When the Toronto Sceptres and Ottawa Cost meet Sunday at a sold-out Rogers Place, it’ll really feel like greater than a one-off recreation.
It is going to really feel like Edmonton is on trial.
The Alberta capital is the fifth metropolis to host a neutral-site Professional Women’s Hockey League recreation this season as a part of its nine-site Takeover Tour. For Cost ahead Danielle Serdachny and defender Stephanie Markowski, the sport will see them return to their hometown to play in entrance of household and buddies.
However Serdachny mentioned that the stakes are a lot increased than a recreation between the Cost, who sit final within the six-team PWHL with 17 factors and a 5-0-2-8 (5 regulation wins, no additional time wins, two additional time losses and eight regulation losses) mark, and the Sceptres, in third with 21 factors (5-1-4-6). It’s an opportunity for Edmonton to point out that it may be a metropolis that’s dwelling to a PWHL crew.
“It looks like the Takeover Tour is form of like a tryout for these cities, in a means,” mentioned Serdachny, who has two World Championship gold medals in her trophy cupboard and has posted two objectives and three assists via 15 PWHL video games this season. “They’ll present the league as an entire what the town has to supply. I do know the PWHL is tremendous obsessed with their fan bases and desires the continued progress of the sport to happen.
“So I believe any time you get to play in a metropolis, particularly with the Takeover Tour, it’s all about what the town has to supply. And I do know Edmonton to be such a passionate fan base with the Oilers. They’re going to undoubtedly convey that vitality and assist.”
Markowski mentioned the subject of westward enlargement — the league’s westernmost crew is present the Minnesota Frost — comes up typically with household and buddies in Edmonton. They need to see the league get into the Mountain and Pacific time zones.
“Numerous our family and friends need us to play there (within the west), so they might come watch us extra incessantly. They bring about it up fairly a bit.”
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Markowski, who received the NCAA nationwide championship final season with the Ohio State Buckeyes, admitted being in awe when she noticed a big promotional poster of herself within the West Edmonton Mall.
“It’s tremendous cool and it simply reveals how far the league has gone and into it individuals are,” she mentioned.
Toronto Sceptres captain Blayre Turnbull, who received Olympic silver in 2018 and gold in 2022, spent just a few years residing in Calgary and has performed in Edmonton with the Canadian nationwide crew.
She mentioned that shifting the league past the unique six groups is necessary for girls’s hockey.
“I believe it’s necessary that the league does it on the proper time,” mentioned Turnbull, who has 5 objectives and two helpers up to now this season. “Clearly, we’ll depart that as much as the enterprise crew to determine. However, I believe the extra areas of North America that we are able to have groups in, the higher publicity it’s for our recreation – and that’s how our sport will proceed to develop.”
Toronto is coming off a 3-2 additional time win Tuesday evening over Minnesota wherein reigning league MVP Natalie Spooner got here off the long-term injured record and notched her first help of the season.
Spooner led the league with 20 objectives final season, so her return will increase a Sceptres crew that’s discovering its kind, incomes factors in every of its previous 5 video games.
“Beginning the season with out her, and the presence that she introduced each recreation, was a little bit of a gap in our lineup,” mentioned Turnbull. “So, for us to have her again is large. She provides a lot worth, not solely the best way she performs on the ice, however to what she brings in our dressing room and to our practices.”
Ticketmaster reveals that solely resale tickets can be found for the sport, with some seats on supply for greater than $500 every.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
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