The PWHL Takeover Tour is coming to Calgary.
And members of the Ottawa Charge and Toronto Sceptres with ties to the Stampede City could not be more pumped.
Ottawa and Toronto will battle it out Wednesday night as part of the League’s ongoing tour of North America, with this week’s visit to the Scotiabank Saddledome marking the first such contest in Calgary.
There’s not much to separate the two sides. As of Sunday morning, Toronto was one point ahead of Ottawa for fourth place in the PWHL’s eight-team circuit, and the two sides have split their two meetings so far during the 2025-26 campaign.
But as important as the points in the standings are, so too is the opportunity to showcase the PWHL at home, for the players and coaches with Calgary connections.
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Charge Head Coach Carla MacLeod grew up here. Played here. Coached here.
And with less than a week to go before the Takeover Tour contest at the ‘Dome, she’s thrilled to be making a quick business trip back.
“I’ve got a rich history in Calgary. It’s my home, where my family and my friends are,” MacLeod explained during a recent media availability. “So I'm genuinely excited to be able to be a part of a professional women's hockey game being played in Calgary, knowing it's such a great hockey market.
“There's such a rich history of women's hockey within the community. So certainly for me, it's a privilege to not only be a part of this league, but be a part of this takeover game in Calgary and I'm certainly looking forward to getting there.”
Part of that history includes the late Calgary Inferno, who won a pair of Clarkson Cup titles during their eight-year history in the 2010s, as well as their predecessor, the Oval Extreme.
MacLeod skated for the Oval Extreme before moving on to coach at Mount Royal University, and her current captain in Ottawa - Brianne Jenner - played for the Inferno alongside Toronto forward Blayre Turnbull.
“It’s really exciting, being able to come back to Calgary,” Jenner said. “Blayre and I had amazing experiences playing for the Inferno and really, I think I created a lot of my development as a player to those first years out of college playing for that team.
“We know we wouldn't be in a in a spot like this if it weren't for the evolution that came and what that league meant. So It’ll be really special to come back to Calgary and pay homage to those players and hopefully give them a great hockey game.”
“I think that's where I learned how to be a professional athlete,” Sceptres captain Turnbull added. “I owe so much credit to the group of women who pushed me every day to be my best self and be the best athlete that I could be, and it's gonna be really exciting for a lot of them to be in the crowd watching us play.”
It’s going to be exciting, too, for two Calgary-area kids to play on the Scotiabank Saddledome stage this week.
Toronto’s Jessica Kondas and Ottawa’s Sarah Wozniewicz grew up going to Flames games at the ‘Dome (Kondas says there’s a photo of her and Lanny McDonald somewhere in the family trove).
But being able to share their League - their passion - with a hometown audience clearly means the world to both.
“I mean, even just looking at my tickets that I have (from) my teammates, I have about 20 to 30 I stole from them, and I think another 20 paid for, so I feel like I'd be able to look up in the stands and probably know half of the crowd that's there,” the Calgarian Kondas said. “It’s just, like, a full circle moment.
“This is going to be the closest thing I've felt to a real home game, playing in front of people I actually know. I'm super excited to get to Calgary.”
“I just think it's gonna be such a cool experience, especially doing it with Carla on the bench,” said Charge forward Wozniewicz, who hails from Cochrane. “She coached me for four years in Calgary, so all of my friends and family are coming to the game. All my trainers, coaches I've had are all coming and it's just me, such a cool experience to play in front of them.
“Most of my family members have never seen me play since high school. Going to college in the States, games weren't as accessible for people to watch, so now, everyone's going to be able to watch, and I think it's just gonna be such a good experience for everyone.”
As they battle on the ice - and behind the Ottawa bench - those memories of living and playing in Calgary are sure to come back in droves. And so, too, will the memories at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
MacLeod says one of her earliest memories was watching an L.A. Kings team featuring Wayne Gretzky at the ‘Dome. Kondas’ family had Flames season tickets, and Wozniewicz remembers watching Sidney Crosby and the Penguins battle in Calgary as a kid, too.
But Wednesday evening, it’s their time to shine.
And what better place to strut their stuff than our dear old ‘Dome.
