PWHL Montreal draws high attendance in inaugural season

The inaugural PWHL season has been a “wonderful success,” and “nowhere was that more true than in Montreal,” according to Stu Cowan of the MONTREAL GAZETTE. PWHL Montreal was “able to fill every rink it played in” -- starting with more than 3,000 for the home opener at the Verdun Auditorium in January, before growing to 10,000 fans at Place Bell in Laval and then filling all 21,105 seats for a regular-season game at the Bell Centre. Cowan noted attendance for the two playoff games at Place Bell were 9,135 and 10,172, respectively. There were “signs” in the semifinals that the “novelty of the inaugural season might be wearing off in Boston and Minnesota.” Game 3 of the Montreal-Boston series “only attracted” 2,781 fans at the Tsongas Center, which has a capacity of 6,496. The first two games of the other semifinal series “packed” the Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto with crowds of 8,473 and 8,581, and there were 8,501 fans for Game 5. However, Games 3 and 4 “only attracted” crowds of 3,344 and 2,766 at Minnesota’s Xcel Energy Center, which is also home to the NHL’s Minnesota Wild and has a capacity of 20,544. When asked about the “poor” playoff attendance in Boston and Minnesota, PWHL Montreal F Marie-Philip Poulin said, “I’m looking at the whole of what happened this year. I’m not going to focus on two games that did not have as many people.” She added that “you can’t look at those playoff attendances and ‘put a stamp’ that the league isn’t working.” Poulin: “I think the whole year has been truly amazing. We started from 0 to 100 real quick and I think it’s been pretty amazing to see across every market. Obviously, in playoffs we want more people in the stands” (MONTREAL GAZETTE, 5/17).

JUST THE START: Montreal F Laura Stacey said, “This league is on the up, and it's not going anywhere.” She added, “It's Year 1 and there's plenty more years to come, and I think it's definitely trending in a really positive direction.” The CP noted when asked what she thought the PWHL could improve in Year 2, Stacey “didn’t have an answer because the league’s standard was so much higher than what players have been used to.” Other players “noted the travel efficiency and the consistency of the officiating as things that could improve.” Montreal GM Danièle Sauvageau said that the PWHL has a “strong foundation to build on” after Year 1. She said, “Our foundation is very strong, now it will be about refining” (CP, 5/17).