Stu Cowan: Women's hockey the big winner at sold-out Bell Centre

Article content

About an hour before the start of Saturday afternoon’s PWHL game between Montreal and Toronto, there was a party atmosphere outside the Bell Centre.

A group of young girls — all wearing Montreal PWHL sweaters — were doing a conga-line dance to the beat of drummers. They were members of the Westmount Wings, a team of girls between the age of nine and 11.

Article content

Jennifer Lumba’s daughter, Jade Mills, was one of the girls dancing.

Article content

“This game means so much,” Lumba said. “This is the first time there’s been a league that the girls can feel that they can aspire to. Women know now that they can break the glass ceiling in terms of professional sports. That they can aspire to be part of something that’s just for them.”

Article content

This was more than just a hockey game. It was a celebration for women’s sports.

The game set a world women’s hockey attendance record with all 21,105 seats sold at the Bell Centre, breaking the record of 19,285 set when the same two teams met at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Feb. 16. Among those in attendance Saturday were Canadiens players Jake Evans, Michael Pezzetta, David Savard, Jake Evans, Alex Newhook, Mike Matheson and Kirby Dach.

Toronto spoiled the party for Montreal fans when Sarah Nurse scored her second goal of the game in overtime for a 3-2 victory. But there were really no losers on this day.

Article content

Article content

Before the game, Emeline Geukers, Kellie-Rae Ryan and Joanne Ram walked past where the Westmount Wings were doing their little conga dance with big smiles on their faces as they headed to the Bell Centre entrance. The three have been playing pickup hockey together with a group of West Island women for the last 18 years — as well as in oldtimers tournaments — and they will be representing Quebec at the Senior Canada Games later this year in Quebec City. Geukers will be on the 60-and-over team, while Ryan and Ram will be on the 55-and-over squad.

Geukers and Ram were fortunate that Pierrefonds Comprehensive had a girls’ high-school hockey team they played on and they later played at Concordia University. Ryan could only play ringette until she joined the Concordia women’s hockey team and she later played in the NWHL.

“We tried to keep that league alive for about five years and then it just collapsed because there was no money,” Ryan recalled. “The team budgets were about $150,000. So it’s great for me to see it’s finally happening. I had hoped it was going to happen on my time, but it didn’t. But it’s just amazing now and it’s a real honour to be here today. It’s so exciting.”

Article content

Article content

The game was very exciting and the atmosphere inside the Bell Centre was electric — and very loud.

There was a huge ovation when Montreal captain Marie-Phillip Poulin was introduced as part of the starting lineup and the building exploded when Sarah Bujold scored with 19 seconds left in the first period to tie the score 1-1 and again when Erin Ambrose scored with 26 seconds left in the second period to tie the score 2-2.

Poulin was fighting back tears during the pregame introductions, while asking herself: “Is this for real?”

“It just shows how incredible it is when people believe in the product,” Poulin added after the game. “We’ve talked a long time about this moment, about women’s hockey, about the PWHL, and we’re here. We talked about it and people showed up and it’s unbelievable. I cannot thank the people enough for showing up today because we’ve talked a lot. We wanted to break the Toronto record and we did in a good manner and it was pretty amazing to be a part of that.”

Article content

Poulin has won three Olympic gold medals with Canada, which is hard to top. But this game came close.

“It’s up there,” she said. “Today was bigger than ourselves. I think we’ve dreamed about that moment. Obviously, you do dream about the national team, the Olympics, but this one is something different. We’ve dreamt to be part of a professional league, and having 21,105 In the rink is unbelievable.”

Poulin also paid tribute to the older women still playing the game and the younger girls just getting started.

Article content

“I think the best part is when you see the older women who have been there before us and you talk about what’s happening in this league, they’re as excited or even more than us, and that’s something that’s unbelievable,” Poulin said. “We get the chance to play in it, but they get the chance to watch us play, and that’s unbelievable. We’re doing it for them, we’re doing it for the next generation, but we’re all in this together because we truly believe in our product.”

At the end of the game, Ambrose gave her stick to a young girl wearing a Montreal PWHL sweater.

“It’s a moment that I hope she can remember,” Ambrose said, “because this is a game that’s going to be in my mind and my heart forever.”

The 21,105 in attendance will probably all feel the same way.

Toggle full screen modePrevious Gallery Image

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

11. 

12. 

13. 

14. 

15. 

16. 

17. 

18. 

19. 

20. 

21. 

22. 

23. 

24. 

25. 

26. 

Next Gallery ImageToggle gallery captions

All 26 Photos for Gallery

Function Not Available

Full Screen is not supported on this browser version.

You may use a different browser or device to view this in full screen.

OK

Article content

scowan@postmedia.com

twitter.com/StuCowan1

Article content

Article content