The Professional Women’s Hockey League neutral-site game in Denver between the Minnesota Frost and Montreal Victoire has broken the record for attendance at a pro women’s hockey game in the United States.
The league had previously set the record at a neutral-site game between Ottawa and Boston in Detroit (13,736) last season. But Sunday night’s draw of 14,018 fans at Denver’s Ball Arena – home of the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche and NBA’s Denver Nuggets – is now the largest crowd to watch a pro women’s hockey game in the U.S.
Minnesota beat Montreal 4-2 in regulation and has taken back the No. 1 spot in league standings. Defender Maggie Flaherty scored the game-winner, while defender Sophie Jaques – in her first game since Dec. 19 – led the way with a goal and an assist. Minnesota’s starting goalie Maddie Rooney made 20 saves in her league-leading fifth victory of the year.
For the growth of the game. 👏@usahockey Executive Director Pat Kelleher dropped the puck on our Takeover Tour game in Denver with Colorado native and @PWHL_Minnesota goaltender Nicole Hensley and @PWHL_Montreal‘s Kristin O’Neill taking the faceoff! pic.twitter.com/mvhKCmmtkl
— PWHL (@thepwhlofficial) January 12, 2025
The PWHL, which launched in January 2024, currently has teams in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Boston, Minnesota and New York, but played in Denver as part of the league’s nine-game “Takeover Tour” across North America. The first leg of the tour – in Seattle, Vancouver and Denver – drew a total of 45,664 fans in three games.
Wednesday night’s sold-out crowd in Vancouver (19,038) was the highest attendance figure of the 2024-25 season and the third-largest crowd in PWHL history.
GO DEEPER
PWHL will play ‘Takeover Tour’ games in Seattle, Vancouver, St. Louis and more
Back in October, Amy Scheer, the PWHL’s senior vice president of business operations, announced the league is preparing for potential expansion, and could add up to two teams as early as the 2025-26 season.
League executives have been tight-lipped about where teams could land but have said they will be examining everything from market size, the fan base, youth hockey participation, facilities and the economic opportunities in each market. The “Takeover Tour” games could prove to be critical auditions for potential expansion cities.
“This whole tour is about learning,” Jayna Hefford, the PWHL’s senior vice president of hockey operations, said in Vancouver. “Learning different markets, and fan bases, and buildings and the support that we have.”
(Photo: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
