As Sidney Crosby went through the motions of his pregame routine on Oct. 10, circling and shooting and tracing the McDonald’s logo at center ice, he saw the little faces pressed against the glass in Section 106 at PPG Paints Arena.



They were the Johnstown Warriors, a 12-and-under all-girls hockey team, and their message — printed in black on the white signs the girls were holding above their heads — was hard to miss: CROSBY’S GIRLS 87 ❤️🐧.



Later that night, after Crosby scored and the Warriors went bananas, he was given a white Warriors jersey signed by all of the players. Then Crosby heard about his part in their story. The Warriors are the first all-girls team in the 54-year history of the Cambria County Student Hockey League. In a group text with the players’ parents, head coach Sheri Hudspeth discovered a common thread: All 17 of the girls on the team got their start in hockey with the “Sidney...