Mere days into its existence, the Professional Women's Hockey League is making history.
The new circuit's inaugural game between New York and Toronto on Monday drew 2.9 million viewers on Canadian television. Another league game on Tuesday brought a record 8,318 spectators to Ottawa's TD Place Arena.
On Saturday, the PWHL broke the professional women's hockey record yet again—this time on American soil.
Minnesota's 3-0 win over Montreal at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul drew 13,316 fans to the home of the NHL's Minnesota Wild, a record for a professional women's hockey game.
"I feel tremendously proud and inspired by our fan support. On behalf of our team and our league, I want to thank the fans and everyone who has made this day possible," Minnesota general manager and three-time Olympic medalist Natalie Darwitz said in a league release. "I’ve enjoyed numerous amazing hockey experiences in Minnesota over my career, and experiencing today and the record crowd was emotional and ranks near the top of the list."
Before 2024, no regular-season professional women's hockey game in North America had drawn more than 6,000 fans. How quickly times have changed.
