PWHPA announces schedule, rosters for Calgary tour stop

The PWHPA announced this morning a schedule and rosters ahead of the Canadian leg of the Secret Dream Gap Tour.

The participating teams — Team Bauer (Montréal), Team Sonnet (Toronto), and Team Scotiabank (Calgary) — will compete in a round-robin format that culminates in a championship game to determine the winner of the Canadian Secret Cup. Each team will play each other twice.

The PWHPA released the schedule for the tournament, and noted that the final three games of the showcase will be broadcast live on Sportsnet in Canada.

Secret Dream Gap Tour: Calgary Schedule

The squads will prepare for the tournament with a 7-day at-home quarantine period before traveling to Calgary and staying in a “segregated environment” at the Grey Eagle Resort & Casino.

“We are very excited to see our Canadian teams back on the ice for this event, while ensuring all local government and health protocols are followed. Grey Eagle Resort and Seven Chiefs have been supporting this type of ‘quarantine environment’ all season with the Calgary Hitmen, so we are comfortable with the measures in place to keep our members safe,” said PWHPA operations consultant Jayna Hefford in the release.

In addition to a handful of details about health and safety protocols, the PWHPA also released the rosters for the tournament. Since the regional rosters were released at the start of the season, we’ll only note the injuries and absences.

Team Bauer (MTL)

Forwards: Laura Stacey, Jessie Eldridge, Samantha Isbell, Jill Saulnier, Alexandra Labelle, Sarah Lefort, Rebecca Leslie, Kristin O’Neill, Emily Clark, Catherine Dubois, Marie-Philip Poulin, Ann-Sophie Bettez, Karell Emard
Defenders: Lauriane Rougeau, Catherine Daoust, Erin Ambrose, Jaime Bourbonnais
Goaltenders: Ann-Renee Desbiens, Genevieve Lacasse, Emerance Maschmeyer
Injured: Melodie Daoust
Not Traveling: Melanie Desrouchers, Kim Poirier, Marie-Soleil Deschênes, Maude Gelinas, Tracy-Ann Lavigne

Undoubtedly the biggest loss for Team Bauer is that of Mélodie Daoust, a two-time Olympic medalist and bronze medalist at the 2019 World Championship. Daoust is out with an undisclosed injury, and will join a slew of her teammates in refraining from traveling to Calgary.

The Montréal hub will also be without defenders Melanie Desrochers and Kim Poirier, along with goalie Marie-Soleil Deschênes and forwards Maude Gelinas and Tracy-Ann Lavigne. Prior to their involvement with the PWHPA, all the absent players save for Kim Poirier suited up for the CWHL’s Les Canadiennes.

Team Sonnet (TOR)

Forwards: Nicole Kosta, Kristen Richards, Shannon Stewart, Kayla Vespa, Victoria Bach, Brianne Jenner, Sarah Nurse, Madison Field, Natalie Spooner, Loren Gabel, Brittany Howard, Jamie Lee Rattray
Defenders: Jocelyne Larocque, Claire Thompson, Laura Fortino, Renata Fast, Ella Shelton, Ella Matteucci
Goaltenders: Amanda Makela, Shea Tiley
Not Traveling: Carolyne Prevost, Tess Bracken, Erica Howe, Christina Ieradi

Team Sonnet’s injury report is mercifully devoid of any players, though there are a handful of athletes who won’t be traveling due to other constraints — most notably, Clarkson Cup champion Erica Howe and Canadian Crossfit champion Carolyne Prévost. Joining those two on the list of absences are professional rookies Tess Bracken and Christina Ierardi.

Team Scotiabank (CAL)

Forward: Erica Kromm, Hanna Bunton, Samantha Cogan, Laura Dostaler, Iya Gavrilova, Rebecca Johnston, Rhianna Kurio, MacKenzie Ebel, Sarah Potomak, Alexandra Poznikoff, Blayre Turnbull, Kaitlin Willoughby
Defender: Megan Grenon, Katelyn Gosling, Brigette Lacquette, Meaghan Mikkelson, Alexis Woloschuk
Goaltender: Marlène Boissonnault, Kristen Campbell, Kassidy Sauvé
Injured: Micah Zandee-Hart
Not Traveling: Halli Krzyzaniak, Amanda Pelkey, Jordyn Zacharias

Unfortunately, Team Scotiabank — and likely Team Canada, at the international level — will be without one of its most promising young defenders in Micah Zandee-Hart, who didn’t compete in the Canadian camp ahead of the originally scheduled 2021 World Championship.

Joining Zandee-Hart in sitting this tournament out are defender Halli Krzyzaniak and forwards Amanda Pelkey and Jordyn Zacharias.