Sceptres look to stay hot against Fleet on TSN
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The Toronto Sceptres look to keep their first winning streak of the season alive as they host the Boston Fleet tonight at Coca-Cola Coliseum.
Watch Fleet vs. Sceptres LIVE at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on TSN4 and streaming on TSN.ca and the TSN App.
The Sceptres have been inconsistent all season long, and this is the first time this year they’ve strung together back-to-back wins and they’ve done it in style.
On Feb. 1 against the Ottawa Charge, Toronto captain Blayre Turnbull had a dominant outing, scoring twice and picked up the assist on rookie forward Julia Gosling’s first-career PWHL goal. Rookie goaltender Raygan Kirk made 30 saves in the 4-2 victory.
On Tuesday, Toronto was without forward Sarah Nurse who was placed on LTIR the day prior. However, reigning PWHL MVP Natalie Spooner made her season debut against the Minnesota Frost after recovering from ACL surgery last May and her impact was felt immediately. She got the primary assist on Hannah Miller’s second-period marker and the team looked like it had more jump with their best player back in the lineup.
The cherry on top was defender Renata Fast scoring a highlight-reel overtime winner to beat the Frost 3-2 for their second straight win.
Sceptres head coach Troy Ryan’s decision to go with Kirk in net over Kristen Campbell for the past two games has paid off. Campbell has continued to struggle this season, one year removed from winning the PWHL’s top goaltender award.
With nearly even starts between the two goaltenders, Kirk has posted the far superior numbers this season. Toronto is 2-5-2 with Campbell in net while recording a .888 save percentage and 2.86 GAA. With Kirk in goal, the team is 4-1-2 with her rocking a .914 save percentage and 2.27 GAA.
For the Fleet, they’re coming off back-to-back wins over the New York Sirens with goaltender Aerin Frankel picking up her first shutout of the season in a 4-0 victory on Wednesday.
Frankel has been one of the busiest goalies in the league this season, making 11 appearances. She is 7-3-1 this season with a .931 save percentage and 1.87 GAA, placing her second in all goaltending categories, trailing only the Montreal Victoire’s Ann-Renee Desbiens.
In the three previous meetings between the Sceptres and Fleet this season, Toronto has the 2-1 edge.