Toronto Sceptres open PWHL season with 3-1 comeback win over Boston Fleet

TORONTO (AP) — Hannah Miller scored a power-play goal with 1:38 remaining in the game, lifting the Toronto Sceptres to a 3-1 victory over the Boston Fleet in the Professional Women’s Hockey League season opener on Saturday.

With Boston standout Hilary Knight in the penalty box for a vicious boarding penalty on Sceptres defender Renata Fast, Miller made good on her rebound attempt on a shot by Daryl Watts with a half-open net.

Fast recovered for an assist on the winner before 8,089 fans at Coca-Cola Coliseum. The Fleet challenged the goal, but video review deemed Miller’s shot was good.

Sarah Nurse got Toronto on the board with a short-handed tally 11:50 into the first period and Emma Maltais added an empty-net strike with 12 seconds left.

Boston’s Hilary Knight opened the scoring 3 minutes in, sending a slap shot past Toronto goalie Kristen Campbell, who registered 18 stops on the night.

Toronto outshot Boston 41-19. Boston goalie Aerin Frankel, a big reason why her team advanced to the Walter Cup final last spring, had 38 saves.

Sceptres: Billie Jean King MVP Natalie Spooner missed the season opener. The PWHL scoring champion underwent left knee surgery in June after getting injured in Game 3 of Toronto’s first-round series against Minnesota.

Fleet: Defender Emma Greco played her first game for Boston. She was part of the Walter Cup-winning Minnesota team that defeated Boston in a three-game series last spring.

With the game tied 1-1, the Sceptres failed to score during a 59-second 5-on-3 advantage midway through the second period. Boston blocked five shots during the span.

Last year, Toronto enjoyed an 11-game win streak en route to its regular-season championship, including three wins against Boston.

Boston will play its home opener on Wednesday, a rematch with the Walter Cup-champion Minnesota. Toronto visits Ottawa on Tuesday.

AP women’s hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey

Toronto Sceptres' Hannah Miller (34) celebrates after her goal with teammates on the bench Boston Fleet during late third-period PWHL hockey game action against the Boston Fleet in Toronto, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Sceptres' Sarah Nurse (20) celebrates her goal against the Boston Fleet with teammate goalie Kristen Campbell (50) during the first period of a PWHL hockey game in Toronto, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Boston Fleet goalie Aerin Frankel (31) watches the puck go wide off her net as Toronto Sceptres' Julia Gosling (88) and teammate Victoria Bach (51) look on during the second period of a PWHL hockey game in Toronto, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Sceptres' Julia Gosling (88) watches Boston Fleet goalie Aerin Frankel (31) react as the puck goes over her during the second period of a PWHL hockey game in Toronto, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. There was no goal on the play. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Sceptres' Kaitlin Willoughby (28) and Boston Fleet's Jessica Digirolamo (22) race towards the puck as Boston goalie Aerin Frankel (31) looks on during the second period of a PWHL hockey game in Toronto, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Sceptres goalie Kristen Campbell (50) makes a save against the Boston Fleet during the first period of a PWHL hockey game in Toronto, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Sceptres goalie Kristen Campbell (50) makes a save as Boston Fleet's Susanna Tapani (77) and Toronto's Kali Flanagan (6) look for a rebound during the first period of a PWHL hockey game in Toronto, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Sceptres goalie Kristen Campbell (50) makes save as Boston Fleet's Susanna Tapani (77) looks for a rebound during the first period of a PWHL hockey game in Toronto, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Sceptres' Jocelyne Larocque (3) battles against Boston Fleet's Hannah Bilka (19) for control of the puck during the first period of a PWHL hockey game in Toronto, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)