PWHL Takeaways: Jackson steals the show as Sceptres clinch home ice

Photo via PWHL

By Adam Floujeh

The Toronto Sceptres defeated the New York Sirens by a score of 2-1 in the shootout on Saturday night at Coca-Cola Coliseum, clinching home ice advantage for their first round series of the Walter Cup playoffs.

While the game was close for sixty minutes of play and five minutes of overtime, goaltender Carly ‘CJ’ Jackson made the difference in their first-ever PWHL start.

After their fourth stop in the shootout, Natalie Spooner scored her second goal of the shootout to ice the game.

Here are three key takeaways from the game. 

CJ in the spotlight

“CJ! CJ! CJ!” 

That’s what the sellout crowd of 8,532 Sceptres faithful cheered as CJ Jackson went a perfect 4/4 in the shootout to win Toronto the game. This after a 25-save performance through 65 minutes of play. 

It was Jackson’s first start despite being a member of the Sceptres for the past two seasons. 

“I had so much fun, I know I'm gonna sleep really good today,” joked Jackson. “To be honest, it wasn't different from a normal day with how my teammates showed up for me and respected me and found a way to win. I just feel really excited and proud that I got to physically contribute.”

Jackson described doing a double take and “feeling the love” of the crowd when they erupted in cheers for them during the starting lineup.

Sceptres fans have been quick to love their goalies, but CJ Jackson is a special case. 

To those unfamiliar, Jackson may appear as simply a popular teammate and the third-string goaltender for Toronto, but the bond is evidently much deeper than that. Described as “everybody’s best friend” and regularly displaying an infectious positive attitude, Jackson is also an enormous advocate in hockey for 2SLGBTQ+ people, making them hard not to love. They are the PWHL’s only out non-binary player and secured their first win on the Sceptres’ Pride Night at Coca-Cola Coliseum.

“I don't know if anybody has a number three goalie that has the impact on their players, on the team, on the organization, and our whole fan base like CJ,” said Sceptres head coach Troy Ryan.

Ryan said Sceptres defender Allie Munroe, who played with Jackson on a Team Nova Scotia squad he coached at the Canada Winter Games in 2015, came to him at the end of the game with noteworthy pride for Jackson.

“The smile on [Munroe’s] face for CJ was amazing. She just used an old quote that I used to use a lot, is ‘Good things happen to good people,’ and I was like ‘Fucking right,’ he said.

Losing streak snapped, home ice secured

Two days after officially clinching a playoff spot, Tuesday's win over New York has guaranteed the Sceptres home-ice advantage for their first-round match up going into the playoffs. The win also snapped a losing skid for Toronto. 

“I think our last two games in Minnesota and then against Boston were games that we weren't too happy with as a team,” said Sceptres captain Blayre Turnbull. “It was really important for us to rebound and not only get the win, but just put a better hockey game together.”

Ryan echoed a similar feeling about his squad’s lacklustre performances in their past two games and emphasized getting their game straightened out heading into the postseason.

"You've got to find some positives going into the playoffs,” said Ryan. “Your mind can easily go from regular season to playoffs, and you can get ahead of yourself a little bit so there's got to be some excitement in the room heading into playoffs. And I thought that's what today's game probably did.”

Toronto held home ice advantage over the Minnesota Frost in the Sceptres’ opening-round series last season—which they lost in five games—and the squad sought the same blessing this year. 

“We talked about trying to secure home ice tonight,” said Turnbull. “That was our goal, heading into playoffs with only one game left, is to play playoff hockey and make sure that we get home ice.”

While their first round matchup is yet to be set, Toronto knows they’ll be playing one of Minnesota or the Ottawa Charge.

(ADAM FLOUJEH/INTERMISSION SPORTS)

New York finding something to play for

For a second consecutive season, the New York Sirens have failed to make the postseason, but the team continues to fight until the end.

“Regardless of what we've gone through this year, this team's always responded well,” said Sirens head coach Greg Fargo, who joined the team this season. 

“The group feels like there's still something to prove and something to play for, whether that's just the pride in finishing up the season the right way or or to try to climb into fifth place.”

The Sirens played Toronto close throughout the low-scoring affair, tying the game late in the first period and keeping the shot counter equal for most of sixty minutes. Even when the Sceptres started to finally get their legs in the third period, goaltender Kayle Osborne was unbeatable, finishing with 34 saves.

While the Sirens aren’t looking for any consolation prizes, they still continue to find ways to motivate themselves to play hard.

“We're obviously not happy being where we are, not being in the playoffs again this year,” said New York defender Emma Shelton.

“We still have something to play for, you know, spoil some [teams] spots where they end up. So I think that's kind of been our focus.” 

Shelton scored the Sirens’ lone goal, her eighth of the season. This beats her seven from last season and makes her the top scorer among defenders in the PWHL.

“The season’s not over till it's over,” she said.

The Sceptres wrap up their regular season by hosting the Ottawa Charge on Saturday, May. 3 at 12 P.M. EST.