It was a historic Saturday night when the Professional Women’s Hockey League game between Toronto and Montreal was filled with 19,285 fans, breaking the all-time attendance record for a women’s hockey game.
It was no shock that the game dubbed the ‘Battle of Bay Street’ at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena broke the record after becoming a highly anticipated event throughout the past few weeks, and it left no one disappointed. Toronto goaltender Kristen Campbell earned a 30-save shutout to help contribute to Toronto’s 3-0 victory over Montreal.
“Once again, PWHL fans have made history,” said Jayna Hefford, PWHL Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations, in a release.
“With a record-setting performance on a national stage, our fans made the Battle on Bay Street an unforgettable, inspirational moment — and we couldn’t be more appreciative.”
It was announced in the third period that a whopping 19,285 people flooded into the area to watch the two teams battle it out, smashing the previous record of 18,013 set in 2013 during a World Championship preliminary game between Canada and Finland.
On average, the league sees just below 5,000 fans in attendance per game. Minnesota leads the numbers with an average of 7,743 fans per game.
However, the PWHL will continue to challenge the feat in a few other NHL areas throughout the season, including the “PWHL Takeover Weekend” on March 16th that will see Ottawa and Boston take centre stage at Little Caesars Arena, home of the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings, and Toronto and Montreal meeting once again at PPG Paints Arena, home of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The league has quietly been shattering women’s hockey records since its first game on January 1st when the game between Toronto and New York–televised on CBC, Sportsnet, and TSN–reached a combined average audience of 879,000 viewers. A day later, a game in Ottawa broke the attendance record at 8,318, with Minnesota upping the ante hosting 13,316 fans on January 4th. Additionally, 3,313 fans witnessed the Czechs game against Finland in Liberec during the Euro Hockey Tour.
Jagr joins Pens for morning skate
A familiar face joined the Pittsburgh Penguins for a morning skate ahead of their game against the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday.
As a part of Celebrate 68 weekend, former Penguins forward Jaromir Jagr joined the team for practice ahead of having his No. 68 raised into the rafters on Sunday.
Just as he did during his 11-year career with the club, Jagr fully participated in the practice. He may be a little slower than he used to be, but at 52, he’s still performing as well as ever.
“It’s pretty special, I think, for all of us to be part of this weekend and to have an opportunity like this today,” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said.
“I think we’re just trying to enjoy it and trying to make it the best experience for him, it’s well-deserved. He’s done so much for the team, the city, the organization. So, we just hope that it’s the best celebration possible for him.”
Jagr’s stall was set up right next to Crosby, capturing two Penguins legends discussing the game and exchanging laughs.
Even though Jagr’s last time on NHL ice was in the 2017-18 season with the Calgary Flames, he still plays professional hockey for Rytiri Klando in Czechia Extraliga, where he serves as the team’s owner and president.
Kris Letang and Alex Nedeljkovic joined the fun, wearing mullet wigs to pay homage to the future Hall of Famer’s iconic hairstyle.
“All my life I wore No. 68… You were my guy growing up,” Letang said to Jagr during the skate.
Jagr put up 439 goals and 1,079 points throughout 806 regular season games for the Penguins. He remains fifth in franchise history for games played and ranks fourth for goals, points, and assists. On top of that, the forward helped the Penguins capture back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions in 1991 and 1992.
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