Fans of professional women’s hockey, and Bruderheim goalie Emerance Maschmeyer in particular, will have two chances to watch her in person in Edmonton this year.
The Professional Women’s Hockey League announced last week it will again host a “Takeover Tour” this year following the success of last year’s exhibition games held in cities without a PWHL franchise.
Last year these games drew 123,601 fans over nine tour games.
The league plans 16 games this year in neutral site cities.
The first opportunity to see Maschmeyer will be Dec. 27 when the newly entered Vancouver Goldeneyes take on last year’s league champions Minnesota beginning at 1 p.m.
The second takeover game will be held April 7 beginning at 7:30 between Vancouver and Boston.
Maschmeyer became the third player to join the newly formed Vancouver franchise when she signed a two-year contract on June 5.
She had spent the previous seasons as the main goalie for the Ottawa Charge, but was injured with a season ending injury on Mar. 11.
“Emerance is quite simply one of the best in the world at her position and Vancouver is fortunate to have a goaltender and Olympian of her calibre between the pipes to launch our inaugural season,” said Cara Gardner Morey, PWHL Vancouver General Manager.
“Her veteran leadership, relentless compete, and poise under pressure are contagious qualities that our team will feed off of and will give us a chance to win every game.”
Maschmeyer had been one of Ottawa’s original signings and she became the first goalie in PWHL history to surpass 1,000 career regular season saves.
On the international scene she has won Olympic gold for Canada in 2022 and is an eight-time World Champion medallist.
“Joining Vancouver is an incredible opportunity, and I’m thrilled to be a part of such an exciting chapter of the league’s expansion,” said Maschmeyer.
“Vancouver has proven to be a vibrant hockey city and I’m thrilled to play in front of such passionate fans. I’m aligned with Cara’s vision and values and honoured to have the opportunity to help build this organization’s culture from the ground up.”
John Mather
Staff Reporter
