Battle against PWHL Montreal
After last facing off against the Professional Women’s Hockey League, PWHL, Montreal at Scotiabank Centre, filling out the stadium with over 19,000 fans and winning 3-0. Toronto has managed to win 3-0 against Montreal again on March 8th, at home in the Mattamy Athletic Centre. After a wrap-around attempt by star forward Natalie Spooner, Hannah Miller picked up the rebound and buried her fifth of the season for Toronto. While holding a one-goal lead through the remaining first period and entire second, Toronto cushioned their lead in the third with goals from Rebecca Leslie and Emma Maltais.
Hits, Scrums and Physicality
After seeing the PWHL kick-off as a league in January of 2024, it’s been an interesting ride seeing the development of physicality between the players in the league. Women’s hockey has always been refereed tightly on the front of hitting and roughness, however, the players within the PWHL have seemed to turn the volume up and the refs seem to be swallowing their whistles. Within the game last night, both Toronto and Montreal had a tough, physical second period with scrums breaking out left and right. Both teams ended up with three players in the box after a swarm of roughing. It will be intriguing to see how the players and refs learn to navigate the new level of physicality within the league.
Up 9! Will the winning streak continue?
After having a rougher start to the season, losing 5 consecutive games the begin, Toronto seems to have found their groove and have been rewarded with a 9 game winning streak. The streak has Toronto tied with Montreal for first overall in the league. There also needs to be something said about the goaltending, as it has been nothing but excellent throughout all 9 games. The question is, will Toronto be able to hold this streak when finishing up the regular season with just 3 games left? Or potentially into the playoffs?