Is women's hockey the hottest team sport in Montreal?

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PWHL Montréal's first appearance at the Bell Center on April 20 sold out in less than 20 minutes, setting an attendance record for the professional league's inaugural season.

Published on March 22, 2024 • Last updated 0 minutes ago • 4 minutes reading time

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Montreal's Laura Stacey runs away from Toronto's Jocelyne Larocque during the third period in Toronto this month. Photo by Chris Young /The Canadian Press

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It is often said, for good reason, that Montreal is a one-team sports city, and of course it is the Canadiens. But there's a new hockey club, PWHL Montréal, and they're the hottest ticket in town.

Of course, the Habs aren't close to being knocked out of the No. 1 spot on the local sports charts, but with the CHs in the midst of another losing season and no hope of making the playoffs, that's the case for many Montreal hockey fans Case Contact the Professional Women's Hockey League for live hockey.

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This was evident on Wednesday morning when tickets for the Montreal team's first-ever appearance at the Bell Center sold out in less than 20 minutes, to the dismay of some fans who ended up empty-handed or, worse, at the mercy of resale outlets are already charging top prices for these tickets.

The Habs' home stadium capacity is 21,105 spectators – the largest in the National Hockey League – meaning the PWHL's game against Toronto on April 20 will set the new record for largest attendance at a women's hockey game . Previously, that record was held by Toronto, which hosted 19,285 fans at the Scotiabank Arena in the Big Smoke when Toronto defeated Montreal 3-0 on February 16.

That's great news for the Montreal team, which sold out all of its games at its home arena, the 3,245-seat Verdun Auditorium, and also did well in its four games at the 10,000-seat Place Bell in Laval. with the last two selling out.

“The Canadiens are not having their best season, they have been behind lately, in recent years,” said Bruno Delorme, a lecturer in the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University. “So there is a possibility of another team emerging in the Montreal landscape. We saw that with the Alouettes. They won the (Grey) Cup and had the big save. Football is lagging a bit behind. So now there is a free place in the panorama and the women are taking it over. Good for you.”

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Another advantage of the women's team is that the tickets are not as expensive as those of the Canadiens. The bottom line is that the average family — say, two parents and two children — can much more realistically afford to attend the women's team than to attend the Habs.

PWHL Montréal forward Laura Stacey said she and her teammates were overwhelmed by the response from Montreal fans. She couldn't believe the game at the Bell Center sold out in less than half an hour.

“I've heard a lot of rumors (people saying) 'Of course it's going to sell out, there's so much excitement,'” Stacey said. “After seeing Scotiabank sell out, all of us in Montreal thought, 'We'd be happy if the Bell Center sold out,' but I don't think we ever imagined a) that it would be like that would and b) that it would happen so quickly.

“I think we're all just shaking our heads and wondering, 'How can this happen and why is it happening so quickly?' On the other hand, I also think it's time for things to collide and for this league to open so many eyes to what women's hockey really is. If you talk to the fans who come to a lot of the games, whether it's at Place Bell or Verdun, they've had great experiences and they love the game and they love the atmosphere of the buildings.”

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If anyone can truly savor the sweet smell of Montreal's PWHL team's success, it's the team's general manager, Danièle Sauvageau. She has been at the forefront of women's hockey in Canada for decades. She led the Canadian women's team to gold at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Utah and was also general manager of the Montréal Carabins, the Université de Montréal women's team.

Sauvageau said the main explanation for the new Montreal team's success was “No. 1, the product is great.” But she is also aware that this is a women’s league with more solid funding than ever before.

“Most people said, 'Oh, you've done so much in a few months,'” Sauvageau said. “And I said, 'It wasn't a few months, it's like 40 years.' It's like baking a cake. There are different ingredients. And there were always one or two missing. When the missing one was there, the other one was gone. I think it's the timing. I think everyone arrived at the same place and everyone started dancing together.”

Sauvageau has been to the Bell Center countless times — she has often worked as a television analyst for Habs games — but knows walking into the building on April 20 will be different.

“I know I want to feel it as often as possible,” Sauvageau said. “You know I go there (often), but this will be my team.”

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