Women to join ex-NHL players on ice during Harvard-Yale game

A hockey puck is seen in this undated image. (Vladislav Gajic/shutterstock.com)

NEW YORK — Five women will participate in a scrimmage with former NHL players, hoping to generate interest in female hockey.

"It's a great opportunity to play on such a big stage," goaltender Kimberly Sass said.

The scrimmage on Saturday at Madison Square Garden is part of The Last Game series that is aiming to raise awareness to the impact of climate change. The female hockey players are expected to join United Nations officials and first responders along with former NHL players such as Doug Brown on the ice during the first intermission of the Harvard-Yale game.

Many of the top women hockey players in the world are hoping a professional league emerges that can provides a living wage, health insurance and training support.

The Canadian Women's Hockey League shut down last spring after 12 years. That left a five-team National Women's Hockey League, which pays most players less than $10,000 a season.

Women hockey players will get at least one more another opportunity later this month to potentially generate interest in their sport. The ECHL All-Star game and its 3-on-3 tournament will include four players from the United States women's hockey team, putting one of them on each of four teams participating..