On Friday, March 27, the Toronto Sceptres hosted the Boston Fleet for their fourth and final game of the 2025-26 Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) season. The Fleet won the first two games, while the Sceptres got their first win in their third game of the season series.
Boston opened the scoring halfway into the first period. The Fleet scored two more goals in the second period. While the Sceptres tried to get their first goal of the game, the Fleet scored a fourth goal in the final frame to take a 4-0 win. The Fleet also won the season series.
Chuli Tried to Keep Sceptres in the Game
Elaine Chuli earned her seventh start of the season in this game due to Raygan Kirk being out with an upper-body injury. Kirk has been the Sceptres’ starting goaltender for the majority of the season, playing in 17 of their 23 games thus far. She currently has a save percentage (SV%) of .929 for the season and has a record of 6-5-2.
Chuli did her best to keep her team in the game, making 19 saves on 23 shots. She recorded an SV% of .826, bringing her average for the season to .893. Jessie McPherson was the backup goaltender; she has yet to play in her first PWHL game.
Although Chuli’s SV% was not near what she was hoping to record, it still was not her worst of the season. On Dec. 30, Chuli recorded a .778 SV% and was pulled from the net after the second period, allowing four goals on 18 shots from the Minnesota Frost. This game, Chuli at least played the full 60 minutes, doing what she could to keep her team’s chances alive. Unfortunately, she can only do so much when the Sceptres’ scoring chances are also thwarted.
Sceptres Kept the Penalty Kill Strong
Despite allowing four goals, all four of the Fleet’s goals were at even strength. The Sceptres gave up two penalties, including a major boarding penalty towards the end of the game. This denied the Sceptres’ chance to pull Chuli from the net, but they still held strong for the remaining 120 seconds they had to play while they were down a player.
Related: 3 Takeaways From Sirens’ 4-1 Loss to Torrent
The Sceptres have the fifth-best penalty kill in the league, sitting at an 82.3% success rate. The Sceptres have the second-to-worst power play in the league, with only an 8.0% success rate. Toronto was awarded two power-play opportunities, but its lackluster power play denied a chance to get on the board.
Sceptres Needed This Win to Hold Their Playoff Spot
As it has been repeated often this season, the playoff standings are tight, and there is little margin for error. The Sceptres currently hold the fourth and final playoff spot, but after their loss in this game, this could all change over the weekend.
All eight teams are in action this weekend, with one game on Saturday and three games on Sunday. The Sceptres have 31 points, but both the Ottawa Charge and the New York Sirens are hot on their heels with 30 points and 27 points, respectively. If the Sceptres want to stay in their postseason position, they’ll need to make sure they have no errors within the next few games. One more slip-up and loss like this could cost them the playoff spot.
Toronto Is Back in Action on Sunday
The Sceptres will stay at home and host the Vancouver Goldeneyes on Sunday, March 29, for a matinee matchup at 1 PM ET.
