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PWHPA

PWHPA Pittsburgh Showcase begins

The four PWHPA teams will reconvene for a Thanksgiving weekend showcase in Pittsburgh

The PWHPA will kick off its third showcase weekend of the year today in Pittsburgh. Many players will come to Pittsburgh fresh off a set of rivalry series games in Seattle. The weekend will start on Friday with clinics for girls aged 8 to 15 coached by PWHPA players. The teams will play four games total on Saturday and Sunday.

Earlier in November, the association made its second stop in Truro, N. S., where team Harvey’s dominated the competition.

PWHPA standings through two weekends

Friday Games:

Harvey’s vs Adidas

Harvey sits atop the PWHPA standings, but things are tight.

In Harvey’s vs Adidas’s two matchups thus far, each team has a victory. In Truro, Harvey’s most recently defeated Adidas 4-3 in overtime. Through the teams’ five first games of the season, Adidas has struggled to keep the puck out of their net, allowing more goals than any other team - 3.3 against per game. On the other hand, Harvey’s can’t stop scoring, netting an average of four a night.

Harvey’s players performed well in the rivalry series games during November. Lee Stecklein and Savannah Harmon shone for the US, helping generate offence. Leading Canada, as always, was captain Marie-Philip Poulin. Harvey’s has offensive momentum that will be hard to stop, and we’ll have to wait and see if the Adidas goaltending can keep up. Maddie Rooney has struggled in the opening part of the PWHPA season but looked strong for the Americans.

Adidas forward Sarah Nurse has three goals and one assist in five games which is a strong performance but still leaves her 13th in PWHPA scoring. The dominant power forward has the ability to lead the entire PWHPA if she finds her rhythm. She flew in rivalry series games and scored one of Canada’s goals on Nov. 20 in Seattle. She could be the offensive solution Adidas is looking for

Scotiabank vs Sonnet

Scotiabank sits at the bottom of the PWHPA table after losing back-to-back games in early November. The team has played well in some aspects at certain points but has yet to put together strong performances up and down the lineup for 60 minutes.

Veterans Blayre Turnbull and Rebecca Johnston lead team scoring with seven points apiece. If the team is going to see substantial success this season, they will need other players to step up offensively and better offensive support from their defence.

Sonnet sits just one point above Scotiabank in the tables only because one of their losses was in overtime. They have scored the same number of goals at Scotiabank and allowed only one fewer.

This game should be a close matchup, but the difference maker could be the Sonnet stars hot off the rivalry series. Sonnet forwards Abby Roque and Hilary knight were dominant in the USA’s most recent win over Canada. Roque already has four goals in five games, and the prospect of her heating up even more should make opponents nervous. Hillary Knight has only one goal in five PWHPA games, but she looked fired up in the stars and stripes and could come back to the PWHPA swinging.

Scotiabank had defensive up and down this year, which could be problematic during their clash with an energetic Sonnet offence. Scotiabank’s Olympic star goaltending duo of Emerance Maschmeyer and Kristen Campbell looked shaky in the PWHPA stop in Truro, making this game must-watch to see how they respond.

Complete Schedule

Harvey’s vs Adidas – Nov. 26, 12:30 p.m. ET

Scotiabank vs Sonnet – Nov. 26, 3:30 p.m. ET

Scotiabank vs Harvey’s – Nov. 27, 11:00 a.m. ET

Sonnet vs Adidas – Nov. 27, 2:00 p.m. ET

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