PWHL: Toronto @ New York

Toronto @ New York
7:00 pm at Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut
Watch on MSG, Sportsnet
Stream on Sportsnet+, Youtube

Note: So far Youtube streams have been available in Canada

In the first-ever PWHL game, New York tuned up Toronto 4-0. They did it with an outstanding goalie performance from Corinne Schroeder, some top six excellence and Toronto's uneven play.

Every team has now played one game, and Toronto is the only team not to score a goal. Minnesota won in regulation over Boston, and Montréal won in overtime over Ottawa, so Boston and Toronto are looking for their first points.

Them

Toronto is coming to New York's home rink, so their decision now is how committed are they to their two-headed goalie monster? Are they going to go to Abbey Levy today or come right back with the goalie that shut Toronto out?

Hockey tradition says you have to play Corinne Schroeder here, but if they don't play Levy, the next game is five days from now, that's a long wait for a player who has an NCAA record just as good.

The skill of New York up front is built on their defence, but don't think it isn't quality. Get to know Alex Carpenter:

PWHL New York’s Carpenter hoping to build team success off unusual career path

Since 2016, New York’s Alex Carpenter’s career has taken her all over the hockey world in the NWHL, CWHL, ZhHL, PWHPA and now PWHL. Kristina Rutherford tells how that has helped Carpenter become one of the “quietest, best” players in the world.

Sportsnet| January 4, 2024, 3:00 PM

Another name to watch up front on New York is Chloé Aurard. She looked very effective in the opening game with two assists. She is 24, from France, and is a graduate of Northeastern University.

Women's hockey used to rely totally on the ability of women from other countries to do high-level university courses in their second language. Aurard has climbed that hill to get to pro hockey. She is the right age to have walked from the NCAA to a pro team, the exact opposite of Carpenter in almost every way. In the future, women won't need to be that academically gifted to play hockey in North America.

Expect lines closer to gametime.

Us

Oh, Toronto, why do you have to be like this?

I'm sure everyone on the team knows that wasn't an ideal first performance. They weren't terrible, and they did spend the second period putting 16 shots on Schroeder's net, but they collapsed in the third. There's no point in sugar-coating it, they just folded.

The top line for Toronto was held out of much meaningful play by the very tough and focused defending of New York. Sam Cogan had one SOG, Sarah Nurse three, and the 1C, Blayre Turnbull only had one.

Emma Maltais and Jesse Compher had the good chances.

I thought Cogan was a little lost in the exalted company, and while this line is supposed to be tough and relentless, they weren't. Kristen Campbell was fine until the third, and she fell apart along with everyone else – total team effort there.

Toronto posted lines right before the game on Monday, expect them to do that again.

Update:

This is all good in my book. Compher moves up, Cogan down. Maltais takes the second line. Jess Jones comes in for Hannah Miller. D pairs unchanged.

The Game

This hasn't changed: New York is disciplined in their own end. Scoring chances have to come from breaking that apart with some controlled chaos. Toronto has to play that second period from game one for 60 minutes.

Go Toronto Go!