PWHL Minnesota and PWHL Toronto would be the first teams to shake their rust off after the long All-Star Break. Both teams were coming into this game coming off wins against PWHL New York last weekend, and despite them being first and last in the league standings respectively, Toronto’s defensive play had been sharp over their last four games. In goal Minnesota would once again look to Nicole Hensley, and Toronto would look to Kristen Campbell in Saturday’s matinee matchup.

The first period of the game showed some signs of rust from the women who haven’t seen in game action since last weekend, and the players who were in the showcase didn’t find their legs until the midway point in the first period. Toronto had more chances over the course of the period, despite only holding an 11 to 10 edge in the shot column. Following a trip by Minnesota’s Maggie Flaherty, Toronto struck on the power play. Natalie Spooner buried her 6^th goal of the season with assists from Sarah Nurse and Rebecca Leslie with less than a minute remaining in the first period. However, in the second period Minnesota found their game and took over control of possession. Kendall Coyne Schofield would stay hot, extending her point streak to three games with a goal 12 minutes into the second period with helpers from Kelly Pannek and Natalie Buchbinder. 5 minutes later, Minnesota had a full defensive breakdown that was momentarily bailed out by a phenomenal desperation save from Nicole Hensley, but the defense’s inability to clear the rebound turned into a go-ahead goal by Renata Fast (Her First PWHL goal). Natalie Spooner almost made it 3-1 less than two minutes later, but Hensley had another incredible stop in as many minutes. The third period opened with a lot of north and south play from both teams, but a limited amount of looks and chances in the opening 10 minutes. Just past the midpoint in the period, Toronto shifted the game heavily in their favor. Blayre Turnbull would score her first goal of the season with assists from Spooner and Emma Maltais. 16 seconds later, Spooner would score her second goal, and third point of the game with an assist from Jocelyne Larocque. Minnesota would shift their team focus to create more chances on offense, but they were unable to create any meaningful chances, even with a power play chance.

So, there are some interesting takeaways from this game. Most obvious among them is that Natalie Spooner is a superstar in one of the biggest hockey markets on the planet. At this point in the season, PWHL Toronto live and dies by her ability to takeover games because the rest of the high-profile players are still trying to find their scoring touch from yesteryear and international play. Kristen Campbell has a few bumps early in the season, but she has settled in and become very consistent for her team. I alluded to it in the opening to the article, but after the first week of the season Toronto’s team defense has also greatly improved, and that was on full display with how few high-danger opportunities were allotted to the like of Taylor Heise and Grace Zumwinkle. The positives for Minnesota today were few, but still notable. Coyne Schofield extending her point streak to three games was key for them as coach Klee continues to refine the team’s offense in games where the top line is unable to takeover. Of course, Hensley played another outstanding game. Despite the four goals allowed, and disproportionately lowered save percentage, the score of this game could have been 3 or 4 goals higher if not for some of the incredible reflexive saves down the stretch. Both teams have their work cut out for them moving forward with 10 days off after this game.