BC’s Gardiner and MacKinnon at home in a neutral PWHL game in Vancouver

It’s a homecoming to women’s professional hockey for Jennifer Gardiner and Rylind MacKinnon.

The BC pair will participate in the first Professional Women’s Hockey League game in their home province when the Toronto Sceptres and Montreal Victoire meet on Wednesday in Vancouver.

Forward Victoire Gardiner from nearby Surrey, BC, and Sceptres defenseman MacKinnon from Cranbrook, BC, are both PWHL rookies.

“I definitely had the Vancouver game on my sights since I heard about it,” Gardiner said.

Wednesday’s game at sold-out Rogers Arena is the PWHL’s second of nine neutral-site games on its “Takeover Tour,” which, in addition to showcasing women’s professional hockey in North America, will also test potential expansion markets .

The six-team PWHL has expressed a desire to expand by up to two clubs in its third season in 2025-26.

The Victoire lost 3-2 in a shootout Sunday to the Boston Fleet at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle in the first game of the tour.

The neutral circuit also includes stops on January 19 in Quebec City (Montreal vs. Ottawa Charge) and February 16 in Edmonton (Toronto vs. Ottawa), plus games in Denver, Detroit, St. Louis, Buffalo, NY and Raleigh. , North Carolina

“A lot of players are just talking about exploring these new cities and accessing these new markets, rather than the toll it’s going to take on us,” Gardiner said.

MacKinnon, 24, helped the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds win three conference championships in his five seasons there, so playing a professional game in Vancouver feels like a mix of novelty and nostalgia.

“I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of the hockey community come to that game, and some of the players I played with and the coaches I met along the way,” said MacKinnon, who has a one-year contract with the Sceptres.

“In college, I think the most I’ve ever played was a little over 1,000, so the first few PWHL games were already way over that number. It’s going to be a great atmosphere. I’m really excited to be able to play.” Embrace it and have some familiar faces in the crowd too.”

She is among a handful of U Sports alumni who were part of the PWHL roster in the league’s infancy.

Most of the PWHL’s North American players came through the NCAA, but Concordia center Emmy Fecteau was a sixth-round draft pick of the New York Sirens in 2024 and has scored one goal in seven games.

“It’s definitely not the traditional route to the league, but I think even playing in Vancouver will expose some more of this league to those Western Canadian universities, so I’m looking forward to that,” MacKinnon said.

Gardiner, who helped the Ohio State Buckeyes win an NCAA title last year, was selected 11th overall by Montreal and signed a two-year contract with the Victoire. He has one goal and four assists in seven games.

“It’s pretty hard to believe this is the new reality because it’s an incredible experience,” he said.

Gardiner was only eight years old, but she remembers her current Victoire teammate, Marie-Philip Poulin, scoring two goals in the women’s Olympic hockey final in Vancouver in 2010, en route to Canada’s gold medal.

Montreal (3-2-1-1) was tied atop the standings Monday with reigning Walter Cup champion Minnesota Frost, while the Scepters (2-0-1-4) were in the cellar.

Since the PWHL declared its expansion intentions, the burning question has been where and how far from the east-central corridor of North America, where the half-dozen clubs are based?

“In almost every conversation, everyone wants to know where the expansion markets are and do I know anything,” Fleet forward and American star Hilary Knight said.

“Would I love to see teams in the west? Absolutely. It’s a top-tier hockey market, especially in the United States, and obviously proven in Canada.

“It just depends on how much money you’re willing to spend on the transportation part and getting into a new community… What’s very exciting is that we can have these outreach games and sort of test markets.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 6, 2025.

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press