PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh sports scene has been the theater of the bizarre in recent days. From Jaromir Jagr bobbleheads, to the Steelers’ stunning week of quarterback musical chairs, to Duquesne going dancing in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. It’s been a lot to absorb, an easy distraction.
Do not, however, discount what happened on Sunday afternoon at PPG Paints Arena.
The Professional Women’s Hockey League played a neutral site game between Toronto and Montreal on Sunday. Toronto emerged with a 2-1 victory, but that wasn’t really the story.
Of far greater relevance was the fact that nearly 9,000 fans showed up for a hockey game between two teams from another country, with no particular Pittsburgh ties. And make no mistake, it was the most enthusiastic, vocal crowd that has stepped foot into PPG Paints Arena all season. It was the kind of emotional atmosphere that can’t be faked. What happened on Sunday was pure bliss for a growing number of fans who simply want a professional women’s hockey team to root for in Pittsburgh.
Everything about it was perfect.
Most enthusiasm I’ve heard in this building in quite a while. Great atmosphere for Montreal vs Toronto. pic.twitter.com/ii3ASku9kh
— Josh Yohe (@JoshYohe_PGH) March 17, 2024
It wasn’t even an ideal time for a hockey game. It was an early start because the Penguins played the Red Wings at 6 p.m. in the same building. Also, the Penguins had home games on Saturday and Sunday this weekend. I would presume that attendance would have been considerably higher had the Penguins not already been playing two home games on the same weekend.
And yet, the fans turned out and gave a hero’s welcome to the players. While each team had some fans in attendance, the crowd was essentially enthusiastic for everyone, a festival of hockey and the progress of women’s sports. No one got booed. No fights in the crowd.
Everyone was just … happy.
The PHWL is likely to expand in the next year or two. Currently, the league is comprised of six teams in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, New York, Boston and Minnesota. Pittsburgh is very much a contender to have a team in the coming years and Sunday was all the evidence required to indicate what a perfect landing spot our city would be for this league.
Consider what Pittsburgh has to offer:
• In the Sidney Crosby era, Pittsburgh has become one of the great hockey towns in the world. The hockey fan base in this city has never been close to what it is now. Pretty much every seat is filled in Pittsburgh even as the Penguins’ season is in total shambles.
• The highest-growing group of athletes among youth in Western Pennsylvania is girl’s hockey, and it’s not close. Having a women’s team in Pittsburgh for the growing number of girls playing this sport to support is something that was unthinkable for previous generations and there’s no denying how special it would be for them.
• The Penguins are an exceptional ally for women’s hockey. Fenway Sports Group wants Pittsburgh to have a team. So does Kevin Acklin. In fact, you’ll not speak to a person in the organization who isn’t enthusiastic about it. Crosby himself has long been hopeful that a women’s team would come to Pittsburgh. The Penguins badly wanted Pittsburgh to be one of the Original Six members, and though that bid wasn’t successful, they aren’t giving up.
GO DEEPER
‘This will work in Pittsburgh’: Eyeing PWHL expansion, Penguins prepare for a women’s team
• The Penguins have a perfect home for a women’s team. No, it’s not PPG Paints Arena, though of course teams could play at the Penguins’ home building when necessary. The UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex showcases two rinks, one of which is where the Penguins regularly practice. Next time you’re there, walk into the building and take a right, toward the rink where the Penguins don’t typically practice. You’ll note a wall on the far side of the rink, to the north. That portion of the complex was specifically built to expand for a third or even a fourth rink. I’m surprised it hasn’t happened yet, but it will. It’s a perfect setup and would be a perfect, intimate, setting. A 5,000-seat rink would be manageable for the Penguins, it would be a size that would be economically beneficial for a new team and it would give a new team a place to call its own.
The popularity of this league is noteworthy. Fans want to see these women play, and for good reason. It’s a highly competitive, entertaining league. It’s great. Women’s hockey is very much on the rise as evidenced by the fact that, without a shadow of a doubt, the best rivalry in hockey today is the one between the Canadian and U.S. women’s hockey teams. The popularity of that rivalry has been a major springboard for the women’s game and for this league in particular.
Bring a team to Pittsburgh, and fans will most definitely come.
Incidentally, a great allure of the Crosby era for fans in Pittsburgh has been of Crosby himself. The man, not the player. Professional athletes aren’t always saints. Meeting your heroes often comes with consequences. But not Crosby. When he leaves Pittsburgh, his legacy will encompass his work away from the rink as much as the wondrous achievements he produced on the rink.
I bring this up for a reason.
Following the game, the media had an opportunity to speak with a number of players in this game. A couple of the biggest names in the women’s sport, Natalie Spooner and Sarah Nurse, were available for a chat.
You know how when you meet a good person, you can immediately sense it from them?
That’s how I felt about those two. Those who are around the league daily will tell you, “That’s who they are. And the players are all like this. They’re wonderful.”
Spooner, the league’s leading scorer and one of the world’s best players, spoke with such conviction and class that you couldn’t help but root for her. She’s 33 and won’t play forever, but she’s playing for the next generation of women’s players to come. She’s speaking for them too.
The two women made an impression on Western Pennsylvania and the Penguins. Mike Sullivan sat in the crowd and watched. The Penguins coach called the players in this game “trailblazers” after the game, and he’s right.
The PWHL and western Pennsylvania are a perfect match.
“Pittsburgh has proven that it’s a great sports city,” Spooner said. “They support all of their athletes. Hopefully down the road, they can have a team here. We were lucky enough to come here this year.”
Pittsburgh was lucky enough to have Spooner and her fellow players here.
And hopefully it’s not too far down the road, because a team would thrive here. The thousands of fans who so eagerly welcomed the league here on Sunday deserve a team of their own. This league deserves a chance to spread its wings.
(Photo: Justin Berl / Getty Images)
