(Reuters) – The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) game between host Minnesota and Montreal on Saturday set an attendance record for the most-watched professional women’s ice hockey game with 13,316 people at Xcel Energy Center, the league said.
The record crowd, which came five days after the PWHL held its first game, easily outnumbered the 8,318 fans on Tuesday who watched the clash between Montreal and hosts Ottawa in the inaugural game for both clubs.
“Living in the State of Hockey, I knew our fans would show up for us, but today they have taken it to a whole new level,” said Minnesota General Manager and former U.S. national team player Natalie Darwitz.
“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.”
The PWHL, which features three teams in the United States and three in Canada, is the latest bid to create a sustainable business model around women’s hockey after previous leagues failed to deliver.
Prior to the PWHL season, the Swedish Women’s Hockey League’s championship game for the 2021-22 season held the professional women’s ice hockey record with a crowd of 7,765.
The previous North American record for a regular-season professional women’s hockey game was 5,938, set during a 2016 game in the now-defunct Canadian Women’s Hockey League.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
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