PWHL Toronto secures first overall with convincing win over Minnesota

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The remainder of the PWHL would possibly need to brush up on their particular groups in the event that they hope to knock Toronto off its pedestal come playoff time.

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The No. 1 penalty-killing staff within the league all of a sudden has a fairly spectacular energy play to go together with it.

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A pair of power-play objectives and an ideal 3-for-3 evening on the facility kill because it’s referred to round right here, was simply the recipe for win No. 16 on the yr as Toronto secured first place total with a 4-1 win over visiting Minnesota.

Minnesota, for the fourth consecutive sport, did not safe its spot within the playoffs and can now take that into their ultimate sport in opposition to New York on Saturday.

Minny solely wanted some extent to lock of their spot within the playoffs however Toronto, regardless of permitting the primary objective of the sport, wasn’t going to be the staff to provide it to them.

Offensively, it was one other Natalie Spooner evening because the league’s main objective scorer and point-getter added two extra objectives to her complete, giving her 18 on the season.

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The primary got here on the Toronto energy play, which has been getting loads of consideration in apply the previous couple of weeks.

It gave Toronto its first lead of the sport with Spooner in her workplace in entrance of the online and tipping house a Renata Quick drive from the purpose previous Maddie Rooney.

Spooner’s second of the evening got here on a breakaway.

She picked off a cross between two Minnesota defenders and was on a break from principally her personal blue line.

With that a lot time to arrange the goaltender, Spooner made no mistake going to her patented deke with Rooney biting on the primary transfer laborious as Spooner introduced it again to her forehand for the straightforward faucet into the empty aspect of the online.

Simply the prettiest objective of the evening and possibly your complete Toronto season was Toronto’s first objective on the facility play.

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On a set play, Toronto labored the puck again to the blue line to Quick, who gave it proper again to Emma Maltais down low. She fed it under the objective line to Sarah Nurse, who was parked simply off the sting of the online.

Nurse’s cross to Hannah Miller coming off the alternative level in direction of the online was so fast and so forth goal and Miller’s shot so excellent it was at the back of the online earlier than anybody on the ice may react.

Maltais, who assisted on two of the primary three objectives, added an empty-netter to cap off the victory.

With the win and first place total sewed up, Toronto can now select their first-round opponent from between the third- and fourth-place finishers. The identification of these two groups stays to be decided.

Dwelling ice all through the playoffs is now additionally assured.

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