Blayre Turnbull scores hat trick for Toronto in 1st pre-season game in PWHL history
Rule experimentations, final player evaluations among league's pre-season priorities
Blayre Turnbull's hat trick was years in the making.
About 14 minutes into the first period of the first pre-season Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) game, Toronto's Blayre Turnbull put a puck past Boston goaltender Cami Kronish.
And then she did it again, and again.
Powered by Turnbull's three goals, Toronto defeated Boston 5-3 in pre-season action in the PWHL on Monday in Utica, N.Y., where teams have gathered all week for games, meetings and practices before the inaugural season begins on Jan. 1.
Four and a half years have passed since the 30-year-old Turnbull got to play regularly with a team. She lifted the Clarkson Cup in the spring of 2019 with the Calgary Inferno without knowing they'd be the last team to lift the silver cup, as the Canadian Women's Hockey League folded soon after.
WATCH: Turnbull shines in 1st PWHL pre-season game:
"It's been a long time for not only me but so many of these girls who have been waiting for so long to play hockey at this level," Turnbull said after Monday's pre-season game.
"For it to all come together, even though it is pre-season, rosters aren't finalized yet, everybody I feel is feeling the same emotions. We're all really excited and happy for this moment to finally be here."
On her national team, the Stellarton, N.S. native has often played a defensive role, but the creation of the PWHL is seeing her take on more importance. On Monday, she played on the top line with Sarah Nurse and Victoria Bach.
"In this league, she's going to be expected to score and produce a little bit," Toronto head coach Troy Ryan said of Turnbull, who was one of the team's marquee free-agent signings in September.
And score she did, notching her second goal on a break and her third as Toronto enjoyed a 5-on-3 advantage.
Nurse had Toronto's other goal, with Brittany Howard logging two assists.
Last chance for GMs to evaluate rosters
The games on Monday were closed to fans, but players and staff from other teams were scattered through the crowd at the Utica University Nexus Center, taking a first look at their competition before the games start to count.
They'll need to make last cuts by the end of this week, with final rosters — including 23 players on contract and two reserve players — due by Dec. 11.
Boston looks to be one of the strongest teams in the league on paper, with a solid goaltending tandem and first defensive pair, a rising star in Swiss national team star Alina Müller, and a veteran presence in Hilary Knight.
But many of Boston's top players, including Knight, defender Megan Keller and starting goalie Aerin Frankel, didn't play on Monday.
Instead, head coach Courtney Kessel gave more ice time to depth players who are vying for the final spots on her roster. A couple of those players were selected to shoot in the shootout that follows every pre-season PWHL game.
"I think everyone deserves a fair shot to crack the roster and what a better opportunity than to get them in some key moments," Kessel said. "They scored some goals too in the shootout, so it was great to see that."
She said the team is aiming to get each of their 27 players into at least two games this week.
Different pre-season strategies
Kessel was impressed with her team's play during three-on-three overtime and felt their transition game improved as the game went on.
It's still early, but she sees Boston's identity as being a big team with a lot of speed.
"I think at the start, we were really focused on physicality and we wanted to make sure that we were laying the body as much as we can and really creating contact in the corners and all over the ice," Shirley said.
Toronto took a different approach with its first pre-season game, playing most of its stars. That included starting goaltender Kristen Campbell, who had a stellar performance in net.
The team is still carrying four goalies, with a decision to make at the position this week. Despite that, Ryan opted to start Campbell to help get her ready for January.
"Although we had some key players out of the lineup, we're looking to have a good start and make sure we're starting off our year on a good foot," Ryan said.
Rule experimentation(s)
By the end of the third period, Toronto led 5-1. Still, the game went to 3-on-3 overtime, followed by a shootout, both of which Boston won, leading to a final score of 5-3.
The camp is also about experimenting for the league office as their staff prepare for games to begin in January.
That includes experimenting with different rules. Each day of camp includes a different variation on penalty kill situations. On Monday, all two-minute penalties were served in their entirety even if a player scored on the power play, while Thursday's games are set to be played with no icing for teams playing shorthanded.
Teams also had long changes in the first and third periods instead of in the second, which could lead to more scoring throughout the game.
"I think you have to be a little bit smarter with your puck management and with your shift management as well," Turnbull said of the change.
Monday also offered a first look at players on the ice wearing their team colours. They didn't wear the jerseys that were unveiled last month, which have the city name written across the chest, but each team wore a jersey with the PWHL's logo on the front.
Minnesota tops Ottawa
Eight different players scored in an offensive outburst from Minnesota, which rallied to beat Ottawa in the second pre-season game on Monday evening in Utica. Minnesota led 7-4 at the end of regulation before adding another goal in 3-on-3 overtime and winning the shootout.
But Ottawa defender Jincy Roese sees a lot the team, which has placed an emphasis on building its culture in training camp, can build on going forward.
"We're learning, we're growing," she said. "There's good, there's bad. At the end of the day, we're building and I could not ask to be a part of a better group to build with."
Ottawa caused damage first, with Roese opening the scoring in the first period. The team led Minnesota 3-1 early in the second before Minnesota piled on five goals in a row.
"They took it to us in the neutral zone with rushes," Minnesota head coach Charlie Burggraf said after the game.
"They just overwhelmed us a number of times — a tsunami for lack of a better word, but it kind of captures it. I think that response to that style of hockey, we had to adjust. They maintained some momentum there but we were able to slow it down."
New York bests Montreal 4-1
Montreal failed to score a regulation goal in its first pre-season contest against New York on Monday night, with New York netminder Abbey Levy stopping 24 shots.
Barrie, Ont.'s Jessie Eldridge scored two goals and an assist, including the goal that ended the overtime period that all PWHL pre-season games include, regardless of the score at regulation.
"I really liked our game," Eldridge said after the win. "I thought we connected really well. It's hard to think that this is just our foundation, where we're starting from, so I think it's exciting to see. We've got some work to do but like I said, a good start."
New York led 3-0 at the end of regulation. Montreal added a marker in the shootout, which is also mandatory in all PWHL pre-season games.
"It's tough when it's your first game and you're trying to do and implement new systems with new players," Montreal head coach Kori Cheverie said after the game.
"Definitely would have liked to get on the scoreboard. I think you could see from the shootout that there are definitely some very skilled players on our team, but we didn't have the team game that we would have liked to have tonight."
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