PALM DESERT, Calif. — Jessie Eldridge picked a fine time to find net in Sunday's championship final of the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association Secret Dream Gap Tour.
With Team Harvey's and Team Scotiabank tied 4-4 and overtime looking like a possibility at Acrisure Arena, the forward from Barrie, Ont. — who had compiled three assists in the game — was left alone at the side of the net and scored with 42 seconds left on the clock to give Harvey's the win and the coveted 2023 Secret Cup.
Team Harvey's, which finished first in the four-team circuit this season with an 11-3-4-1 record — eight points ahead of second place Team Adidas — advanced to Sunday's final after edging Team Sonnet 2-1 in Friday's semifinal.
Team Scotiabank, which finished third during the regular season with a 7-11-1-0 record and 19 points behind Team Harvey's, snuck past Team Adidas 4-3 in Friday's other semifinal.
On Sunday, Emily Clark scored three goals for Team Harvey's and Jamie Lee Rattray netted a single to set the stage for Eldridge's late heroics.
Kelley Pannek scored twice for Team Scotiabank, while Alex Carpenter and Blayre Turnbull added singles.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 12, 2023.
The Canadian Press
