Battle of Ontario to determine final standings for the league’s inaugural season
TORONTO, ON (May 5, 2024) – The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) regular-season schedule concludes with a Sunday night game between Toronto and Ottawa at 7:00 p.m. ET at Mattamy Athletic Centre.
WHERE TO WATCH
Fans across Canada can watch the game live on TSN 3/5 channels, TSN.ca, and the TSN app. Fans in the United States can watch the game streamed live on the league’s YouTube channel. Daniella Ponticelli will have the play-by-play call alongside analyst Saroya Tinker and Raegan Subban reporting rinkside.
CHASING THE CHAMPIONSHIP
Ottawa must beat Toronto in regulation to secure a playoff berth. The three points would give Ottawa 35 points and move them up into third place overall ahead of Boston and Minnesota by virtue of having more regulation wins which is the first tiebreaker in the standings. An overtime or shootout victory by Ottawa or a win by Toronto of any kind would give Minnesota the fourth and final playoff spot.
Toronto has clinched first place and have earned the opportunity to select their semifinal opponent between Boston and either Minnesota or Ottawa pending tonight’s result. Montréal has clinched second place and home ice advantage and will have their semifinal opponent determined following Toronto’s selection.
New York has earned the first overall pick in the 2024 PWHL Draft. The other non-playoff team between Ottawa and Minnesota will select second overall. If Minnesota makes the playoffs in fourth place, they will select third overall and Boston would select fourth. If Ottawa makes the playoffs in third place, they will select fourth overall and Boston would select third as the fourth-place team. Montréal will select fifth overall and Toronto will select sixth.
FAN APPRECIATION
Tonight’s game at Mattamy Athletic Centre will celebrate the tremendous support of PWHL Toronto fans throughout the inaugural season. All fans will receive rally towels courtesy of Canadian Tire, and the team will showcase memorable fan photos on video boards throughout the game to recap the season. PWHL Toronto players will be accompanied by their number one fans, their mothers, as they pose for walk-in photos upon arrival. Mom’s will be wearing special jerseys with their last names on them and have the opportunity to watch warmups and the national anthem from the bench. Following the game, PWHL Toronto will do one final stick salute and celebratory lap around the ice to thank the crowd at MAC before embarking on playoffs at Coca-Cola Coliseum.
SETTING THE STAGE
All eyes will be on Mattamy Athletic Centre for game number 72 of the regular-season schedule, 125 days after the puck dropped in the same building to launch the inaugural campaign. Toronto (12-4-0-7) has already locked up first place in the standings with 44 points and can eliminate their provincial rivals from playoff contention. Ottawa (8-1-6-8) is in fifth place with 32 points and in need of a regulation win to get in, and the fifth instalment of the Battle of Ontario could be the perfect stage to do it. Ottawa has produced their best results against Toronto, winning three of four games in the season series and outscoring them 15-10, including a 5-3 victory at The Arena at TD Place on Mar. 23 to end Toronto’s 11-game winning streak before the break. Since then, Ottawa has managed just five of a possible 12 points and enter the action with two straight losses including a 4-3 loss to New York on Tuesday at Prudential Center. Toronto has won three straight games, including a 4-1 victory against Minnesota on Wednesday at home. They hold the league’s best home record with 23 points powered by eight straight wins, including seven wins and 20 points in 10 games at MAC. Ottawa has four regulation wins and 15 points in 11 road games this season. This matchup features the league’s top two offences, along with Ottawa’s number one ranked powerplay against Toronto’s number one ranked penalty kill. Three of the six powerplay goals Toronto has allowed have come against Ottawa.
THE SEASON SERIES THROUGH FOUR GAMES
Ottawa has won three of the first four games against Toronto and lead the season series 9-3 in points with every result determined in regulation. Ottawa won the first meeting 5-1 at Mattamy Athletic Centre on Jan. 13, and the second encounter by a 3-1 score on Jan. 23 at The Arena at TD Place. Toronto won 5-2 in Ottawa on Mar. 2, with Ottawa winning 5-3 at home on Mar. 23. Toronto native Daryl Watts led Ottawa with her first PWHL hat trick in that contest. Captain Brianne Jenner scored a goal and two assists, Hayley Scamurra scored once, and Kateřina Mrázová and Savannah Harmon had two assists each as Ottawa erased a 2-0 first period deficit with four straight goals. Natalie Spooner scored twice, and Sarah Nurse had a goal for Toronto in defeat. Spooner leads the season series with four goals and one assist, Watts has four goals, Jenner has two goals and two assists, Mrázová has a goal and three assists, and Harmon has four assists head-to-head. Emerance Maschmeyer has started all four games for Ottawa with three wins and a save percentage of .911. Kristen Campbell has started three of Toronto’s four games against Ottawa with one win and a save percentage of .850.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Toronto’s Natalie Spooner heads into the final game with 25 points, including 18 goals with seven assists in 23 games, and is poised to be crowned the inaugural season Points Leader and Top Goal Scorer. She is currently riding a four-game point streak and has three goals in her last two games, including a two-goal performance on Wednesday against Minnesota, and 14 points in her last 10 games. Teammate Sarah Nurse (10G 11A) is tied for fourth in league scoring with 21 points and an active three-game point streak with five goals and one assist. Emma Maltais (4G 15A) is tied for the lead in rookie scoring with 19 points and tied for the overall lead with 15 assists. She has an active five-game point streak with one goal and seven assists in that span, including a goal and two assists on Wednesday. Defender Renata Fast (3G 10A) is fourth in Toronto scoring with 13 points and has a four-game point streak. Hannah Miller (7G 5A) has 12 points and scored her seventh goal of the season on Wednesday. Ottawa captain Brianne Jenner (9G 10A) leads her team with 19 points, including six goals and three assists recorded in the team’s recent four-game winning streak. Kateřina Mrázová (6G 12A) is second on the team with 18 points, followed by Daryl Watts (9G 7A) with 16 points. Watts also delivered consistently during Ottawa’s four-game winning streak with four goals and two assists. Emily Clark (4G 10A) has 14 points and had a six-game point streak end last Saturday against Montréal. Savannah Harmon (3G 9A) and Tereza Vanišová (2G 10A) are tied for fifth in team scoring with 12 points each. Harmon had two assists in Tuesday’s loss to New York, and Vanišová returns to the lineup after missing last game.
SINCE JANUARY 1
There have been 71 PWHL games played since the league officially launched, including 51 that ended in regulation, 13 in overtime, and seven decided in a shootout. A total of 334 goals have been scored by 96 different players, with 254 of those goals scored at even strength, 67 on the powerplay, and 13 shorthanded markers. A total of 541 assists have been recorded by 112 different players to bring the league’s point total to 875. Goaltenders have faced a total of 4,067 shots and posted 11 shutouts.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“I can’t believe we’re playing the last regular season game! I’m so excited to be able to finish off the season in front of our home crowd and honour the incredible women in our lives. The last few months have been incredible, and the support from the fans has been above and beyond anything I could’ve dreamed of, so thank you for repping the Toronto blue! Looking forward to rocking with everyone in the playoffs!” – Sarah Nurse, Toronto
“What an exciting ending to the PWHL regular season. Hopefully, this final game gives PWHL fans another exciting game before heading into the playoffs. Our priority at this point is making little tweaks to our game to set us up for playoff success. We know we must be better. With everything on the line, we expect Ottawa to be at their best. We have had a great week and are prepared to provide a little push back.” – Troy Ryan, Toronto
“There are lots of mixed emotions and we are trying to figure out how to manage them all. How can we go best into the game? What’s the worst that can happen? We lose. Life will go on. It will suck. It will sting. If we win, we’ll get to keep playing. We will try to remember that no matter what, we get another opportunity to play the game that we love.” – Gabbie Hughes, Ottawa
“You don’t change trajectory based on one result. It’s more those finer details. We have played incredible hockey. I don’t know how many games in a row we played where we got points. Even the Montréal game where we didn’t win. We outshot the team 4-to-1 in the third period. Something is going well there. It’s about the little nuances within the game. Tying a player down in the slot, maybe. But that’s not new! Those are things that we have talked about all year. The road map has been pretty good. We just have to find the confidence to execute well during the game.” – Carla MacLeod, Ottawa
QUICK HITS
Toronto (+16) is first in goal differential and Ottawa (+2) ranks third…Toronto (2.78) is first in goals-per-game average and Ottawa (2.61) ranks second…Toronto (2.09) allows the fewest goals-per-game and Ottawa (2.52) allows the second most on average…Toronto is tied for the league-lead with 14 first goals and have won 12 games when scoring first, while Ottawa has scored first in 12 games and won seven times…Ottawa leads the league with 22 goals in the first period and Toronto leads the league with 25 goals in the third period…Toronto has won seven of its nine one-goal games, Ottawa has just one win in 11 one-goal games…Ottawa (+38) is second in shot differential and Toronto (+35) ranks third…Ottawa (29.52) is second in shots-per-game average and Toronto (28.04) ranks fourth…Toronto (26.48) allows the second fewest shots-per-game and Ottawa (27.91) allows the third most on average…Ottawa is tied for the league-lead outshooting its opponents in 15 games, Toronto has outshot its opponents 13 times…Toronto (6.61) averages the third most penalty minutes per game and Ottawa (6.30) the fourth most…Ottawa (16/62) is first in powerplay efficiency at 25.8%…Toronto (10/67) ranks fourth on the PP at 14.9%…Toronto (65/71) is first in penalty kill efficiency at 91.5%…Ottawa (53/61) ranks third on the PK at 86.9%…Natalie Spooner (TOR) leads the league with 25 points…Spooner leads the league with 18 goals…Sarah Nurse (TOR) is in a three-way tie for third with 10 goals…Emma Maltais (TOR) is tied for the rookie lead in scoring with 19 points…Maltais is tied for the league-lead with 15 assists…Spooner leads the league with six powerplay goals…Ottawa’s Kateřina Mrázová and Hayley Scamurra are in a nine-way tie with three powerplay goals…Maltais is tied for the league-lead with two shorthanded goals…Spooner is tied for the league-lead with four game winning goals followed by Gabbie Hughes (OTT) in third with three…Tereza Vanišová (OTT) leads the league with 35 penalty minutes…Spooner is third in the league with 94 shots on goal…Scamurra leads Ottawa with 84 shots on goal…Alexa Vasko (78/154) leads Toronto in face-off percentage at 50.6%…Blayre Turnbull (43.4%) leads the team with 339 draws…Brianne Jenner (121/223) leads Ottawa in face-off percentage at 54.3%…Hughes (46.0%) leads the team with 409 draws…Kristen Campbell (TOR) leads the league with 15 wins and three shutouts in 21 starts with a goals-against-average of 1.99 that ranks second and a save percentage of .925 that ranks fourth…Emerance Maschmeyer (OTT) is second with nine wins and two shutouts in 21 starts with a 2.26 GAA and a .916 SV%…Jenner celebrated her 33rd birthday on Saturday…Toronto will dress the same forward lines and defensive pairings as they did on Wednesday against Minnesota.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
TORONTO:
Maltais | Nurse | Howard
Miller | Turnbull | Spooner
Connors | Compher | Willoughby
Bach | Vasko | Leslie
Cogan
Larocque | Fast
Munroe | Flanagan
Rougeau | Knowles
Campbell | Howe
Scratches: Jackson, Poulin-Labelle
OTTAWA:
Clark | Hughes | Scamurra
Watts | Mrázová | Jenner
Gilmore | Snodgrass | Vanišová
Demers | Darkangelo | Shiga
Davis
Harmon | Tejralová
Roese | Bell
Isbell | Buckles
Maschmeyer | Abstreiter
Scratches: Boyd, Della Rovere, Gasparics, McQuigge, Schneider
OFFICIALS:
Referees: Cianna Lieffers (Saskatoon, SK) and Shauna Neary (Halifax, NS).
Linespersons: Ali Beres (Brant, ON) and Shawn Oliver (Ottawa, ON).
Follow the league on all social media platforms @thepwhlofficial plus team accounts @pwhl_toronto and @pwhl_ottawa.