Edmonton PWHL game makes great case for expansion, but players' focus is on the ice

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The Professional Women’s Hockey League should make a new penalty.

Any time a headline appears such as, “She Shoots, She Scores,” it’s an immediate trip to the box to serve two minutes in shame.

That sort of cutie-pie level of cleverness might have worked as an ice-breaker back when the puck dropped on the latest — and easily the best — iteration of women’s professional hockey in North America, but not anymore.

It’s time to get serious.

At the same time, of course, the PWHL is testing the waters of westward expansion, with the Takeover Tour showcasing all the thrills, skills and even a wee bit o’ the rough stuff to new markets.

So the conversation is obviously still going to revolve around the whole notion of female sports getting more of a leg up in the realm of pro sports — which is all fine, not to mention long overdue.

But the league is no longer a novelty. It has become so much more. Women’s hockey is back. It’s fantastic fun. It’s mightily affordable (if you manage to beat the digital scalpers). And it’s spreading.

Having not only survived but thrived through a historic inaugural season last year, the PWHL’s own original six squads — the reigning Walter Cup champion Minnesota Frost, the Toronto Scepters, Boston Fleet, Montreal Victoire, New York Sirens, and the Ottawa Charge — are carrying out a second season, business as usual, while also venturing out to roads less travelled to play meaningful games at the same time they build their brand.

And if a sold out Rogers Place in Edmonton was any indication Sunday, well, business is certainly good.

Ottawa and Toronto squared off on the fifth stop of nine on the tour, which began Jan. 5, treating the fans to an overtime thriller. And even though there was a bigger backdrop around the event than the end result, the final score was what mattered most to the ones on the ice.

And quite understandably, they feel it should start mattering more to the rest of us too, by now. But it’s difficult when they find themselves promoting the league as much as talking about what happens on the ice.

Of course, the players and league representatives continue to get bombarded about questions regarding the upstart league, possible expansion and how young girls now have something promising, stable, and, most importantly, sustainable to strive toward in the future — just like every boy who grew up with dreams of one day playing in the NHL.

Yes, all that stuff matters and will always hold an overarching importance, of course. But so does what’s been going on down on the ice all season long. And that part often continues to get overshadowed as the audience grows and people continue to see the newness of it all.

So, when the players get a chance to talk shop on questions dealing with their day-to-day duties on the ice, look out.

“It’s great, I love to dive into the game and the details of it, and everything that goes into a win or loss, I think it’s important to speak about it and to have that stuff in the media, too,” said Scepters captain Blayre Turnbull. “As important as it is to talk about all the historic milestones that we continue to beat, and obviously now we talk about expansion a lot, which I think is very important.

“But sometimes as players you do want to talk about the details of the game and the reasons why you think your team won or you think your team lost, and areas you think you can improve on, personally and as a team. It’s always fun for us to talk about the game in that way, as well.”

Charge forward Gabbie Hughes opened the scoring on the power play at 3:48 of the first period Sunday with her third goal of the season, each of which have come in the past two games.

Toronto took a 2-1 lead off a pair of power-play goals of their own in the second period, the first by Daryl Watts at 15:54, before Julia Gosling beat the clock with just 23.4 seconds left.

Tereza Vanisova tied it up with a slapshot from the slot at 4:10 of the third period, with — you guessed it — another power-play goal, before Watts put it away for Toronto on a wraparound 51 seconds into extra time to win 3-2.

Both teams gathered at centre ice for a photo after saluting the fans to an ovation.

They might not have taken over entirely, but they sure left one heck of an initial impact.

Home-ice advantage

While a trio of Edmonton Oilers in attendance — Darnell Nurse, Stuart Skinner and Corey Perry — were easily the most recognizable faces in the building, the neutral-site game held a bit of a hometown advantage for the Charge.

Ottawa head coach Carla McLeod hails from Spruce Grove, which could help explain why the three players making a homecoming to Alberta’s capital region Sunday were all on her roster: Forward Danielle Serdachny, defender Stephanie Markowski and goalie Emerance Maschmeyer.

gmoddejonge@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge

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