Puck set to drop at Madison Square Garden for 2nd PWHPA season

Hilary Knight has played in rinks large and small spanning the globe during her 14 years representing USA Hockey.

That doesn’t prevent the threetime Olympian from getting chills in anticipation of hitting the ice for the first time at Madison Square Garden on Sunday for the opening stop of the Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association Dream Gap Tour’s second season.

“I’m a little nervous to be honest. It’s been so long,” Knight said, noting it’s been nearly a year since she and her teammates played in a competitive setting as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. “And then to underpin it by, oh, by the way, you guys are playing at the Garden. There’s a lot of things to be happy and excited about.”

The matchup between the PWHPA’s two hubs of New Hampshire and Minnesota will be the first professional women’s hockey game played at MSG. Though fans can’t attend, the game will be broadcast in the U.S. and Canada. The two teams will also play Saturday in NewJersey.

The games represents a continuation of the players’ objective to raise the visibility of women’s hockey some 13 months after U.S. and Canadian national team members participated in the NHL’s All-Star weekend festivities. And they represent an opportunity to regain the momentum in the PWHPA’s bid to establish a professional league in North America.

“Wehada tremendous amount of success with the NHL in the year prior. I don’t think those opportunities are going to go away,” said Knight, who played at Choate in Wallingford, Conn., before moving on to college and the Olympics. “Obviously, I wanted everything to happen yesterday, right? We all wanted a league years ago. But things are coming along, which is great.”

The NHL continues to be on board, with the Chicago Blackhawks hosting a tour stop the following weekend, and the Toronto Maple Leafs pledging support even though they can’t host an event because of health regulations.

Just as important, the PWHPA’s list of corporate partners has grown despite the pandemic, with Secret Deodorant committing $1 million to become the tour’s prime sponsor, and the Mark Messier Foundation recently pledging to match donations up to $100,000.

The association already had the backing from other corporate sponsors to establish five hubs — two in the U.S. and three in Canada — where players have free access to practice and training facilities.