London-area PWHL players go head-to-head at season opener Saturday
CBC News | Posted: November 30, 2024 10:00 AM | Last Updated: 13 hours ago
London's Julia Gosling of Toronto Sceptres takes on St. Thomas's Lexie Adzija of Boston Fleet
The puck drops Saturday night for the second season of the Professional Women's Hockey League.
The six-team league is back with top-tier competition and a growing fan base, playing in bigger venues over an expanded season that will see each team play 30 games.
Two London-area hockey players will hit the ice at the season opener Saturday when the Toronto Sceptres host the Boston Fleet at 2 p.m. at Coca-Cola Coliseum.
"We're definitely excited to get the first regular game of season two under our belts," said Lexie Adzija, who is from St. Thomas and is a forward for the Boston Fleet.
The game will be streamed on CBCSports.ca, CBC Gem, and CBC Sports App. It's the first of 17 Saturday games that will be broadcast by CBC this season.
WATCH: Puck drops on PWHL season 2 with more for fans
"It's pretty surreal. I never thought a year ago ... that I would be in this position and having the impact that I am. So I definitely don't take that lightly or take it for granted at all," said Adzija, who started out with Ottawa last season before being traded to Boston.
Boston Fleet made it to the last game of the season last year, just coming up short against Minnesota to win the Walter Cup. It's a near-win, she said, and fuels their fire.
"We have a great group of not just players on the ice, but also people," she said.
'Surreal' support for league
The Sceptres will play in Toronto's 8,000-seat Coca-Cola Coliseum after outgrowing the 2,500-capacity Mattamy Athletic Centre.
That growth and support is "very surreal" for London's Julia Gosling, a forward for the Toronto Sceptres.
"I think it's huge, especially after just the first year," she said. "Just knowing that you have that much support is just incredible."
Playing professional hockey takes a lot of dedication and hard work every day, she said. "In the end, it's just being the best team we can be and being the best player you can be."
For Gosling, she's had big hockey dreams since she was a little kid, but didn't think it was possible.
Now, seeing young girls inspired is different.
"Back when I was playing when I was young, I was just having fun with it and hoping to play as long as I could. But I think now the dreams are even bigger for these young girls and it's so exciting."
And those young fans could very well be playing in the game one day. A big part of their job is connecting with fans off the ice, attending events and trying to grow the game in any way they can, she said.
For Adzija, she said seeing the development of the younger generation of players shows that growth is coming in the league.
"I think it would be possible to get to a point where we have 20 plus, hopefully, 30, teams in the future."