Poulin leads way to PWHPA title
CALGARY — Marie-Philip Poulin is the best in the business.
Consider this a reminder. A difference-maker from start to finish during a weeklong showcase, it’s only fitting that Poulin scored the game-winning goal Sunday for Team Bauer as the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association’s Secret Dream Gap Tour stop in Calgary wrapped with a backand-forth thriller at the Saddledome.
The superstar centre also picked up two primary assists to lead her Montreal-based crew to a 4-2 triumph over Toronto’s Team Sonnet.
For many of the top female hockey players in Canada, this bubbled event marked their first meaningful game action in more than a year.
With Poulin leading the way, they certainly put on a heck of a show.
“I know some people are probably asking, ‘What is the Secret Tour?’ But to be honest, for us, it is very special,” Poulin said after the trophy presentation — and in the midst of a post-game party in Team Bauer’s locker-room. “It’s been a while since we’ve been able to lift something, so being able to lift a cup, it was very special.
“And not only for us winning, but for everyone — being here at the showcase, having three teams being able to compete against each other … It was more than that. It was more than competing. It was more than lifting that cup.
It was for the next generation, for all of us who want to show what we’re able to do and what we’re working for. And we believe in what we are working for, so it’s way more than just winning that cup right now.”
Sunday’s winner-take-all matinee at the Saddledome seemed to be destined for overtime before Poulin buried a top-shelf one-timer with 5:32 remaining in regulation, breaking a 2-2 deadlock and possibly busting goalie Shea Tiley’s water bottle, too.
Team Bauer stretched the lead with a late empty-netter, a crucial insurance marker that had some players jumping up and down on the bench in celebration, and Poulin was determined to ensure there would be no stunning comeback. She dropped for a shot-block on the final shift and then made a diving play in the neutral zone to clear a loose puck deep into enemy territory.
The 30-year-old dynamo — already a three-time Olympian and a roster lock for Beijing 2022 as current captain of the national program — was grinning from ear-to-ear as she accepted the shiny silver trophy that was waiting for the 2021 Secret Cup champs.
During a post-game interview on Sportsnet, a pair of teammates doused her with water. On a Zoom call with reporters from across the country, she was swarmed by a bunch of buddies and soaked this time with beer.
“As you can tell, it’s pretty special,” she smiled after that sudsy salute.
Poulin assisted Sunday on second-period snipes by Jessie Eldridge — she batted a rebound out of mid-air — and Catherine Dubois before ripping the would-be winner from the top of the right circle in the third. (Eldridge deserves kudos for assisting on that decisive dent.)
Poulin certainly wasn’t the only star who made a major impact during the nationallytelevised final, a fast and hardfought matchup that featured more than half of the 28 players named to Hockey Canada’s centralized roster for the leadup to the 2022 Winter Olympics in China.
Sarah Nurse scored on a wicked wrist-shot for Team Sonnet and then won a faceoff to set up Brianne Jenner’s quick strike.
In Team Bauer’s crease, Ann-Renee Desbiens made several clutch saves. She had a bit of help from blue-liner Erin Ambrose, who denied a freebie when her goaltender was caught wandering.
None, however, could swipe the spotlight — or first-star honours — from No. 29. Poulin also claimed the tournament scoring title, racking up a grand total of 11 points in five games.
“It’s been an absolute pleasure playing with MariePhilip. She’s been incredible,” said fellow Team Bauer forward Jill Saulnier. “Any chance I have to play with her, it’s just been amazing and she just elevates the game to a whole other level, on the ice but even more so off the ice. I think she scored a goal one time and she came to the bench and she congratulated the line before for getting the momentum going.
“She’s just so humble. So, for her to score that goal (Sunday) and celebrate, it looked like she knew she was on the top of the world, and she deserves every minute of that.”
While Team Bauer earned bragging rights in Sunday’s clincher, this week-long tournament — also including Calgary-based Team Scotiabank — proved to be a win for the PWHPA and for the sport, in general. Everyone seemed to agree on that.