BOSTON — Joseph Woll knew he wasn’t getting the nod for Game 1 of the playoffs.
The Toronto Maple Leafs had clearly been trending towards Ilya Samsonov late in the regular season, including a week of rest for the goaltender ahead of the Stanley Cup chase.
Woll didn’t pout or show any disappointment at getting passed over. He simply kept his head down and continued on the same regimented path.
“It was really obvious to me that he was going to just continue to work,” Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said of the rookie. “And prepare as though he was playing.”
Woll got that chance in a hostile environment Tuesday with his team facing elimination — a situation he experienced some 12 months ago.
The calm, cool 25-year-old didn’t flinch. Now the Leafs have life.
Woll made 27 saves in his first start in more than two weeks in Toronto’s 2-1 overtime victory that cut the Boston Bruins‘ lead to 3-2 in the teams’ best-of-seven series.
“He’s unbelievable,” Leafs forward Max Domi, who stepped into the No. 1 centre spot with Auston Matthews unavailable, said of the netminder. “He’s been sitting around for a while. Shows how mature he is and the presence that he brings when he steps in between the pipes.”
Game 6 of the first-round matchup goes Thursday in Toronto at Scotiabank Arena. Game 7, if necessary, would be Saturday back at Boston’s TD Garden.
Woll got a taste of NHL playoff action in last spring’s second round after Samsonov was injured against the Florida Panthers. He made three appearances in that series, including a victory in Game 4 on the road before Toronto lost Game 5 in OT at home.
“That experience last year definitely helped,” said Woll, who made a huge third-period stop on former junior teammate Trent Frederic before adding five more saves in Tuesday’s extra period. “I felt more comfortable coming into the situation. Each time you get a little more experience, and you learn from your mistakes.”
Woll’s second career victory in an elimination game tied him with Gord McRae, Felix Potvin and John Ross Roach for the most by a rookie in franchise history.
“I feel pretty safe when he’s in net,” fellow freshman Matthew Knies said after scoring Tuesday’s winner at 2:26 of OT. “I trust him a lot.”
Drafted by the Leafs in the third round of the 2016 draft — the same year they took Matthews with the No. 1 pick — Woll spent three seasons at Boston College in the NCAA before turning pro and signing with Toronto in 2019.
Despite being in enemy territory Tuesday at TD Garden, the piano-playing goalie felt at home on a sheet of ice he knows well.
“I’m having the time of my life out there,” said Woll, who grew up in the St. Louis suburb of Dardenne Prairie. “A place I’ve played a lot of big games. To come in here and play the Bruins in an elimination game is pretty special.”
Woll started 2023-24 strong with an 8-5-1 record and a .916 save percentage before suffering a high ankle sprain that sidelined him exactly 12 weeks.
His numbers weren’t nearly as good after returning to action Feb. 29 — 4-6-0 with an .890 save percentage as Toronto leaned on Samsonov down the stretch — but the process and routine remained the same.
“He works really hard,” Keefe said. “He fought through a tough injury that derailed what was a tremendous season to that point.
“But he stayed with it.”
And now his Leafs have a pulse.
DOMI STEPS UP
The son of Tie Domi — a fan favourite in Toronto from 1995 through 2006 — filled some massive shoes with Matthews ruled out Tuesday after also being pulled from Game 4 with an illness.
The 29-year-old Domi helped set up the Leafs’ first goal, played almost 19 minutes between Mitch Marner and Tyler Bertuzzi, and won 12-of-14 faceoffs.
“(Domi) did a really good job of ensuring that line didn’t have to spend a lot of time in our end,” Keefe said. “Our start to the game has to begin with a forecheck, has to begin with work and competing. That’s the playoffs. That’s what this series certainly demands.
“Credit to Max.”
SEED OF DOUBT
Boston blew a 3-1 lead against Florida in last year’s opening round before losing in seven games. The Leafs still have a mountain to climb, but forced the Bruins to board a Wednesday flight they had hoped to avoid.
“As difficult as this one was here (Tuesday), the next one’s going to be even harder,” Keefe said. “You got their attention.”
Toronto will look to secure its first playoff win at Scotiabank Arena since Game 2 of last year’s series against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday — a stretch of seven straight losses.
“Haven’t been good on home ice,” Keefe said. “We’ve earned ourselves another opportunity to fix that.”
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
