Professional Women's Hockey League injects extra fizz into Rivalry Series

Emily Clark hasn't played a hockey game in her hometown in over a decade.

She was named to the Canadian women's team for the 2018 Four Nations Cup in Saskatoon. An ill-timed leg injury before the tournament planted her in the stands wearing a walking boot.

So, the 27-year-old forward wants to play for Canada in this winter's seven-game Rivalry Series against the United States that includes a stop in Saskatoon.

"Who gets to play for the national team, so few people get to, in your hometown? That was one of the hardest things I had to go through with that injury and kind of missing out on that opportunity," Clark told The Canadian Press.

"To hopefully have the chance to do it again, it would just mean everything to me to play on home ice in Saskatoon in front of my family, friends and people who are from where I'm from."

Hockey Canada announced dates and locations Tuesday for the 2023-24 edition of the Rivalry Series: Nov. 8 in Tempe, Ariz., Nov. 11 in Los Angeles, Dec. 14 in Kitchener, Ont., Dec. 16 in Sarnia, Ont., Feb. 7 in Saskatoon, Feb. 9 in Regina and Feb. 11 in St. Paul., Minn.

Canada dropped the first three games of last year's series before winning four in a row to take it. This year's series has the new Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) as a backdrop.

The PWHL's 24-game schedule in its inaugural season will start on or around Jan. 1.

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Training camps for the six teams in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Boston, New York and Minneapolis-St. Paul start Nov. 13.

So, the majority of Canadians and Americans in the Rivalry Series will quickly pivot from the first two games in southwest U.S. to getting on the ice with their respective PWHL