More than 19,000 cheered on Toronto and Montreal in Vancouver’s first PWHL game

At the first-ever Professional Women’s Hockey League game in Vancouver, a sold-out crowd welcomed the best players in women’s hockey.

For plenty of girls filling the seats in Rogers Arena on Wednesday – raising signs to their idols flying by on skates – they saw who they could be one day: women playing ice hockey at the highest level in the continent.

“It’s really heartwarming to know that the young ones are the leaders of our future and that the ones on the ice are the ones who trail-breaking for everyone to come,” firefighter Christy Persick said.

By puck drop, more than 19,000 people were cheering on the Toronto Scepters and the Montreal Victoire, including a number of girls’ hockey teams from the Lower Mainland, clad in jerseys and smiles. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO 1130 NEWSRADIO VANCOUVER LIVE!

Up in the front row, a couple of fresh forwards at the dawn of their game were taking pointers from the pros.

“I love hockey and I love playing with my teammates and my friends,” one girl told CityNews.

“It feels amazing! Because I know we’re going to be on the jumbotron and I told my friend, ‘You better watch the game tonight – I’m going to be on TV,’” another hockey fan said.

But it wasn’t just the future stars taking it in, some long-time hockey fans took in the game, reflecting on the years before a professional women’s team.

Meanwhile, dozens of firefighters and other emergency responders from Fire Service Women B.C. watched the game. It’s an organization that parallels the inclusive mission of the new league.

“Just empowering women to get past those barriers and achieve amazing things – it’s really exciting to see this professional women’s league here,” firefighter Jenn Dawkins said.

Marie-Philip Poulin scored twice as her Victoire downed the Sceptres 4-2. Mikyla Grant-Mentis added a goal and an assist for the Victoire (4-1-2-1) and Claire Dalton also scored.

The sold-out game was the second stop in the PWHL’s nine-city “Takeover Tour” crisscrossing North America to grow the league’s audience and test potential expansion markets. 

Other neutral-site destinations on the tour include Quebec City, where Montreal takes on the Ottawa Charge on Jan. 19, and Edmonton, where Toronto faces Ottawa on Feb. 16. Games will also be held in Denver, Detroit, St. Louis, Buffalo, N.Y. and Raleigh, N.C.

With files from The Canadian Press.