TORONTO — A three goal deficit didn’t deter the Ottawa Charge on Tuesday night.
Instead of backing down after falling behind 3-0 to the Toronto Sceptres, the Charge battled and a familiar face played hero as Ottawa rallied for a 4-3 overtime victory.
Former Toronto forward Rebecca Leslie scored her second of the night on a power play 1:24 into the extra frame as Ottawa (1-5-2-0) won their second straight overtime game.
Leslie, who suited up for Toronto if the PWHL’s first season, downplayed the revenge narrative.
“Every game in this league is just a battle every day,” she said. “Obviously I have some history with Toronto, but I’m just really excited to be with this group and we’re pushing for a championship.”
The game appeared to be safely in Toronto’s hands after Emma Shelton scored to put the Sceptres up 3-0 early in the second period, but Leslie scored just 14 seconds later to get Ottawa on the board and begin the comeback.
“I think it goes to show a lot about the character we have in our group,” Leslie said after recording the first two-goal game of her PWHL career.
“If you look at the last two games we continue to battle and push and play to the very end and I think that will go a long way for us throughout this season.”
The Sceptres (3-2-0-2) were well in control of the game through the first 25 minutes, controlling the majority of play after Maggie Connors scored less than two minutes into the first for an early lead. Darryl Watts made it 2-0 before the first intermission.
Leslie sparked the comeback midway through the second, while Gabbie Hughes and Brooke Hobson added goals to knot the score at 3-3 and force overtime.
Charge head coach Carla McLeod gave her team credit for sticking together through the adversity.
“We just started to use our speed through the neutral zone. It’s amazing when you can gain speed through the neutral zone, it allows you to get some chances,” she said of the turnaround. “We’re a rush-centric team, we have the capacity to really take advantage in those moments.”
For Sceptres head coach Troy Ryan, it was a game that his team let slip away more a well-earned comeback.
“I don’t think their speed made us make sloppy plays, I don’t think their speed made us make bad line changes,” he said. “They play the game pretty fast, but speed did not cause us to make the mistakes we made.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 23, 2025.
Griffin Porter, The Canadian Press
