Toronto Sceptres gaining confidence from back-to-back West Coast wins

VANCOUVER — Troy Ryan wants to see what his Toronto Sceptres can truly accomplish.

After picking up a pair of wins on a West Coast swing this weekend, the head coach believes he may have a chance.

“It’s one thing our group hasn’t done is we haven’t strung together a number of wins in a row. So we’re not even sure what this group is capable of when they’re playing confident, a little bit loose,” he said after the Sceptres edged the Goldeneyes 2-1 in Vancouver on Sunday.

The result followed a 5-2 win over the Torrent in Seattle on Friday, and marked just the second time this season the Sceptres have posted victories in back-to-back Professional Women’s Hockey League games.

“When you’re always in games that you feel like you have to win them, it can be tough at times. So this is a great start to kind of what will be the back 14 (games) of our season. We just want to see what our team is capable of doing when they’re playing a little bit with more confidence.”

The Sceptres (6-1-3-8) now sit a single point back of the New York Sirens (7-0-3-7), who currently hold the PWHL’s fourth and final playoff spot.

Sara Hjalmarsson and Lauren Messier scored goals 57 seconds apart in the first period and Raygan Kirk stopped 25 of the 26 shots she faced for Toronto on Sunday.

The Olympic break gave Kirk time and space to polish small parts of her game.

“I think, this past month, getting to work on little things, not being happy with my performance last time we were out West, and then getting to work basically a whole month for these two games, I think helped me kind of build,” she said.

Izzy Daniel got the Goldeneyes (5-1-2-9) on the board midway through the third on Sunday, and Emerance Maschmeyer made 22 saves in the Vancouver net.

Ryan liked what he saw his team celebrating on Sunday.

It wasn’t just the goals that got accolades, the coach said, but good play along the boards and the little battles within the game.

“When you start celebrating those little wins within a season or within a game, it’s surprising how many bigger plays tend to come as a result of that,” he said. “So you’re normally in a good place when the team is starting to acknowledge some of the little things that can make you successful in tight games, and it definitely makes it successful in playoffs.”

Those celebrations make a coach’s job easier, Ryan added, because it’s almost as if players stop fighting their feedback and the lessons become ingrained.

“I love that side,” he said. “It’s when a good team is full of good leaders, and they start to take over themselves.”

Despite the final score, there are aspects of Sunday’s performance the Goldeneyes can use as they make their own playoff push, Maschmeyer said.

“These games are so close, and I think it’s about controlling our emotions, never getting too high, never getting too low. And today, there’s a lot that we can build off of in a really positive way,” said the goaltender.

“We know how this league works — it comes down to a few games at the end of the season for playoff spots. And so we just have to get every point that we possibly can get. And I think this home stretch will set us up nicely for that.”

Vancouver was playing its first game back from the Olympic break on Sunday, and struggled at times to find holes in Toronto’s defence.

Pushing for a post-season berth will require more physicality from the Goldeneyes, said head coach Brian Idalski.

“As much as the game is involved with individual skill and ability, hockey, still at its core, is a one-on-one physical competition,” he said. “And so having a little more of a chip on our shoulders, having a little more grit or sandpaper to go along with our skill to get to the inside, to battle, to get net-front presence and to be heavier to play against, specifically offensively, that’s the missing piece for me.”

Vancouver sits seventh in the PWHL standings, five points behind the Sirens.

The Goldeneyes believe, though, they can still challenge for a playoff spot, Idalski said.

“We’re a good hockey club, and I think we still have faith in that and understanding of that.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 1, 2026.