(Calgary) For the first time in a long time in Canada, women’s hockey players threw up their gloves and batons to celebrate with their goalkeeper on Sunday.
Marie-Philippe Paulin scored the game-winning goal in the third period and Montreal captured the Secret Cup with a 4–2 win over Toronto in the tournament final, organized by the Professional Hockey Players Association (PWHPA).
Jesse Aldridge scored a goal and an assist, Catherine Dubois also scored, and Sarah Lefort added a goal in an empty net for the Montreal team.
Ann-Renée Desbiennes made 28 saves, while Polin also collected two assists.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve seen this in women’s hockey,” Pauline said. It was a special moment. ”
The 2020 and 2021 editions of the World Women’s Hockey Championship, which were due to take place in Nova Scotia, have been canceled due to the pandemic.
Hockey Canada still plans to host the World Championship in August in a Canadian city that has yet to be revealed, but the fact remains that women’s hockey has had some tough times in recent years.
“You really have to look at all the work these women are doing,” said Jayna Hayford, operations advisor at PWHPA.
“After bad news, he took bad news apart from dealing with the pandemic. So being able to offer them something different to get them back on the ice was a priority for us. ”
Sarah Nurse, with a goal and an assist, and Bryan Jenner provided the answer for Toronto. Shia Tilly dispenses 19 shots.
The tournament brought together 60 professional players divided into three teams. The first game of the tournament was played at the Seven Chiefs Sportsplex in the Tsuoutina First Nation arena in Alberta, while the last three games were played at the Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary Flames arena.
Montreal (3–1–0) and Toronto (2–2–0) advanced to the finals, while Calgary held a 1–3–0 record.
Pauline was the tournament’s top scorer in five matches with five goals and six assists.
The PWHPA was born two years ago after the closure of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League.
The goal of this new association is to create a women’s hockey league that can provide women players with the same conditions as men, as well as pay athletes to live off their sport.
“When we play with that logo on this jersey, it represents something different,” said Toronto forward Brian Jenner. We don’t just play to win, we also play to provide a better future for our sport. ”
The Secret Cup tournament was the first professional women’s hockey competition in Canada since January 2020.
Another part of this tournament was presented in the United States.
Total coffee specialist. Hardcore reader. Incurable music scholar. Web guru. Freelance troublemaker. Problem solver. Travel trailblazer.
