Toronto Sceptres goal hasn’t changed, no margin for error

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The goal when the Toronto Sceptres left Toronto on Saturday to down to Minnesota and continue its best-of-five semifinal with the Frost was to go get one win.

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That goal has not changed. There’s just no longer any wiggle room in when they get that win. After Sunday’s 7-5 blowout by the Frost, it will have to come Wednesday or the Sceptres off-season will being a little earlier than they had hoped, but little has changed otherwise.

Head coach Troy Ryan does not expect to change the game plan much because he has liked the results when the team has executed.

Sure, he would like better execution of it for longer periods of time, but when the Sceptres have adhered to it, they have had success.

What does need to change is the play he’s getting from his goaltender. Kristen (Soupy) Campbell has company in this series in goalies who would like to have a few shots back with Frost netminder Maddie Rooney, but while Rooney has let a few get by her that normally wouldn’t, Campbell has had hers come in bunches.

Specifically, two in the final six minutes of Game 2 that the Sceptres lost by two goals and then three in the first 7:42 of Game 3 that the Scepters again would go on to lose by two goals.

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Ryan, like his rival on the Minnesota bench Ken Klee, has not decided yet who he will put between the pipes for a do-or-die contest for Toronto Game 4. But, unlike Klee, he’s not going to be picking between two tested netminders.

Because of an injury to backup Raygan Kirk suffered in Minneapolis in the fourth-to-last game of the regular season, Ryan — if he chooses to sit Campbell for Game 4 — would be going to Carly Jackson, who has played all of one game in two season for the Sceptres.

That, of course, was a win in the second-last game of the season just a couple of weeks ago, but that’s still just 60 minutes of actual game experience in the PWHL.

Klee could go back to Game 1 starter Nicole Hensley, flipping between the two Minnesota backstops as he has done for most of their first two seasons in the league together. Clearly that’s not the kind of gamble Ryan would be considering.

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Ryan said he purposefully didn’t go to Jackson after those quick three goals Campbell let in on Sunday, so if he did choose to use them in Game 4, Jackson would come in fresh without having to start with a deficit.

He has given some thought to making a change in the Sceptres net already, but it still sounds like he’s leaning towards sticking with Campbell.

“We have trust in Soupy,” Ryan said. “Soupy has had some up and down games throughout the year, but ultimately we have trust in Soupy and ultimately want her to find ways to battle.

“It might sound a little bit cliché, but I really don’t believe it’s the coaches job or anybody else’s job to provide confidence for an individual athlete,” Ryan said. “I think the onus is on that athlete to do what she needs to do to be confident so we have shown confidence in Soupy and that’s really all we can do in that area. I think the rest is up to her.

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“She is a very good goalie, a driven athlete,” Ryan continued. “I believe she is a confident athlete, just when a goalie doesn’t have a start they are happy with it doesn’t necessarily mean their confidence is completely shot. I think sometimes we assume some goals you want to get back are confidence related and I don’t necessarily believe that with Soupy. I believe she is a confident goalie and just would like some of those back and would like a better start.”

Neither the Frost nor the Sceptres were on the ice Monday after playing three games in the previous five days on top of a travel day worked into that short timeframe.

But both teams will be back on the ice Tuesday and Toronto defender Renata Fast says that despite back-to-back losses, her team remains very confident and feeling good about the way they have played for the most part in the series.

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“Honestly I actually think the team is in a pretty good spot,” Fast said. “Troy talked about it before. I think we have been very happy with the way we have played in a lot of the periods so far this series.

“We have had buy-in from the entire group,” Fast continued. “We’ve put together a 60-minute game for some of the games (Game 1) so I think there’s a lot to fall back on and be confident about. I think a lot of the things in (Sunday’s) game are things we can adjust on our end. They are mistakes we made and know we can do better so I honestly think the team is in a pretty good headspace.”

It’s going to have to be — from the goalie on out — if this series is to see a fifth and deciding game Saturday in Toronto.

mganter@postmedia.com

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