Blayre Turnbull’s 3-point outing leads Sceptres past Charge 4-2

TORONTO (AP) — Captain Blayre Turnbull scored twice and set up rookie Julia Gosling for her first Professional Women’s Hockey League goal to push the Toronto Sceptres to a 4-2 win against the Ottawa Charge on Saturday.

The win halted a two-game slide for the Sceptres and pushed them into fourth place from last place past the Charge and the Boston Fleet in the six-team PWHL.

Ten minutes after Turnbull swooped in for her fourth of the season, Toronto defender Renata Fast blasted home the 3-1 goal on the power play with 3:39 remaining in the second period.

Fast now has two goals and nine points in power-play situations.

Emily Clark and Katerina Mrazova scored for Ottawa. Clark tied the game at 1-1 shortly after she messed up a two-on-one when her stick broke.

Mrazova made it 4-2 with 13:46 remaining in the third period before 8,351 at Coca-Cola Coliseum.

Ottawa outshot the Sceptres 32-18. Raygan Kirk made 30 saves, while Emerance Maschmeyer turned aside 14 shots.

Takeaways

Sceptres: The speculation is league MVP Natalie Spooner will return from off-season knee surgery when the Spectres begin the second half of their season on Feb. 11.

Charge: Ottawa rookie Mannon McMahon has scored her three goals in two games at home against the Sceptres but has failed to score in her two games in Toronto.

Key moment

Kirk made a three-save sequence during a Charge power play early in the third period. Turnbull then scored as the Toronto penalty expired to deflate the visitors.

Key stat

The Sceptres and Charge hit the 15-game halfway mark with 19 and 17 points, respectively. Last season, Toronto produced 27 points after 15 games, while Ottawa checked in with an identical total of 17.

Up next

Toronto returns to action at home against the Minnesota Frost on Feb. 11. Ottawa hosts the Frost on Feb. 13.

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AP Women’s Hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey