The Penguins on Saturday will host players from the Canadian and U.S. women's national teams at PPG Paints Arena for an exhibition game dubbed the "Rivalry Rematch."
It was three weeks ago today that Canada won gold in Beijing, dethroning the defending champion U.S. team with a 3-2 victory.
Members of the Penguins' organization are looking forward to seeing the top women's players in the world come to Pittsburgh.
"The U.S.-Canada rivalry is like nothing else," Mike Matheson said after the Penguins' practice on Thursday. "I don't think there's any other sport where there's two teams that completely dominate every single tournament that they're at. You can pretty much flip a coin between the two of them for who will win each game. I think it's great that the Pittsburgh fans will be able to see it in person. It'll be broadcasted as well, so it's great that there'll be a lot of people that have access to it."
Matheson will be in the building on Saturday, and he's looking forward to a little role reversal.
Matheson's wife is Emily Pfalzer Matheson, an Olympic gold medalist and four-time World Championship gold medalist defender for Team USA. Emily hasn't played since the 2019 World Championship, with the 2020 tournament being canceled and Emily then taking time away to have the couple's first child over the last year. While she won't be playing in the game, she'll be behind the bench, serving as one of the guest assistant coaches for the U.S. team.
"I'll have Hudson and be dealing with him through the game and she'll be the one performing, so it's nice to be able to switch sides," Matheson said. "It's been a little while since she's been able to play, so it's nice that she's going to get the chance to be back with her old teammates in a different role, but still be able to see them and be back in the game in a sense."
Matheson said that the most nervous he's ever been in his life was when he was watching Emily in the gold medal game in 2018.
"There's something about caring about somebody involved in a sports event and having absolutely no control over it," he said. "I've been in big games myself, and haven't felt that nervous, just because you're in the thick of it, reading, reacting, and focusing on doing that."
As part of the event, the Penguins will also host two girls hockey clinics on Saturday morning with members of the U.S. and Canadian teams. It's a move aimed at nurturing the growth of girls hockey, which is among the fastest-growing youth sports in the country. The Penguins Elite program offers seven girls teams across five age groups (10 and under, 12 and under, 14 and under, 16 and under, 19 and under).
Mike Sullivan said that the growth in girls and women's hockey in the U.S. has been "terrific."
"I think a lot of it is attributed to the success that the women's Olympic team has had in the rivalry they have with Canada, the visibility of that rivalry and the games," Sullivan said of the growth. "I think there's some real charismatic players involved on both sides that I think do a terrific job in representing our sport and their respective teams in such a great way. For all those reasons, women's hockey has grown exponentially in the United States."
Sullivan is looking forward to seeing the game, and is urging Penguins fans to be in attendance as well.
"They're really good players, and they're very competitive games," he said. "I would encourage people to come out and watch on Saturday. It's such a great event, and I'm looking forward to the game myself. I just think it's a great event. It's great for hockey, it's great for women's hockey."
