Penguins Wrap: Olympic Rematch (Sort Of) Coming To PPG, Pens Sign New Prospects

It’s not an official rematch of the recent Olympics women’s gold medal game won by Canada over the United States in Beijing, but something called the “Rivalry Rematch” is coming to Pittsburgh, the Penguins and the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) announced Tuesday.

The game, set for March 12 at 4 p.m. at PPG Paints Arena, will also be televised locally by AT&T Sportsnet Pittsburgh and in Canada by Sportsnet ONE.

If you follow elite women’s hockey at all, you will recognize some of the players expected to participate, including Americans Kendall Coyne-Schofield, Hilary Knight, Amanda Kessel (sister of Phil) and Alex Cavallini; and Canadians Marie-Philip Poulin, Sarah Nurse, Brianne Jenner and Natalie Spooner.

The gold medal game last month averaged 3.54 million viewers on NBC, according to the Penguins news release, which it noted was higher than any NHL game viewership this season.

“This rivalry is one of the most storied in all of sports, and we’re thrilled that the Pittsburgh Penguins have provided the opportunity for fans to watch these women battle it out once again,” Jayna Hefford, PWHPA operations consultant, said in the news release.

Tickets to the Rivalry Rematch are available here, and the rosters for the teams can be viewed here.

Penguins Sign 2 prospects

The Penguins signed overage junior player Jordan Frasca of Kingston in the Ontario League and goaltender Taylor Gauthier each to a three-year, entry level contract.

Frasca, 20, who was not drafted, has seen his production blossom this season, with 32 goals and 65 points in 44 games. He is a left-handed shot listed at 6 feet 2, 184 pounds.

According to Puckpedia, Fresca will get $750,000 at the NHL level in year one, $775,000 the next two years. With signing bonuses, he has a cap hit of $859,000.

Gauthier, 21, has split the season between the Prince George and Portland of the Western Hockey League. In 28 games, the 6-foot-2, 208-pound netminder is 20-6-0 with a 2.17 goals-against average, a .932 save percentage and three shutouts. His GAA and save percentage led the WHL

Both players will finish out their respective seasons with their junior hockey clubs, and their NHL deals will begin in the 2022-23 season and run through the 2024-25 campaign.

Johnstown Comes To Pittsburgh

After the Penguins practiced Tuesday, the Johnstown Tomahawks, a Tier II junior team in the North American Hockey League, practiced at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.

We are pretty sure we spied Penguins assistant Mike Vellucci on the ice for a bit with the Tomahawks.