PWHPA Truro showcase begins Friday afternoon

The PWHPA will reconvene this weekend in Truro, NS, to play six games between Nov. 4-6.

The weekend is the second stop on the 2022-23 Dream Gap Tour. The PWHPA season is cumulative this year, so instead of individual weekends with standalone winners, all the showcases will combine for a year-end champion.

After the four games of the Montreal Showcase, Sonnet led the PWHPA. All four teams won one game and lost one. Sonnet’s loss came in overtime, giving them the edge in the standings.

PWHPA scoring is led by the Canadian veterans of team Scotiabank. Rebecca Johnston has three goals and two assists in two games played. Blayre Turnbull follows her closely with four assists.

Unsurprisingly, Scotiabank leads the PWHPA in scoring with seven goals and just four against. Teams adidas and Harvey’s both have negative goal differentials and each have only scored four goals.

It is impossible to tell from each team’s first two games who the front-runner is. The six games this weekend will give spectators a better window into how the four PWHPA teams stack up.

Friday games:

Sonnet vs Scotiabank

The first game of the Truro Showcase is a rematch of the opening game in Montreal, which Sonnet won. Scotiabank goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer allowed three goals on 28 shots which was short of the 19-save performance of Nicole Hensley at the other end of the ice.

In Montreal, Scotiabank had stand-out performances from players like Johnston and Ella Shelton. Sonnet succeeded in their games through scoring by committee, as five different players contributed to their six-goal total.

Rookie goaltender Lindsay Browning dazzled for Sonnet in her PWHPA debut, but she will not join Sonnet in Truro. Instead, Erica Howe will form the Sonnet duo with Hensley. Scotiabank will keep their goaltending pair of Maschmeyer and Kristen Campbell for Truro.

I expect this game will be a must-watch offensive battle, and goaltending will make the difference.

adidas vs Harvey’s

adidas triumphed by a score of 4-2 when these teams met in Montreal.

Harvey’s currently sits at the bottom of the PWHPA standings, having failed to secure a regulation win in Montreal.

Laura Fortino will reinforce the defence of Harvey’s, adding valuable experience and offensive playmaking. Goaltender Marlène Boissonnault will replace Geneviève Lacasse as one of Harvey’s goaltenders.

adidas is flush with big names like Kendall Coyne Schofield, Sarah Nurse, and Aerin Frankel. Sarah Potomak had a strong two-goal performance in the first game but the whole team fell flat in the second game when they were blown out 5-0 by Scotiabank.

I’m looking forward to watching highlight reel goals and dazzling dekes from strong individual performances in this game.

All games will be at the Rath Eastlink Community Centre in Truro, NS. Games will be streamed on YouTube and CBC Sports.

Complete schedule:

• Sonnet vs Scotiabank - Nov. 4, 4:30 p.m. AT
• adidas vs Harvey’s - Nov. 4, 8:00 p.m. AT
• Harvey’s vs Sonnet - Nov. 5, 3:30 p.m. AT
• Scotiabank vs adidas - Nov. 5, 7:00 p.m. AT
• adidas vs Sonnet - Nov. 6, 12:00 p.m. AT
• Harvey’s vs Scotiabank - Nov. 6, 3:30 p.m. AT/