A testament to the desire for women’s sports in the Maritimes
The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) brought two games to Halifax, resulting in a massive success for attendance and interest. During the first visit to Halifax on Dec. 17, the Montreal Victoire played the Toronto Scepters, and won 2-1 following a shootout. The PWHL visited again on Jan. 11, with the Ottawa Charge beating the Boston Fleet 2-1 in a shootout. Both games sold out the Scotiabank Centre with a total attendance of 20,890, between the two games, showing great interest in women’s hockey in the Maritime’s biggest city.
As the league continues to grow in both fanbase and in teams, the PWHL uses takeover tours as a way to gauge interest from cities. Last season, a takeover tour helped grant both Vancouver and Seattle PWHL teams, as both cities brought in large ticket sales during the takeover tour. Vancouver was the largest, having an attendance of over 19,000 in the one game played there, contributing to the over 123,000 tickets sold during the tour. The Vancouver Goldeneyes and the Seattle Torrent have been playing in their inaugural season, alongside the original six teams. One of the goalies on the Seattle Torrent is Carly Jackson from Amherst, N.S. Jackson also serves as a player development consultant for the Mt.A Women’s Hockey Team.
After the success of the first expansion, another is likely to happen within the next season or two. PWHL Executive Vice President Amy Scheer said in an interview with CNBC that they want to expand for next season, with their goal being 12 teams in the next few years, doubling their original number.
Takeovers and the PWHL season are pausing this year for the Winter Olympics with many PWHL players going to compete in Milan, Italy. Team Canada Women’s Hockey has 23 PWHL players on their roster, led by three-time Olympic Gold medalist and captain of the Montreal Victoire, Marie-Philip Poulin. This will be Poulin’s fifth appearance at the Olympics, making her the most experienced player on Team Canada.
The Canadian Women’s hockey team is not the only Olympic team taking a vast amount of PWHL players, as 16 will play for Team U.S.A.. With teammates facing one another in the Olympics, it will heighten the already intense rivalry between the countries. The two teams have had a long history of close battles with one another, as they are the only two teams that have won an Olympic gold medal in Women’s hockey. The U.S.A. has won a total of two Olympic gold medals, with their first in 1998 and the second in 2018. Team Canada has won every other gold medal, totaling five. Though Sweden and Finland have come close taking home the gold,no teams have been able to best Canada or the U.S.A. during a championship game.
Women’s Hockey is going to be broadcast at an international level again, and with the success of the PWHL the level of play and fanbase for it has been amplified. After Team Canada looks for their sixth gold medal, it will look back here for a potential expansion of the league.