Spooner scores first two of season, Sceptres topple PWHL-leading Victoire 4-1

Toronto Sceptres' Natalie Spooner (second right) celebrates scoring her first goal of the season against the Montreal Victoire during the first period of PWHL hockey action in Toronto on Thursday, March 6, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Thomas Skrlj

TORONTO — Natalie Spooner scored her first two goals of the season as the Toronto Sceptres cruised to a 4-1 win over the Montreal Victoire on Thursday in Professional Women’s Hockey League action.

It was just the sixth game of 2024-25 for the reigning MVP, who returned on Feb. 11 after having knee surgery from an injury she sustained in last season’s playoffs.

Allie Munroe and Maggie Connors also found the back of the net as Toronto (9-2-4-7), earned its first win against the Victoire in five head-to-head matchups this season.

Kristen Campbell made 25 saves.

Marie-Philip Poulin replied for Montreal (10-5-1-5). Elaine Chuli stopped 12-of-15 shots before being pulled after Connors’s goal made it 3-0 Toronto 8:01 into the second period.

Ann-Renée Desbiens turned away 13 shots in relief.

Takeaways

Sceptres: Toronto came into the game having gone 0-0-2-2 against Montreal this campaign after going undefeated in five games against the Victoire last season.

However, Thursday night’s contest looked a lot like last season’s matchups: physical and competitive but with Toronto coming out on top. The Sceptres controlled the pace and had far better scoring chances after a 3-1 loss to Montreal on Feb. 25.

Victoire: Montreal remains six points ahead of second-place Toronto in the PWHL standings with one game in hand after having its three-game win streak snapped. The Victoire had a difficult time generating offence, with Poulin’s goal coming with four minutes left in the third and the game out of reach.

Key moment

Nine seconds after Montreal’s Mikyla Grant-Mentis was sent to the penalty box for boarding, Julia Gosling sent a cross-ice pass in front to Spooner who missed at first but tapped in an airborne puck 5:48 into the first period for the game’s opening goal.

Key stat

Toronto was 2-for-4 on the power play, with Spooner getting things started in the opening period and adding another in the second. The Sceptres boast the PWHL’s top power play, converting at a 32.8 per cent clip entering Thursday’s game.

Toronto’s power play has now converted in 10 of its last 11 games, with the lone contest it failed to produce in being the Feb. 25 loss to Montreal.

Up next

The Sceptres host the Minnesota Frost on Sunday and the Victoire visit the Boston Fleet on Saturday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 6, 2025.

Abdulhamid Ibrahim, The Canadian Press