Sceptres’ coach hoping Sunday’s lacklustre performance was an outlier

Coming off an uninspired 2-1 overtime loss, Toronto Sceptres head coach Troy Ryan was doing his best not to overreact to one poor outing.

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And as usual, Ryan was successful in that endeavor but not before dropping enough hints to suggest the upcoming week of practice between games was not going to be a totally pleasant one for his roster.

It was clear to Ryan that something was lacking on Sunday when the Sceptres seemed content to play on the periphery and forego their normal hard forecheck in retrieving possessions and re-setting for new opportunities.

“I didn’t think much of our performance,” Ryan began post-game. “I think for us we are successful when we are getting pucks in behind a defence, establishing a forecheck and being difficult to play against defensively down low and winning those battles. I would say we didn’t have any of that.”

No one can say with any certainty why a team suddenly veers away from a tried and true approach. And it’s not like it was just one or even a handful of the Sceptres. Pretty much all of them fell into this malaise where they were content to let Minnesota dictate the flow of the game for the majority of regulation and the bulk of the overtime.

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The good news for Ryan and company is this is the first time we have seen this from this team in quite some time. The bad news is it comes so close to the playoffs so there is going to be some soul-searching and re-examination of Sunday’s game over these handful days before the team is back in action.

That said, even with the overtime loss, the Sceptres have still gained points in 11 of its past 12 games. Over that span the Sceptres collected 25 of a possible 36 points, a run good enough to pull them from sixth in the standings to second with seven games remaining in the regular season.

The reasons for the turnaround are numerous but here are a handful that stood out for us.

GOALTENDING

Between them, Kristen Campbell and Raygan Kirk have played a huge role in this turnaround.

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Kirk got this one back on the rails for the Sceptres. In the five games she started between Jan 25 and Feb. 16, Kirk collected four wins and an overtime loss, allowing 11 goals in those five games. Campbell was clearly struggling at that point in the season and the rookie came in and held the fort allowing Campbell to work through some issues. When Campbell did get back in the net – she started two games within Kirk’s five-game run — she was back to her form of a year ago when she was named PWHL goaltender of the year. Over the past five consecutive starts, Campbell has allowed just seven goals and picked up wins in three of them along with an OT loss.

RENATA FAST

Fast appears to be on a mission to convince everyone she is THE elite defender in this league.  Left out of the top three a year ago when national team teammates Erin Ambrose won the award, Fast is both the highest-scoring defender and the league leader in hits this year. Her 15 assists are tied the league lead. She logs more ice time than anyone in the league, plays against opposing teams top scoring lines and generally is in the middle of everything regardless of where on the ice it’s happening.

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HANNAH MILLER

Miller has been the answer to what will the Sceptres do to replace the offence they lost with Natalie Spooner out the first two months of the year. Miller shares the league lead with 23 points more than half of that coming on the power play which has been another huge factor in Toronto’s turnaround. Spooner, who was out eight months with her torn ACL, is still ramping back up to form, but Miller’s breakout season is allowing her to do so without the pressure of needing to produce right out of the gate.

DARYL WATTS

It was a slow start in Toronto for her, but Watts has found her footing and like everyone mentioned here has had a major impact on the Sceptres rise through the standings. Through 23 games, Watts has 21 points, 11 of those coming on Toronto’s vaunted power play. Fifteen of her points have come in the Sceptres past 12 games when the team has made a move up the standings. Watts is going to lead the league in scoring, perhaps as early as this year. She currently sits tied for third with Hillary Knight and Kendall Coyne-Schofield at 21 points, two back of Miller for the league lead.

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MEGAN CARTER

The rookie defender’s start to her pro career was delayed by a lower body injury but her return has coincided with a sense of calm to Toronto’s defence. Carter is paired with fellow rookie Rylind McKinnon and her return has solidified the Sceptres third pairing. Carter’s return has also allowed Ryan to get Fast away from her shut down role at times freeing her up to become more of an offensive threat as well. In just 12 games, Carter has shown a penchant for being a punishing hitter – she has 19 hits in those 12 games — and according to Spooner, who spent a lot of time with her as the two worked their way back into the lineup from injury, there’s a booming shot there that has yet to pay dividends for Toronto. But it’s the steadiness and reliability n her first campaign that has really stood out.

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SHUTDOWN LINE OF TURNBULL/COMPHER/SCAMURRA

In a league where there is a wide gap between the explosiveness of a top line to a team’s second line, having a trio that you can throw over the boards and know they are going to make things tough on the best the opponent can throw out there has to be a good feeling. Turnbull, Compher and Scamurra are that line. Whether it’s Marie Philip-Poulin or Hillary Knight or Kendall Coyne-Scofield, Ryan has an answer for whoever steps on the ice. And not only can this group defend and make things miserable to top-line opponents, they can do damage themselves offensively as Compher’s breakout year will attest.

mganter@postmedia.com

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