Toronto's PWHL team has suffered a big blow in its bid to win the inaugural Walter Cup.
Star forward Natalie Spooner is out for the Professional Women's Hockey League playoffs with a knee injury, the team announced on social media Wednesday.
The PWHL team placed Spooner on long-term injured reserve Wednesday after she collided with Minnesota's Grace Zumwinkle and fell into the boards in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal Monday.
Spooner led the league with 27 points in 24 regular-season games. Her league-leading 20 goals were nine more than the next closest skater.
The 33-year-old from Toronto added one goal and one assist in three playoff games.
In a corresponding move, Toronto activated forward Jess Jones, who played five games during the regular season.
Toronto leads Minnesota 2-1 in the series and can book its ticket to the Walter Cup final with a road win Wednesday night.
“It’s a big loss for us, obviously Natalie has been an important part of our success all year,” PWHL Toronto general manager Gina Kingsbury said in a statement. “We have no doubt Natalie will continue to have an impact on our team, just in a different way.”
--The winner will face Boston in the final.
