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A well-rested Ottawa team got the jump on Toronto early and never looked back, winning 5-1 in yet another offensive struggle for the PWHL Toronto hosts.
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Three unanswered first-period goals stood up for Ottawa. The visitors were playing just their second game of the season because of a postponed game in Boston earlier in the week.
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Toronto, on the other hand, was playing its fourth game of the season after back-to-back road contests in New York and Minnesota, and struggled with some early penalty issues and then a few poor line changes that led to opportunities for Ottawa.
Looking to shake things up after that first period when his team fell behind 3-0, Toronto head coach Troy Ryan replaced starting goaltender Kristen Campbell with Erica Howe and shuffled three of his four lines.
Toronto had more chances over the final two periods and was certainly into the game more than it had been in the first period, but the early deficit proved to be too big.
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Ottawa certainly seemed to have a step on Toronto all game long, a development foreign to a team such as Toronto that usually counts its speed as an advantage.
Of course, playing into that were the polar opposite schedules the two teams have been on for the past week and a bit.
Ottawa, though, was full value for the win, carrying the play in both that first period and for most of the third.
Gabbie Hughes led the way with a pair of goals and was named the team’s first star.
Ottawa opened the scoring with two power-play goals in a span of 48 seconds midway through the first period.
At first, Toronto forward Jesse Compher was called for a holding penalty. Eighteen seconds into the Ottawa power play, Toronto captain Blayre Turnbull bowled over an Ottawa player along the boards and was called for a roughing minor, giving Ottawa a 5-on-3 advantage. That led to the power-play goals by Katerina Mrazova and Hughes, putting Toronto in an early hole.
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Toronto got it going a little at that point, pressuring Ottawa, but could not beat Emerance Maschmeyer, the Canadian national team goaltender who stopped 25 of 26 shots and was named the second star of the game.
Things got worse for Toronto in the dying seconds of the first period after the team was stymied by Maschmeyer when Daryl Watts came down the wing and sniped one past Toronto goalkeeper Campbell.
“After that goal with 15 seconds left in the period, I thought it was time to shake things up,” Ryan said.
With the loss, Toronto fell to 1-3. Ottawa has a win and an overtime loss.
It’s not the start Toronto was looking for, but it’s still very early in the schedule.
“I don’t think there is a panic button (being pushed) but I also think there is an expectation we are not quite meeting as a group and I think we have to go to practice and start working on ways to meet those expectations,” Toronto forward Emma Maltais said.
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“We have a really tough January and I think you could see that tonight in the beginning,” she said. “We had some travel legs or whatnot but later in the game we really got into it and I think if we build off those things we can kind of fix the scores of the games.”
Maltais, though, did not want to use tired legs or a travel disadvantage as an excuse.
“That’s all part of being a pro,” Maltais said. “We’re all learning about being a pro and if we can adjust and learn what is best for ourselves in terms of travelling or playing every other day I think that’s really important and a learning point. I’m just happy we are hitting that early in the season.”
Ottawa head coach Carla McLeod said the idea that her team could ever get rusty with the unexpected extended stint between games never occurred to her.
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“Nah, they’re young. Look at them. They are pro athletes. You don’t worry about rust. They are so driven to play, you almost only have to open the door and say ‘Go.’ So, no, we weren’t worried.”
Natalie Snodgrass scored Ottawa’s other goal.
Toronto’s lone goal on Saturday came from Natalie Spooner, which gives her Toronto’s first PWHL goal at home. Spooner also scored Toronto’s first goal in franchise history, last week against New York in Bridgeport, Conn.
Spooner, a Scarborough native, was clearly happy with the multiple firsts for her team but clearly still thinking about the loss.
“I wish it could have snowballed for a few more,” she said. “It was nice to get the crowd in it and feel that energy, but we’re going to have to find a way to score some more goals and win some more games.”
Both teams return to action on Wednesday. Toronto will play host to Boston. Ottawa will play host to Minnesota.
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