PWHL players eager to experience Rogers Place for next Takeover Tour stop

Members of the Professional Women's Hockey League say they're excited for the Edmonton takeover next weekend.

They’re looking forward to the Edmonton experience again.

The Professional Women’s Hockey League is coming to Rogers Place this coming weekend to stage the first of two regular-season games for this season’s Takeover Tour.

Saturday’s 1 p.m. clash between the expansion Vancouver Goldeneyes and the Minnesota Frost will be the third stop of the tour’s 16 games. It started on Wednesday in Halifax, with the Montreal Victoire faced the Toronto Sceptres.

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The Goldeneyes will also play in the second game at Edmonton’s downtown arena on April 7 against the Boston Fleet.

Both recent experience in Edmonton and at last season’s tour stop at the downtown arena are reasons why Goldeneyes goalie Emerance Maschmeyer, a longtime fixture on Canadian national teams, is looking forward to Saturday’s game.

“When I heard that there would be games in Edmonton, I was just hoping that our team would be a part of them,” 31-year-old Maschmeyer, a 2022 Olympic gold medallist for Canada who hails from nearby Bruderheim, said during a media availability on Monday.

“I’m lucky enough to have played in the game last year, and we’re playing in both games this year, so I really, really lucked out. It’s just so special for me to be able to bring women’s hockey to Edmonton and put it on display.”

Maschmeyer and her teammate, defender Sophie Jaques, also suited up for the women’s national team earlier this month at Rogers Place, where they faced the U.S. squad in their regular Rivalry Series.

“The fans really showed up and were loud for us,” Toronto native Jaques said. “I think it’s also a really nice building and a great rink to get to play in.”

Frost forward Kelly Pannek, who played for the U.S., noted the “great fan support (and) great hockey community” in Edmonton.

“I remember playing there in 2018 in the lead-up to that Olympics, and it was one of the most fun hockey games I’ve ever played in, so I’m excited to be back with the PWHL,” said the 31-year-old veteran and two-time U.S. Olympian, who has three goals and five assists for eight points for Minnesota so far this season.

The PWHL, which is in its second season, is made up of eight teams: Boston, Minnesota, Montreal, New York, Ottawa, Seattle, Toronto and Vancouver. The tour’s neutral-site, regular-season games are an effort to expand the league’s reach beyond its home markets.

Last season at the lone neutral-site PWHL games at Rogers Place, the Toronto Sceptres beat the Ottawa Charge 3-2 in overtime on Feb. 16 in front of a capacity crowd of 17,518.