Toronto has plenty to learn from after helping make PWHL history

Article content

The first game in the history of the PWHL had everything but the result for the home side.

There was the expected sellout crowd of 2,537, complete with that upbeat atmosphere every live sporting event craves.

Article content

There was none other than Billie Jean King herself dropping the puck for the ceremonial faceoff alongside league chairperson Jayna Hefford.

Article content

It was the kind of sustainable professional women’s hockey many on the ice have been desperately hoping for for many years and it was historical in that sense.

Unfortunately on opening night, the Toronto players weren’t quite themselves.

A feisty, hard-working, hard-skating outfit in the pre-season and throughout training camp, Toronto came out tentative and unsure in this first game.

Their head coach noticed it. They noticed it themselves from the crease on out. And, yes, the sellout crowd noticed it.

Full credit to the New York visitors who showed far fewer first-game butterflies and because of it came away with a 4-0 win in the league’s inaugural game.

There’s no way to sugar-coat a 4-0 loss your first game out of the chute. All you can do is learn from it and the lessons were readily apparent to just about every member of the team before they had even left a still-festive atmosphere at Mattamy Atheltic Centre despite the loss.

Article content

Article content

“Troy Ryan did a great job of coming in after the game and just saying, ‘Let’s talk about it,’” veteran defender Jocelyne Larocque said. “Players had some great comments, so yeah, the biggest message was to not let it create doubt in our minds. We are a great team and we have great players and there are things we have to tweak, but that shouldn’t shake our confidence and it’s not going to. It’s a learning experience.”

A battle of Manitoba-born goaltenders stole the show through the first two periods with Corinne Schroeder, who hails from Elm Creek, Man., turning aside everything she faced to secure the first PWHL win for visiting New York.

In the Toronto net, Brandon, Man.’s Kristen Campbell turned away all but one shot over those first two periods.

Article content

But New York took over in the third, scoring three times and holding Toronto off the scoresheet completely while killing off a two-man disadvantage late in the third to preserve the shutout for a deserving Schroeder.

Ingersoll’s Ella Shelton made PWHL history with the first goal in league history at the 9:17 mark of the first period, scoring from the blue-line with Campbell well screened.

New York carried the play in the first period, outshooting Toronto 13-8.

Toronto came out far more aggressive in the second period, outshooting New York 16-4 but unable to get one past Schroeder, who head coach Howie Draper gave the start with it being in her home country.

Article content

Sarah Nurse of Toronto greets fans before playing New York in their PWHL hockey game at the Mattamy Athletic Centre on Monday, Jan. 1, 2024, in Toronto.Abbey Levy, a New York native and the other New York goalie, will get the home start when New York opens the home portion of its schedule Friday as Toronto heads south of the border for its first road game.

Toronto wants to build an identity of a team that is tough to play against, but it was New York that established the physical upper hand in this one early on and maintained mostly throughout.

Emma Maltais, a young woman not afraid to engage in the physical stuff, showed her teammates how to get the upper hand while killing a penalty midway through the third with some hard forechecking that brought the fans, and momentarily her teammates, some life, but Toronto was already down 4-0 at that point.

Article content

Maltais, like many of her teammates, was thrilled about the game itself, though not so much how it went down.

RECOMMENDED VIDEO

“We’re competitors,” Maltais said afterward. “I’m not going to be happy with a 4-0 loss. Like you said, it’s a special moment and a historic moment and I was proud to be a part of it, but moving forward we are going to look to win the best we can.

Campbell, who stopped 24 of 28 shots, didn’t feel like she was watching the same team that played in front of her in Utica, N.Y., or throughout training camp.

“I think in the first, for sure, that wasn’t the team I have seen so far,” Campbell said. “Obviously there were a lot of nerves and I think we settled in during that second period, but we still need to find a way to bury that puck.”

Article content

Larocque fully expects a more complete showing when the two teams pick things up again on Friday in Bridgeport, Conn., where the New York entry plays.

“Did it look like a first game for us?” Larocque said. “Yes, it did and that’s OK. There was a lot of emotion and a lot of nerves and that’s normal. Our first 10 minutes, that was a lot of nerves. The good thing is that a lot of the things we need to tweak are pretty simple – like picking up sticks in front and things that don’t involve a lot of skill, but just a mindset and a decision. I think tweaking those things it will be a totally new team next time out.  I feel a lot of confidence in that.”

mganter@postmedia.com

Article content