Latest news with #Spooner
Winnipeg Free Press
06-05-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Sceptres set for playoff rematch against defending Walter Cup champion Frost
TORONTO – Natalie Spooner is happy to get a second crack at the post-season. Spooner and the Toronto Sceptres are locked into a best-of-five semifinal rematch against the defending Walter Cup champion Minnesota Frost in the Professional Women's Hockey League playoffs, with Game 1 going Wednesday at Coca-Cola Coliseum. The 34-year-old forward returned Feb. 11, a 3-2 overtime win against Minnesota, from surgery on a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee suffered in Game 3 of last season's playoffs against the Frost. Minnesota won that best-of-five series 3-2 after Toronto was up 2-0. Toronto Sceptres' Natalie Spooner (24) chases after Minnesota Frosts' Sophie Jaques (16) during the second period of their PWHL hockey game, in Toronto, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston 'It feels great,' Spooner said. 'I think, obviously, it was hard at the beginning of the season to kind of see a bit of a struggle that the team went through. And I was just crossing my fingers that we'd get enough points that by the time I could come back, we'd be able to be in a good spot to make it to the playoffs. 'I think our team showed a lot of resilience through this year, and we won in a lot of different ways. And so I think there's a lot that this year has kind of taught us, and that we can bring that into the playoffs with us too.' Spooner, who had three goals and two assists in 14 games, said there is a desire to avenge last season's playoff loss. 'I think for me, for sure, and I think a lot of the girls that were there last year,' she said. 'But at the same time, we have a lot of new girls. They have some new girls, too. 'So I think any playoff game is exciting. But I think, you know, we're going to be as ready as we can for that game. … It's in the back of your mind a bit what happened last year.' The Frost (10 regulation wins, five overtime wins, four overtime losses and 11 regulation losses) took the season series 2-2-1-1 against Toronto (12-3-6-9), with three of the games going to overtime or shootout. Minnesota closed the year winning three of its last four, including an 8-1 regular-season finale win on Saturday over Boston to clinch a playoff berth. 'Natalie Spooner was a big loss for them early in the year. … I know she scored a couple of shootout goals the other day, so she's finding her scoring touch, which I think we all knew she would,' Frost head coach Ken Klee said Sunday when playoff matchups were announced. 'It's going to be a tough battle. We know that starting out on their ice, it's going to be tough. We know it's the first team to win three games, and it's not easy to do, and it's not easy to get there. Right now, we're just trying to focus on Game 1.' The Sceptres enter this post-season in a different place than last year. In the league's inaugural season, the Sceptres were sluggish to start before cruising to a first-place finish in the regular season, with Spooner leading the PWHL in goals (20) and points (27) en route to winning league MVP. Toronto enters these playoffs having not had a fully healthy lineup for majority of the season, but still finishing second in the regular-season standings. The Sceptres lost top rookie defender Megan Carter before the season, and she returned on Jan. 25. Shortly before getting Spooner back, the team lost star forward Sarah Nurse to injury for almost two months. 'I think we have all the right reasons to be confident in our group,' star defender Renata Fast said after Saturday's 2-1 OT loss to Ottawa. 'I mean, this league is so tight every single night. It's low-scoring games. It comes down to one or two plays. Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Sign up for The Warm-Up 'I think, we've been building our game all season long. I truly don't think we've hit our peak and there's no better time to do it than now. So I think the group is confident we're gonna refocus after this game and be excited to have home-ice advantage going into the playoffs.' Sceptres head coach Troy Ryan said neutral zone play will be a big factor in the matchup, as well as handling changes throughout the game. 'The importance of understanding momentum swings is really, really big,' he said. 'They're going to happen no matter what. It's just how you manage with them. 'You hear it all the time in the NHL. It's managing those big swings in a series and the big swings in a game, and if you can manage them, it'll give you a chance.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 6, 2025.
Toronto Star
29-04-2025
- Sport
- Toronto Star
Toronto Sceptres star Natalie Spooner admits recovery from devastating knee injury ‘is still ongoing'
Natalie Spooner's devastating knee injury in the playoffs last year put a damper on an exciting inaugural season for the PWHL's Toronto Sceptres. A two-time Olympic gold medallist, Spooner was an early face of the young league, leading the league in points, goals, power-play goals and shots while becoming the league's first MVP. Spooner had surgery to repair a torn ACL last May and, though she returned in February, the Scarborough native acknowledged it was 'a real grind to get there.' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'The reward of getting back into a game and getting to play the game I love is so much fun,' she said. 'Obviously, the journey continues and the recovery's still ongoing, but it's nice to get that step out of the way and get back in the game.' Spooner hasn't put up the same numbers this season as last; she has just three goals and two assists in 12 games, compared to her more than a point-per-game pace in 2024. Her stride isn't yet powerful and her quad still needs strengthening, and it will take time for her to truly return to form, she admitted. 'My knee is not the same yet,' she said. Spooner played in the world women's championship in Czechia earlier this month and scored a goal in Canada's preliminary round win over Switzerland, but she was a healthy scratch for the semifinal and final. 'It's all just part of the process,' she said. 'I knew I wasn't just going to be able to jump right back into it.' Sceptres Toronto Sceptres return from international break with a new focus on the home stretch of the season and a deep playoff run Head coach Troy Ryan is upbeat his team won't be hampered by any fatigue from the break, even Troy Ryan, the head coach of both the Canadian team and the Sceptres, said Spooner hasn't yet fully regained the timing and explosiveness upon which her game relies, and is still 'working on the little things that make her successful.' 'When she's not at 100 per cent, it's tough for her to execute the things that she's used to executing.' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Ryan said he and Spooner spoke for two hours when he told her she wasn't going to play in the final games of the tournament, a conversation that touched on her recovery, family and her goals for her career. 'I think she understood,' Ryan said. 'She'll find a way to come out of it.' He insisted Spooner is playing the way they 'expect her to play' given her injury and that a full off-season of rigorous training will do her good. 'It's never personal,' Ryan said. 'I think she understands that we're just trying to put the best lineup together. 'When you get people that are high-performance people, it's hard for them to even envision them not playing to the best of their abilities. She just needs to take it in stride, and it's easier said than done, I think.' As one of the best offensive players in women's hockey, Spooner figures to have an impact on the Sceptres' playoff performance, Sceptres captain Blayre Turnbull said. 'For her to show how much fight she has and how much resilience she has with how eager she was to make a full recovery and get back to our team, it means a lot to all of us,' Turnbull said. 'And we know how much this team means to her.' Sceptres Toronto Sceptres punch ticket to PWHL playoffs The Sceptres, headed to the playoffs for the second straight year, are the second team to book a Spooner is looking forward to the playoffs. The Sceptres clinched a spot Sunday after the Minnesota Frost lost to the New York Sirens. 'It's probably going to take a real good off-season to get there,' she said, 'but I'm just trying to make an impact wherever I can and do the best I can with what I got right now.'
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
JARS Digital Unveils New Dashboard Suite to Help SMBs Track Marketing ROI in Real Time
CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- JARS Digital, one of Charlotte's Top 20 digital marketing agencies, has launched a powerful new dashboard suite built specifically for small and midsize businesses (SMBs) that want to finally see what their marketing dollars are doing—without spending hours cobbling together reports from different platforms. Built on Databox (where JARS is a Premier Partner), the dashboards bring together real-time data from tools like Google Ads, Google Analytics, HubSpot, QuickBooks, Meta, LinkedIn, and more—giving business owners one clean view of what's working and what needs attention. "Too many teams spend more time reporting than optimizing," said Jason Spooner, Founder and President of JARS Digital. "We're making marketing performance easy to see—and even easier to act on." Automated Insights, Real-Time Clarity With the JARS dashboard suite, everything updates automatically—no more chasing down spreadsheets or digging through logins to create your own reports. Whether you're tracking ad spend, revenue, customer acquisition, or website performance, the data is always live and ready to go. Need to compare this month to last quarter? Or see if a holiday promo performed better than last year? No problem. With just a few clicks, users can jump between time periods to spot trends, track growth, and make smart, fast decisions. Key Features: End-to-End Data Coverage from ad platforms, CRM, finance systems, and analytics tools Instant Time Comparisons to easily see performance shifts over weeks, months, or years Automated Reporting — no manual updates or exports required Custom Views for different stakeholders, from executives to marketing teams Built for Real Businesses JARS has already rolled out dashboards for Southeast-based SaaS startups tracking signups and CAC, and for multi-location retailers monitoring store visits and revenue by channel. In both cases, clients uncovered hidden waste and unlocked new growth opportunities within days of launching. "The magic isn't just in seeing the data," Spooner said. "It's in seeing it without lifting a finger—and knowing exactly what to do next." About JARS DigitalJARS Digital is a Charlotte-based digital marketing agency helping growth-focused businesses thrive through AI-powered strategy, custom dashboards, and performance coaching. As a Databox Premier Partner, JARS makes data work for you—not the other way around. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE JARS Digital
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
PWHL star Natalie Spooner relishing 11th world championship after returning from knee surgery
Natalie Spooner had April 2025 circled on her calendar. The reigning PWHL MVP missed the beginning of this season as she recovered from off-season knee surgery, the product of an injury she sustained during the Toronto Sceptres's first-round playoff loss to Minnesota last spring. But Spooner knew she wanted to be back and up to full speed in time to help defend Canada's title as world champions. The Canadians begin play on Thursday in the Czech Republic, with Finland up first on the team's schedule. "I'm glad I'm here," Spooner said in an interview with CBC Sports's Hockey North. "I'm so excited to be here, grateful to be here and just looking forward to getting on that ice and representing my country again. It's been so much fun just to be back with the girls and this group. It's such an amazing group." It caps off a whirlwind two years for Spooner, who not only returned to play in the PWHL's inaugural season about a year after giving birth to her son, Rory, but led the league in points and goals. She was also named the International Ice Hockey Federation's Female Player of the Year. Then, she resumed play in February after recovering from ACL surgery. It didn't take long to return to her usual office: planted in front of the net, making life difficult for PWHL goalies. "We are tremendously proud of the work she has invested in getting herself to this point," Toronto GM Gina Kingsbury said when Spooner rejoined the Sceptres's lineup. "This has been a long journey, and she has shown throughout this process just how elite of an athlete she is." After more than a decade on the world stage, 34-year-old Spooner still gets excited to see the Canadian locker room, decorated to feel like home, and the ice where her team will compete. This year will be her 11th world championship, and she'll be competing alongside five teammates who will be having their first taste of the senior national team at worlds. "I think they can kind of remind us just about the excitement and the fun that comes with playing in these tournaments," Spooner said. It takes her back to the nerves and anticipation she felt back in 2011, at her first worlds in Switzerland. A year later, she won her first world championship in Vermont. After getting trounced by the Americans 9-2 in the preliminary round, Spooner and captain Hayley Wickenheiser organized some team bonding in the form of a flash mob dance in the team meal room. WATCH | Spooner previews Team Canada at the women's world championship on Hockey North: When the Canadians met the Americans again in the final, the result was much different: a 5-4 overtime championship win, thanks to a clinching goal from Caroline Ouellette. Spooner also thinks about a very different competition inside a COVID bubble in Calgary in 2021. After two cancelled tournaments, months off the ice and a lot of time spent alone inside hotel rooms, the Canadians became world champions for the first time in more than a decade. Advice from a veteran Over the years, her role on the national team has evolved. She went from playing on the fourth line as a rookie with Cherie Piper and Gillian Apps, to competing alongside Wickenheiser and Meghan Agosta at her first Olympics in 2014. At those Games in Russia, Wickenheiser told Spooner not to worry about what anyone else thinks, and to just play her game. It's advice that's always stuck with her, and it's what she'd tell her teammates who will make their worlds debut later this includes 25-year-old Daryl Watts, who Spooner expects will have a huge impact on the Canadian offence, and 18-year-old Chloe Primerano, a defender whose game is already mature enough to play with the best of the best. "Just getting to see [Primerano] in practice, I would tell her to shoot the puck to the net," Spooner said. "She's getting pucks through, and I'm around the net so that's going to work out pretty good for me." That's one thing that hasn't changed over more than a decade: her style of play. Spooner has always been hard to play against. "The good thing is I can kind of adapt to wherever they see me and whatever they want me to do," she said. "I'm going to be that player who takes pucks to the net, is good net front, which I think is pretty adaptable to any line you put me on. I can do the same job." The Canadians are looking to win a second consecutive world championship, and a third title in four years. (Evan Mitsui/CBC) Spooner and the rest of Team Canada will take on Finland at 1 p.m. ET on Thursday, followed by Switzerland at 9 a.m. on Friday. The Canadians will battle the United States at 1 p.m. on Sunday before wrapping up the preliminary round against the Czech Republic on Monday at 1 p.m. The gold-medal game is set for April 20. Other storylines to watch • Finland will take on Canada without its best defender and captain. Jenni Hiirikoski was left off the roster due to illness. She played nearly 32 minutes in Finland's bronze-medal win over the Czech Republic last year. • The Czechs will host the tournament for the first time. The best female hockey players in the world have gathered in České Budějovice, a small city near the country's southern border with Austria. The Czech team, led by Ottawa Charge head coach, Carla MacLeod, will look to capitalize on a strong season by Charge forward Tereza Vanišová. She's tied with American Hilary Knight for second in PWHL goal scoring (15 goals), two behind league-leading Marie-Philip Poulin. Boston Fleet captain Hilary Knight leads the PWHL in points (28) and is tied for second in goals (15). () • Knight, the all-time leading scorer at women's worlds, is in the middle of a strong comeback season after last year's injury-impacted PWHL campaign with the Boston Fleet. She leads the PWHL in points (28) and will look to avenge an overtime loss in last year's world championship to Canada. • Knight is joined on the American roster by last year's world championship MVP, 21-year-old Laila Edwards. This time around, Edwards will be playing as a defender, as head coach John Wroblewski looks to make the best use of her shot. She's fresh off a national championship with the Wisconsin Badgers and being named a top-three finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award, which is given to the top female player in NCAA hockey.
CBC
08-04-2025
- Sport
- CBC
PWHL star Natalie Spooner relishing 11th world championship after returning from knee surgery
Natalie Spooner had April 2025 circled on her calendar. The reigning PWHL MVP missed the beginning of this season as she recovered from off-season knee surgery, the product of an injury she sustained during the Toronto Sceptres's first-round playoff loss to Minnesota last spring. But Spooner knew she wanted to be back and up to full speed in time to help defend Canada's title as world champions. The Canadians begin play on Thursday in the Czech Republic, with Finland up first on the team's schedule. "I'm glad I'm here," Spooner said in an interview with CBC Sports's Hockey North. "I'm so excited to be here, grateful to be here and just looking forward to getting on that ice and representing my country again. It's been so much fun just to be back with the girls and this group. It's such an amazing group." It caps off a whirlwind two years for Spooner, who not only returned to play in the PWHL's inaugural season about a year after giving birth to her son, Rory, but led the league in points and goals. She was also named the International Ice Hockey Federation's Female Player of the Year. Then, she resumed play in February after recovering from ACL surgery. It didn't take long to return to her usual office: planted in front of the net, making life difficult for PWHL goalies. "We are tremendously proud of the work she has invested in getting herself to this point," Toronto GM Gina Kingsbury said when Spooner rejoined the Sceptres's lineup. "This has been a long journey, and she has shown throughout this process just how elite of an athlete she is." After more than a decade on the world stage, 34-year-old Spooner still gets excited to see her team's locker room, decorated to feel like home, and the ice where her team will compete. This year will be her 11th world championship, and she'll be competing alongside five teammates who will be having their first taste of the senior national team at worlds. "I think they can kind of remind us just about the excitement and the fun that comes with playing in these tournaments," Spooner said. It takes her back to the nerves and anticipation she felt back in 2011, at her first worlds in Switzerland. A year later, she won her first world championship in Vermont. After getting trounced by the Americans 9-2 in the preliminary round, Spooner and captain Hayley Wickenheiser organized some team bonding in the form of a flash mob dance in the team meal room. Women's hockey worlds preview with Natalie Spooner 42 minutes ago Duration 7:25 When the Canadians met the Americans again in the final, the result was much different: a 5-4 overtime championship win, thanks to a clinching goal from Caroline Ouellette. Spooner also thinks about a very different competition inside a COVID bubble in Calgary in 2021. After two cancelled tournaments, months off the ice and a lot of time spent alone inside hotel rooms, the Canadians became world champions for the first time in more than a decade. Advice from a veteran Over the years, her role on the national team has evolved. She went from playing on the fourth line as a rookie with Cherie Piper and Gillian Apps, to competing alongside Wickenheiser and Meghan Agosta at her first Olympics in 2014. At those Games in Russia, Wickenheiser told Spooner not to worry about what anyone else thinks, and to just play her game. It's advice that's always stuck with her, and it's what she'd tell her teammates who will make their worlds debut later this week. WATCH | Mic'd Up with Spooner: PWHL Mic'd Up: Toronto Sceptres' Natalie Spooner 27 days ago Duration 6:37 Listen in to the best on-ice moments from Canadian forward Natalie Spooner as the Toronto Sceptres defeat the Montreal Victoire 4-1. That includes 25-year-old Daryl Watts, who Spooner expects will have a huge impact on the Canadian offence, and 18-year-old Chloe Primerano, a defender whose game is already mature enough to play with the best of the best. "Just getting to see [Primerano] in practice, I would tell her to shoot the puck to the net," Spooner said. "She's getting pucks through, and I'm around the net so that's going to work out pretty good for me." That's one thing that hasn't changed over more than a decade: her style of play. Spooner has always been hard to play against. "The good thing is I can kind of adapt to wherever they see me and whatever they want me to do," she said. "I'm going to be that player who takes pucks to the net, is good net front, which I think is pretty adaptable to any line you put me on. I can do the same job." Spooner and the rest of Team Canada will take on Finland at 1 p.m. ET on Thursday, followed by Switzerland at 9 a.m. on Friday. The Canadians will battle the United States at 1 p.m. on Sunday before wrapping up the preliminary round against the Czech Republic on Monday at 1 p.m. The gold-medal game is set for April 20. Other storylines to watch • Finland will take on Canada without its best defender and captain. Jenni Hiirikoski was left off the roster due to illness. She played nearly 32 minutes in Finland's bronze-medal win over the Czech Republic last year. • The Czechs will host the tournament for the first time. The best female hockey players in the world have gathered in České Budějovice, a small city near the country's southern border with Austria. The Czech team, led by Ottawa Charge head coach, Carla MacLeod, will look to capitalize on a strong season by Charge forward Tereza Vanišová. She's tied with American Hilary Knight for second in PWHL goal scoring (15 goals), two behind league-leading Marie-Philip Poulin. • Knight, the all-time leading scorer at women's worlds, is in the middle of a strong comeback season after last year's injury-impacted PWHL campaign with the Boston Fleet. She leads the PWHL in points (28) and will look to avenge an overtime loss in last year's world championship to Canada. • Knight is joined on the American roster by last year's world championship MVP, 21-year-old Laila Edwards. This time around, Edwards will be playing as a defender, as head coach John Wroblewski looks to make the best use of her shot. She's fresh off a national championship with the Wisconsin Badgers and being named a top-three finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award, which is given to the top female player in NCAA hockey.
