The Toronto Sceptres were not able to dig out of an early deficit, as they fell 4-1 to the Boston Fleet. It was the first time in Boston’s franchise history that they won by a three-goal margin.
Here are three takeaways from the game.
Turnovers Prove Costly For Sceptres
For the Toronto Sceptres, their inability to get the puck out of their defensive zone proved costly.
In the first period, Toronto allowed the Fleet to get on the board first because of these struggles.
Five minutes into the first period, an Izzy Daniels airborne pass was swatted down by Hannah Brandt and quickly turned back the other way. Brandt ultimately found Alina Muller open in front of the net for her first of the season.
The Sceptres’ play with the puck proved costly again with three minutes left in the period. Toronto turned over the puck in front of their net leading to Emily Brown’s first goal and a two goal lead for Boston.
“We made some uncharacteristic turnovers and made some mistakes with our defensive coverage,” said Sceptres head coach Troy Ryan. “We were our own worst enemies tonight, it was on us.”
Sceptres dominate but have nothing to show for it
Toronto was in full control of the game but could not find results when it mattered. It was not for a lack of trying, as the Sceptres peppered Aerin Frankel with 36 shots, 15 of which came in the final frame.
To add salt to the wound, many of Toronto’s shots were in dangerous areas. Toronto took 24 shots from the slot but only had Blayre Turnbull’s late third period tally to show for it.
What is concerning is how often the Sceptres are being shut down by opposing netminders. At a certain point Toronto will need to alter how they’re generating chances because, while the goaltending in this league is good, they have the talent to put the puck in the net and right now they just flat out aren’t.
“We need a little bit more traffic in front,” said Ryan. “We aren’t taking away the goalies’ eyes enough and when we do we are too jammed into the front of the crease to pick up rebounds.”
Sceptres Can’t Shake Bad Luck
If you looked at this game there were so many times that luck was not on the side of the Sceptres.
Going on posts alone the Sceptres were centimetres, or inches for Fleet fans, away from three goals, with Kali Flanagan notably ringing the crossbar in the third period.
Posts weren’t the only bad luck for the Sceptres Wednesday night, as in the second Toronto had a two on none but Sarah Nurse fanned on the pass, and they did not get a shot.
The Sceptres will hope to have better luck on Saturday as they take on the New York Sirens.
