Kirk in Sceptres net for now, but situation remains fluid

Article content

The Toronto Sceptres’ goaltending situation hasn’t always been an easy one through the team’s three seasons.

Article content

At the moment it feels like it’s in a solid place with Raygan Kirk and Elaine Chuli holding down the fort.

Article content

Article content

Kirk has started all four games coming out of the Olympic break and has been solid. The Sceptres have earned points in all four games (two regulation wins, a shootout loss, and an overtime loss).

Kirk admitted she went into the break not feeling real good about her play in a handful of games just before the schedule halted for the Winter Olympics and was determined to use the time off to make the proper adjustments.

Kirk admitted she saw a lot of rubber in those four-plus weeks without a single game, but with Toronto sending nine of its best players to the Olympics, it wasn’t quite the same as a regular practice.

She conceded that the extra rest without any game action may have been enough to give her that boost for this last run, but there was definitely some added motivation based on those past results.

Article content

Article content

“Those last games we played when we were out west (before the break) I knew what I felt like and I wasn’t happy with my performance in Seattle so I literally had a whole month to like work on what you didn’t like so let’s work on that,” Kirk said. “I just tried to focus on that and the flow of the game.“

No Number 1 goalie

But as good as Kirk has been, Sceptres head coach Troy Ryan is not ready to proclaim her his No. 1 goalie just yet.

Ryan argues having a No. 1 goalie means having someone who can have two subpar games in a row and you’re still going back to her.

He used the example of Montreal’s Ann-Renee Desbiens, although for the life of us we couldn’t remember her ever having two bad games in a row.

Ryan’s point was that if Kirk has two bad games in a row, Chuli would be getting the third, which in his mind automatically tells him he doesn’t have a true No. 1 yet.

Article content

That’s not to say one of his top two goaltenders – Jessie McPherson is the third goalie on the roster and has yet to see game action — couldn’t become a No. 1, just that he doesn’t believe they are there yet.

Some of those struggles earlier in the season from the Sceptres goalies isn’t the first time a fan of the Sceptres could look around the league at some of the more consistent goaltending and get a little jealous.

Desbiens in Montreal, Aerin Frankel in Boston, Nicole Hensley and Maddie Rooney in Minnesota, as well as Gwyneth Philips in Ottawa and Emerance Maschmeyer now in Vancouver, have set the bar very high for goaltending in this league.

In Year 1 of the league, Kristen Campbell struggled in the Toronto net to begin the year before becoming a big part of an 11-game win streak that seemed to put to rest any goaltending issues.

Article content

In Year 2, Campbell again struggled early, to the point where Kirk began to emerge, only to fall victim to a knee injury that ended her season prematurely.

In the playoffs, Campbell struggled again, forcing Ryan to go to his No. 3 Carly Jackson in what turned out to be an elimination game in the first round of the playoffs.

Campbell was traded on draft night to Vancouver, where she is backing up Maschmeyer.

Chuli signed as a free agent, joining Kirk for this season in a tandem that has been shaded towards Kirk in terms of playing time.

Kirk gets more comfortable

Kirk already has played more this season than she did last season, and has been happy with her progress to date.

“Just being more comfortable playing in (the league) and not as green about things and eyes wide all the time,” she said. “Like I’m so grateful to be a part of it but now I’m going to take charge and while I’m proving myself, I know I can play these games and I know I can beat these teams. It’s a different confidence level than last year.”

Article content

Ryan is keen to see that progress continue, but he makes it clear he wants to see more of it.

“I think she’s finding ways to get points and is helping us get points,” Ryan said of Kirk. “I think she has played well. What more can you expect from her? I think she’s doing what we need her to do and we just have to keep finding ways to get points. She’s at least getting us in those situations.”

For now, the focus for the team is on making a push for a playoff spot. The power play and finding scoring from up and down the roster will be key in determining that. The goaltending just needs to continue doing its part.

mganter@postmedia.com

Article content