Toronto hosts Minnesota to open inaugural PWHL playoffs on TSN
Published
After finishing first overall in the PWHL, Toronto selected Minnesota as their first-round opponent. The path to seeing if they made the right choice begins Wednesday in Game 1 of their playoff series.
Catch the action LIVE at 7pm ET on TSN4/5, TSN.ca and the TSN App.
Toronto earned the top seed and the right to pick either the third or fourth place team to open the playoffs against by topping the PWHL’s standings with 47 points during the regular season.
With either Minnesota or Boston to select, PWHL Toronto chose the team from the American Midwest to face in the best-of-five series that begins with two games at Coca-Cola Coliseum before shifting to Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul.
Toronto enters the playoffs hot, with the league’s most prolific scorer leading the charge.
They finished the season on a four-game winning streak, including a 4-1 victory over Minnesota in their second last game that featured a two-goal performance by forward Natalie Spooner.
Spooner also found the net twice in their season finale victory over PWHL Ottawa to finish the campaign with a league leading 20 goal haul.
The 33-year-old also topped the charts with 27 points.
Teammate Sarah Nurse was also part of the reason Toronto had the most goals scored in the PWHL as she finished tied for second in the league with 11 goals and 23 points.
The top-seeded team also had the least goals against and PWHL wins leader Kristen Campbell was a major reason for that as she posted 16 victories with a 1.99 goals-against average and .927 save percentage between the pipes.
Minnesota, on the other hand, slumped their way into the playoffs and will be looking to turn their fortunes around on the road in Game 1.
They have not earned a single point since returning from the international break, posting five-straight regulation losses, including a 5-2 defeat at the hands of last place PWHL New York in their final outing.
Forward Grace Zumwinkle enters the playoffs as Minnesota’s leading scorer, she finished the regular season with 11 goals and 19 points to top her team in both categories.
Sophie Jaques, who Minnesota acquired from Boston in the PWHL’s first-ever trade, arrived with no points in seven games and went on to contribute two goals and eight assists in 15 games to lead the team in points from a defender.
Toronto won three of four meetings with Minnesota during the regular season, including both games at home.
Game 2 of the series will take place at Coca-Cola Coliseum on Friday at 7pm ET and can also be seen on TSN, the exclusive home of the PWHL playoffs and the chase for the Walter Cup.