The New York Sirens and Seattle Torrent made PWHL history on Saturday night as the matchup brought in 18,006 fans to sell out Madison Square Garden. This is officially the largest crowd to ever attend a U.S. women’s hockey game—that’s no short feat.
It was the first time a PWHL game was played at MSG, the country’s most famous sports arena, but it likely won’t be the last after the turnout on Saturday.
The PWHL’s attendance record has now been broken three times this season. The mark was set first by the Torrent in their inaugural home opener back on Nov. 28 when 16,014 fans witnessed the first game at Climate Pledge Arena. Then, the Torrent broke their own record on Feb. 27 when Seattle hosted their first home game after the Milan Cortina Olympics, where the Team USA women’s hockey team won gold for a third time. Climate Pledge Arena saw 17,335 fans attend that game.
The common denominators between these three record-setting games are a.) the Torrent and b.) hockey star Hilary Knight.
Knight first handedly has seen the rise of women’s hockey since the 2026 Winter Olympics, and it’s exciting for her to see new fans trickle into the stands at their PWHL games. Knight admitted after Saturday night’s historic game that she wasn’t “surprised” that the attendance record was broken, and she hopes women’s hockey continues to have “its moment.”
“Honestly it’s funny because people ask you know ‘Are you surprised?’ I’m not surprised that we sold out MSG,” Knight said. “It's a testament to the caliber of player that we have, the fanbase, the product that we put together, the work that we do when the lights aren't bright. To finally have this moment—and I hope it's not a moment, I hope we're back here—is truly incredible. Even if we were getting booed or cheered for, it didn’t really matter. It was an awesome moment for women’s hockey, and I hope those moments continue.
Hilary Knight: "I'm not surprised that we sold out MSG. It's a testament to the caliber of player that we have, the fanbase, the product that we put together, the work that we do when the lights aren't bright.
— Kyle Cushman (@Kyle_Cush) April 5, 2026
"To finally have this moment - and I hope it's not a moment, I hope… pic.twitter.com/u7Yr0CTGh8
The five-time Olympian was responsible for sending Team USA’s gold medal game into overtime against Canada thanks to a goal made in the final minutes. She made history of her own with that goal as she now holds the record for the most goals scored by an American player in Olympic women’s hockey history. It was her 15th goal and her 33rd point, both of which are now Olympic records. It was Knight’s third goal during a gold medal game in her career.
As the 2025–26 PWHL season winds down, it’ll stand out as a historic season for the league. Just last week, the PWHL set its highest weekly attendance ever with 80,703 total fans coming out to support the games across the league. In the PWHL’s third season, this is very impressive. Like Knight said, the interest in women’s hockey is only expected to continue growing.
The Boston Fleet will host the Montréal Victoire next week at TD Garden, and it’s already been announced as a sell-out. This game should rank second on the attendance record list.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Hilary Knight Explains Why She Wasn’t ‘Surprised’ the PWHL Sold Out MSG on Historic Night.
