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Hockey fans in Winnipeg made it clear as the Professional Women’s Hockey League rolled into town over the weekend that they want to see their own franchise based in the Manitoba capital.
Sunday night was an audition of sorts as a sellout crowd of more than 15,000 turned out for the first-ever PWHL game in Winnipeg, which saw the Ottawa Charge beat the Montreal Victoire 2-1 as part of the league’s Takeover Tour.
Fans wore jerseys, made creative signs — with some calling for the league to put a team in the city — and sang along all night long to the in-game playlist.
“We’re the heart of the country and everyone watches women’s sports here. We absolutely need a team,” said Jen Seguin, who was at Sunday’s game with a sign that read, in part, “WPG PWHL ASAP.
“Just look around. Everybody’s here — kids, families, people of all genders, sizes and diversity are here. We love women’s sports.”
Jen Seguin holds up a sign calling for the PWHL to put a team in Winnipeg. (Gavin Axelrod/CBC)
That same thought was echoed by Madison Zienkiewicz who brought a sign that said “Chipman are you watching? Winnipeg wants the PWHL.”
“I’ve travelled to see a PWHL game, I went to Minneapolis,” said Zienkiewicz. “We need a team here. Women’s sports are just amazing, I love it so much.”
Players see Winnipeg as a PWHL fit
Sunday’s game was also the first time Manitobans Kati Tabin and Jocelyne Larocque got to play professional hockey in their home province. Both said they see value in Winnipeg getting a team.
“Geographically it makes a lot of sense, we’re right central in North America and Canada, but I think this city just loves hockey,” said Larocque.
“And the fact that the city doesn’t have a pro women’s sports team at all, I think hockey would be a great first one.”
Trina Elke, right, wanted her two-year-old daughter to catch the action on Sunday, even if she may not remember it. (Travis Golby/CBC)
For Tabin, who said she hadn’t played hockey in front of some of her friends and family since high school, Winnipeg would be a “good spot” for a team.
“There’s so much hockey love here in the city, so yeah, I think it’d be a great one,” she said.
The passion and energy of the sellout crowd didn’t go unnoticed by other players and staff.
Montreal forward Abby Roque noticed right from warmup how there were so many young girls at the glass with signs and said “the fans really showed up.”
“Having that community that really wants a team and just being able to show young girls that this is the hockey that you can one day play if you really put your mind to it, I think it’s a really special thing to be able to go to all these markets and show everybody whose in these respective cities what we do.”
WATCH | Manitoba hockey fans want PWHL team in Winnipeg:
Manitoba hockey fans want a PWHL team in Winnipeg
Thousands packed Canada Life Centre Sunday night as the Professional Women’s Hockey League rolled into Winnipeg. Fans said while they were happy to see the game between Ottawa and Montreal, they want a team of their own in the Manitoba capital.
Ottawa Charge head coach Carla MacLeod — who played in a world championship tournament in Winnipeg in 2007 — said the team took a lot of pride playing in front of the capacity crowd.
“You walk out to that stadium and it’s full,” said MacLeod. “That’s a great stadium, it’s super steep, like fans are on top of you there, so it’s not lost on us what these experiences are.”
Speaking to CBC News in the leadup to the game, PWHL executive vice president of hockey operations Jayna Hefford said the league continues to evaluate potential markets for expansion, but did acknowledge Winnipeg as a hockey city.
The PWHL added new teams this season in Seattle and Vancouver — both cities previously hosted Takeover Tour games — and the league has signaled further expansion is coming.
“Takeover Tour games are a really great indicator for us,” said Hefford. “There’s a lot of metrics we get out of it besides how many people buy tickets.
“So it’s a really important part of the process to evaluate a market, to have a game and to really get to understand the fans a little bit better.”
