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Sold-out crowd of 21,105 for the Duel at the Top Makes History at the Bell Centre
MONTREAL, QC (April 20, 2024) – The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) made history with this afternoon’s Duel at the Top presented by Rogers. The event featured PWHL Montréal facing off against PWHL Toronto in front of a sold-out crowd of 21,105 at the Bell Centre, marking the largest attendance ever recorded for a women’s hockey game worldwide. The previous attendance record for a women’s hockey game was 19,285, set by the PWHL on Feb. 16, when the two teams played in the Battle on Bay Street at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
“Today, in a city where so many hockey milestones have been achieved, we celebrated the greatest gathering of PWHL fans in the brief history of our league,” said Jayna Hefford, PWHL Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations. “Montréal’s hockey community has consistently shown up for our league, and today was our opportunity to celebrate their enthusiasm and showcase our players’ elite skill in front of the largest crowd women’s hockey has ever seen.”
“We had a belief that the timing was right for the PWHL when we launched this season, and today’s attendance confirms that,” said Danièle Sauvageau, PWHL Montréal General Manager. “Our fans asked for this game, we delivered it, and their response has been amazing.”
This is the sixth time the PWHL has set an attendance record since launching on Jan. 1, and five of those games have involved PWHL Montréal. In the team’s season opener against Ottawa on Jan. 2, a professional women’s hockey attendance record was set with a crowd of 8,318 at The Arena at TD Place. That record was broken four days later when Montréal visited Minnesota on Jan. 6 at Xcel Energy Center and played before a crowd of 13,316. Before the Battle on Bay Street and Duel at the Top, Montréal was part of a professional women’s hockey attendance record for a game in Canada on Jan. 27 against Ottawa with a crowd of 8,646 at Place Bell. The professional women’s hockey attendance record for a game in the United States is 13,736 on Mar. 16 between PWHL Boston and PWHL Ottawa at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena.
PWHL Top-10 Attendances:
21,105 – April 20 – Toronto at Montréal (Bell Centre in Montreal, QC)
19,285 – February 16 – Montréal at Toronto (Scotiabank Arena in Toronto)
13,736 – March 16 – Boston vs Ottawa (Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, MI)
13,316 – January 6 – Montréal at Minnesota (Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, MN)
10,186 – February 25 – Boston at Minnesota (Xcel Energy Center)
10,172 – February 18 – Minnesota at Montréal (Place Bell in Laval, QC)
10,172 – March 10 – Ottawa at Montréal (Place Bell)
9,006 – March 16 – New York at Minnesota (Xcel Energy Center)
8,850 – March 17 – Montréal vs Toronto (PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA)
8,646 – January 27 – Ottawa at Montréal (Place Bell)
Visit thepwhl.com to purchase tickets and merchandise, and subscribe to the PWHL e-newsletter to receive the latest league updates. Follow the league on all social media platforms @thepwhlofficial plus all six team accounts @pwhl_boston, @pwhl_minnesota, @pwhl_montreal, @pwhl_newyork, @pwhl_ottawa, and @pwhl_toronto.
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