BY: HARSH KUMAR
Social media videos by Adam Floujeh
With their defeat of PWHL Boston on Wednesday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre, PWHL Toronto has extended their win streak to eight games and moved up to second place in the PWHL.
While Toronto has been on a hot streak, Boston was hoping for some luck – they were 2-3 in their last five. Toronto came out firing on all cylinders as they capitalised on Boston’s mistakes scoring two goals on six shots in the first. In the second period, they took full control, outshooting Boston 12-6 in the period and gaining an extra goal. While Boston tried to make a late push to bring themselves back into the game, goaltender Kristen Campbell shut the door, only allowing one goal all game.
Here are two big takeaways from Toronto’s eighth-straight win.
Toronto has developed some real chemistry
The regular season is usually a chance for teams to figure out what works and what doesn't. It's starting to look like this Toronto team is coming together for something special.
Throughout the game, Toronto was far and away the better team offensively, whether it was finding the open player or getting dangerous shots on net. The team was just out-skating and out-passing Boston.
While Boston goalie Aerin Frankel did her best to keep her team in the game, it was quite visible that Toronto repeatedly crashing the net was catching up to her and the rest of the team.
Even on the penalty kill it seemed like Toronto was hovering all over the Boston goalie.
“We’ve been working on jumping in the rush and be an offensive threat,” said Toronto’s Allie Munroe.
The team’s depth has also taken a step up. Allie Munroe was able to break through to get her first goal of the season just three minutes into the game.
“I think we've done a really good job of creating momentum and having fast starts,” said Toronto captain Blayre Turnbull after the game.
Boston can hit and hit hard!
While Toronto was playing a sound two-way game, Boston decided to lay hits all over the ice. Despite Toronto’s reputation as tough to play against, the physical game was all Boston’s.
It was their only real silver lining from this game and they made Toronto pay for every possession.
Whether it was along the boards or open ice, Boston made sure life was tough for Toronto’s players. Toronto had to keep their heads up as Boston kept coming at them along the boards with crushing hits.
With Boston feeling the frustration of their loss they ended the game with a brawl sending players from both teams to the box with multiple penalties.
“It's a physical game and no one's being dirty, so I think it’s fair,” said Boston head coach Courtney Kessel after the game.
Teams are starting to look ready for the playoffs
If this regular season has taught us anything so far, it's that these teams are built for playoff hockey and they look ready to compete.
Toronto and Boston both looked capable of playing a close and tight-checking game and were forcing turnovers on both sides. Sarah Nurse epitomized the playoff tenacity among these players, as despite all the whacks and hits she took, she made an impact on both sides of the puck.
Both goalies looked confident throughout the game, each20-plus saves and catching pucks through traffic.
This regular season has shown that these teams are capable and ready to perform at a high level. They still have a couple of months to go, but time will tick down fast, so the timing of this winning streak is good for Toronto.
NEXT: PWHL Toronto takes on PWHL Montreal on Friday, March 8th at the Mattamy Athletic Centre. Intermission Sports will have you covered from puck drop to final buzzer.