Yet another Toronto and Boston hockey rivalry in our midst

After two games in Lake Placid, the Toronto Six have officially won their first NWHL game!!

The reactions from the team as the clock wound down to zero is a visual to cherish fo a long time.

The learning that Head Coach Digit Murphy previously spoke to is beginning to shine through.

That being said, it was quite a journey to get to the win. Let’s take a look at what went into Toronto’s 2-1 win over the Boston Pride.

A FULL PLAY BY PLAY RECAP AVAILABLE HERE.

 

The Six had a solid start to their game, doing an excellent job of holding their ground throughout the game. The Pride tested goaltender Elaine Chuli very early but she took every shot in stride. Apart from the lone goal by Boston, it felt like Chuli was a brick wall making save after save. Toronto had constant pressure on Pride goaltender Lovisa Selander. The shots for the game were in favour of the Six 38-25. They were also 1/5 on the power play and ended the game, winning 53.1% of their faceoffs.

Through this, we see an amazing offensive zone effort from the team as a whole. As well as a defensive core that worked with their goalie to keep the Boston pride to one goal. They played a great physical game, which led to their spectacular third period. 

 

The first goal comes from “Thunder Bay’s finest” Brooke Boquist. Scored about three and a half minutes into the third with an assist from Alternate Captain Emma Woods.

The Six’s second goal of the night is scored by Mikyla Grant-Mentis. The game-winner is scored about a minute and a half later at 4:56 in the third period.

With an assist on this goal, Amy Curlew has now earned her first career NWHL point.

 

Tonight’s game was the exact opposite of Sunday’s. The Toronto Six were very slow to start in comparison. The team had many chances they just could not capitalize on early in their matchup against the Boston Pride. The first goal of the game comes twelve minutes into the period for the Pride, scored by Christina Putigna.

Turnovers were a slight problem, but as the game went on the Toronto Six were able to refine their play enough to not give away the puck as much.

One thing I found was through the first two periods, the Six needed to do a better job of backing up Chuli’s stellar performance. The even-strength spark was missing from the first two periods.

Penalties on the other hand were a bigger problem. Seven penalties were taken in tonight’s game, with Boston being able to capitalize on one of the player advantages. In this respect, the players need more discipline to avoid a worse outcome from giving up so many power-play opportunities.

Chuli kept her team in the game, through penalty kills and close calls, she was there.

I noticed that the pace that the Toronto Six plays with picks up as the game goes on, rather than declining throughout. That fact alone for a new team is something to look out for as they play more and further develop their chemistry.

 

You can watch the Six on Thursday, January 28th at 5:30 PM EST when they face the Buffalo Beauts.

As always you can watch the game on Twitch at twitch.tv/NWHL