to come over here and get new inspiration.”
The SDHL has long attracted top players like Finland’s Petra Nieminen and Sweden’s Hanna Olson. The league, whose 10 teams have individual owners, pays its players, but salaries vary and are not often disclosed. Star players like Ottawa defender Ronja Savolainen and Boston defender Daniela Pejšová have left the SDHL for the PWHL, but Lindeberg sees it all as positive for the overall health of the women’s game.
“We’re happy the PWHL exists,” she said. “It’s good that there is now something more you can dream of than just being in the SDHL. We will never be able to compete with the PWHL, since we don’t have that kind of investment.
“It’s good for them to be the best and we can be the best.”
The SDHL and PWHL do not have a formal partnership at this time, but a relationship between the two sides would make sense given how few full-time roster spots currently exist in the PWHL. Without formal farm systems or secondary leagues (like the AHL or ECHL), players who don’t crack PWHL rosters have either retired or gone to play in the Swedish league.
“If a player isn’t ready to be in the PWHL,” Lindeberg said, “we could be the league for players to come to.”
A new PWHLPA Executive Director
The Professional Women’s Hockey League Players Association announced that Malaika Underwood would be the union’s next executive director effective March 3.
According to a press release, Underwood has over 20 years of experience in college and professional sports and has “developed strategies and operated businesses that help athletes, organizations, and brands unlock commercial value.”
The PWHLPA said Underwood will focus on “sustainable growth, empowering the union’s membership, and building strategic partnerships to elevate professional women’s hockey and the athletes who drive its success.”
“When I think about the players of the PWHL, I see trailblazers who have achieved historic milestones and redefined what’s possible in professional women’s sports,” Underwood said. “I’m committed to amplifying their voices, protecting their rights, and celebrating their contributions to the game.”
Underwood succeeds longtime NHL executive Brian Burke, who has led the union since its inception in 2023.
It’s not unexpected for Burke to transition out of the role. He initially signed a two-year deal to be executive director and according to The Globe and Mail, hoped a woman would take the job when his term was over.
“From day one, it was imperative that the union find long-term leadership capable of sustaining and building on what the players have fought to create,” Burke said in a statement. “Malaika Underwood is that leader. Her vision, expertise, and commitment to players make her the perfect choice.”
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
NHL, Women’s Hockey
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