Only hours before the puck dropped for the Canadian Women Hockey League’s Clarkson Cup final Sunday, the rival United States-based National Women’s Hockey League tried to steal the thunder.
After the Boston Pride swept the Buffalo Beauts to capture the first-ever NWHL title on Saturday, a picture on the league’s broadcast of the game teased that expansion to Montreal and Toronto was on the horizon.
Naturally, that came as a surprise to the CWHL, which has teams based in Montreal, Toronto and Brampton.
“I’m very aware of it, it’s a very strategic move on their part,” CWHL commissioner Brenda Andress said before Sunday’s game at the Canadian Tire Centre.