Sceptres spoil Nurse’s return with win at third annual Battle on Bay Street

TORONTO — One young fan, just a few rows back of the action, held up a homemade sign that perfectly explained the energy at Saturday’s third annual Battle on Bay Street.

“We cheer for the Sceptres and Sarah Nurse.”

Of course, the Toronto crowd was ecstatic when Daryl Watts ruined Sarah Nurse’s ideal return game with an overtime winner, but it was still something special to see the Toronto Sceptres’ former superstar make her return from injury with a goal in just her second game of the season while on a stage like Scotiabank Arena.

“I mean it’s a little dramatic to come back after two months in Toronto at Scotiabank, so I knew I wanted to make an impact on the ice,” Nurse said after scoring the tying goal in her first game back.

With just her third shot after injury, Nurse found the back of the net. The star forward missed 11 straight games following an upper-body injury she suffered in her first game as a Goldeneye on Nov. 21. She’s recorded a goal in both of her games with the new expansion team.

“I knew today, I’m coming back, I’m named to an Olympic team, and I’ve played one game this year, and so I know that they’re going to be watching me like a hawk. I wanted to come on and make sure I showed them why I deserved to be on that team and how I can make an impact on this team,” Nurse explained.

The marquee matchup was just as important for the slumping Sceptres as it was for the Goldeneyes. After matching their franchise record for consecutive games lost with four against the Fleet on Wednesday, Toronto needed a night that could turn things around instead of one that would make disappointing history.

Watts finished with a game-high eight shots, but it was her last one that sailed so brilliantly past Goldeneyes goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer, who’d been impossible to beat all night, and finalized the win.

“It’s really cool, I grew up coming to this arena to watch the Leafs since I was little,” Watts said. “So, to have a big goal in this arena is really cool, and just to be reflecting on being in the stands since I was a kid.”

But to all 17,856 fans who saw her game-winning goal, the moment was more than just “cool.” Even Goldeneyes head coach Brian Idalski had to acknowledge what it takes to seal a game like that.

“Well, obviously Watts is an elite player,” he said before mentioning he’d be paying extra close attention to her when preparing for their next game against the Sceptres in just five days.

Goalie Raygan Kirk, ready to record her first win since their season opener, kept the Sceptres in it during a strong Goldeneyes push late in the third and forced overtime to set the stage for Watts to play hero.

“I think for me, especially, it’s a bit of a monkey on the back, I guess,” Kirk said about finally getting a win. “I’ve been maybe playing well but it can be frustrating and you’re not trying to focus on that, but I’m just really relieved to get it.”

“I’m really happy for Kirky, she’s played fairly well all year and I think our captain Blayre Turnbull said it best in the dressing room, she’s like ‘its so nice that Kirky can have a good game and we can find a way to get at least two points,’” Sceptres head coach Troy Ryan said.

After the first frame, however, no one thought this one would be decided by 3-on-3.

Through the first eight minutes of play the Goldeneyes hadn’t recorded a shot and struggled to enter the Sceptres’ zone. By the end of the first, the Sceptres had registered five times the number of shots the Goldeneyes had managed.

“We need to clean up the way that we walk into the beginning of periods, the way that we turn the puck over, and how we’re managing those situations. When we turn that around, we’ll start to play downhill, we’ll start to be more like we were at the end of the game with chances and opportunities,” Idalski said.

Without Maschmeyer, the Goldeneyes would have lost complete control of the scoreboard. She bailed them out early by stopping 20 shots in 20 minutes. The Team Canada goaltender ended with a season-high 44 saves in the win.

It was in the second period that Savannah Harmon finally broke through for the Sceptres while on the power play for her first goal of the season. But the relief didn’t last long, for less than a minute later Nurse responded with a goal — her second in as many Battle on Bay Street games.

Saturday’s low-scoring affair was consistent with how these two teams have played all season — the Sceptres and Goldeneyes are tied for the lowest goals-per-game average in the league at 1.75. With the win, the Sceptres are now fifth in the league standings, while the Goldeneyes remain seventh.