January 23^rd saw the second Battle of Ontario in the PWHL with PWHL Toronto visiting PWHL for the first time. Toronto was coming off their first win of the season, with Ottawa riding a 3 game-point streak. Erica Howe would get the start in goal for Toronto, with Ottawa once again looking to Emerance Maschmeyer.

               Five minutes into the opening period, Emily Clark scored her first goal of the season with assists from Mikyla Grant-Mentis and Savannah Harmon. Six minutes later, Brittany Howard would score her first goal of the season, and even more notably, Captain Blayre Turnbull would record her first point of the year with the primary assist. The joy was short lived for ladies in blue, as Brianne Jenner would score her first of the year (with an assist from Amanda Boulier) 52 seconds later. The second period would present a more even contest without any high-end offense on either side as evidenced by the 9-9 shots on goal recorded by both teams. The third period saw a brilliant performance from Maschmeyer as she stopped all 13 shots from Toronto’s best. Fan-favorite Lexie Adzija would put the dagger in the game with an empty-net goal in the final minute with assists from Ashton Bell (4^th of the year) and Zoe Boyd (3^rd of the year).

               This was another incredibly strong performance from PWHL Ottawa, who through their first four games still have not lost a game in regulation. I’m a big fan of Boston’s Aerin Frankel, but at this point in the season Maschmeyer has more than staked her claim as the league’s best goaltender, especially with this (new and current) career high of 30 saves in the win. Harmon is also emerging as a star performer in the PWHL by extending her point streak to 3 games (1 goal and 2 assists). Ottawa will now get the challenge of their first true back-to-back against PWHL Boston, a team looking to rebound from a 4-1 home loss in their last contest.