PWHPA: Ottawa Showcase

The Professional Women’s Hockey Association was back in action after the Olympic Break, with the Sonnet Showcase being hosted in Ottawa, Ontario. Calgary’s Team Scotiabank was off for the weekend, after having swept the Tim Horton’s Showcase in Truro, Nova Scotia in November and Kipling Showcase in Toronto a month later. Team Scotiabank have won back-to-back tournaments and remain undefeated on the season.

This weekend’s Showcase featured Boston (Team Bauer), Minnesota (Team Adidas), Montreal (Team Harvey’s) and Toronto (Team Sonnet).

Semi-Final: Team Sonnet 4 vs Team Adidas 3

Saturday’s action saw an overtime thriller, with Laura Fortino lifting Toronto over Minnesota with a 4-3 game winner in sudden death. On loan from Team Scotiabank, Sarah Potomak sent the game to OT inside the final ten seconds of regulation for MIN before Fortino finished it off for the opposing side. Potomak has shown a flair for the dramatic this year, with an OT and a shootout winner in the two previous Showcases playing for Calgary.

Semi-Final: Team Harvey’s 7 vs Team Bauer 2

The second match-up on Saturday saw Montreal punch their ticket to the Championship Game, as they soundly defeated Boston by a five-goal margin. The MTL offense was paced by an Anne-Sophie Bettez hat trick in the final seconds, and a two-goal game from Rebecca Leslie.

Championship Game: Team Harvey’s 2 vs Team Sonnet 1

The Bettez-Leslie combination would carry their Montreal momentum into the Sunday final and keep putting up points. After a scoreless opening frame for both sides, Bettez would open the scoring in the second making it 1-0 Harvey’s. Toronto responded quickly a mere three minutes after the fact, with an unassisted Loren Gabel breakaway beauty!

The tense contest would be knotted at one heading into the final regulation period. The stalemate would remain into the final moments, but with five minutes left in the third frame Rebecca Leslie would put MTL ahead with the game winning goal to give Team Harvey’s the Showcase Championship! They are the first team besides Team Scotiabank to win a Showcase this season on the 2021-22 Secret Dream Gap Tour.

The consolation bracket saw Minnesota top Boston 3-2 to finish out the weekend’s action.

The last PWHPA Showcase on the Secret Dream Gap Tour this season is not far away!

The fourth and final Showcase of the year will see the hosts move from the Canadian national capital to the American one, with the Washington Capitals Showcase taking place this weekend from Friday to Sunday. The tournament is being held in association with the NHL Washington Capitals, just as Ottawa’s was with the NHL Senators.

Calgary’s Team Scotiabank will be back in action alongside Teams Bauer, Adidas, and Sonnet. They’ll face Team Sonnet in the Saturday semi-final, with Boston and Montreal kicking off the tournament on Friday.

Stick with Matchsticks & Gasoline for all the exciting PWHPA hockey action!

by MilhouseFirehouse