Julia Gosling scored twice in her playoff debut as the Toronto Sceptres defeated the Minnesota Frost 3-2 on Wednesday in Game 1 of their best-of-five semifinal series.
Captain Blayre Turnbull also scored for Toronto. Kristen Campbell made 24 saves.
Britta Curl-Salemme and Katy Knoll found the net for Minnesota. Nicole Hensley stopped 34 shots.
The two teams met in last season’s semifinal, with Minnesota coming out on top in five games en route to winning the Walter Cup. The Frost won the regular-season series 2-2-1-1, with the three of the contests going to overtime or a shootout.
WATCH | Gosling pots a pair, Sceptres hold on to edge Frost:
Toronto defeats Minnesota 3-2 in Game 1 of their PWHL semifinal series. Julia Gosling leads the way with two goals.
Minnesota closed the regular season with wins in three of its final four games, including an 8-1 victory over Boston in Saturday’s season finale to squeeze into the post-season as the fourth seed.
Toronto, meanwhile, finished the regular season losing three of four, including a 5-2 defeat to the Frost on March 30, and entered the playoffs as the second seed.
Gosling padded the Sceptres’ lead 7:47 into the second. The rookie forward intercepted a pass at the blue line and had her initial shot blocked before firing a wrister from the slot past Hensley on the rebound.
After Brooke McQuigge went to the penalty box for high-sticking, Gosling poked the puck away from a Frost player inside Minnesota’s zone. Hannah Miller collected it, turned around and found Gosling for a wrister from just above the left faceoff circle at 9:42.
Campbell came up big in protecting the lead soon after Gosling’s second. Sceptres blueliner Kali Flanagan coughed up the puck allowing Michela Cava a breakaway, but Campbell shut the door.
WATCH | Frost’s Curl-Salemme ejected for headshot on Sceptres’ Fast:
Minnesota forward Britta Curl-Salemme received a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for a hit to the head on Toronto defender Renata Fast during Game 1 of their semifinal series.
Knoll had another chance shortly after on a 3-on-2 but her wrister was also turned away.
Curl-Salemme got Minnesota on the board at 13:56 on the power play. The rookie netted a rebound from a Claire Thompson point shot.
With 5:23 left on the clock, Curl-Salemme received a game misconduct for hitting Toronto star defender Renata Fast in the head. Fast, who was also on the wrong end of a boarding call against Frost forward Grace Zumwinkle in the opening frame, did not exit the game and got up under her own power.
In the final 90 seconds of the game, the Frost pressed after spending a lot of time trying to hold off Toronto’s aggressive offensive push. The Sceptres blocked most of the shots Campbell would have otherwise faced, along with a key clear out in the final seconds.
WATCH | Sceptres open series seeking revenge against Frost:
The Toronto Sceptres begin their PWHL playoff semifinals rematch against defending Walter Cup champs Minnesota Frost Wednesday night. It’s a shot at redemption after being knocked out by Minnesota last year.
