It's billed as an opportunity for young female hockey players in the Barrie area to see some of their heroes in action.
Team Canada players Sarah Nurse and Marie Philip-Poulin will be on the ice. So will Barrie's Jessie Eldridge, who played in the 2020 Rivalry Series between Canada and the United States.
It's hoped the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association's (PWHPA) 'Dream Gap Tour' game (1 p.m. at Sadlon Arena) can also help garner support for the women's game, at all levels.
Such support is lacking, says local realtor Shannon Murree, who is a major sponsor and supporter of the Barrie Junior Sharks of the Ontario Women's Hockey Association (OWHA).
"Did you know they are the (women's) equivalent to the (OHL) Barrie Colts?" she said in an interview with Barrie 360.
So, she wonders why they don't get the same level of support from the city or the province; why they're not allowed to charge admission to their games to help offset costs. Murree noted they were just recently able to get a team bus (they play as far away as Kitchener, Burlington, Kingston, and Ottawa).
She says the lack of recognition and support runs much deeper.
"Here's a great example. I was talking to one of the (Jr Sharks) parents the other day … they made it a Colts' Day at the school, and she said, 'Why don't they do the same thing for the sharks?'"
Another parent told Murree how their Grade 12 child had to miss school because they had a competition, and they got resistance from the teacher, "they were getting 'oh, you know, you shouldn't be missing', meanwhile, if it was a Colts' player, no problem."
Barrie's Jessie Eldridge is the 4th leading scorer on the Dream Gap Tour with 3 goals and 9 assists. (image via pwhpa.com)
The 'Dream Gap Tour' is a start, says Murree, in getting attitudes to change.
So is Mayor Alex Nuttall declaring Saturday as Women's Hockey Day in Barrie.
But they're only a start.
"We need to open up, take away any restrictions, just open everything up throughout Canada, the US, Europe, and just give them those opportunities."
"They just want to play."
banner image: pwhpa.com
