PWHL-leading Toronto clinches playoff berth, wins in OT before record crowd in Montreal
CBC
Marie-Philip Poulin remembers walking into the Bell Centre for her first Montreal Canadiens game at age 16 and witnessing a sellout crowd of rabid hockey fans.
Poulin couldn't have imagined then that scene would happen in women's professional hockey.
"I probably never thought it would be possible to be playing in this rink, being full capacity, cheering for Montreal, a women's team," said Montreal's captain of its Professional Women's Hockey League team.
"Never I would've thought in my wildest dreams."
It happened Saturday afternoon when 21,105 fans filled the home of the NHL's Canadiens and set a women's hockey attendance record.
The sellout crowd surpassed the previous high of 19,285 at Toronto's Scotiabank Arena on Feb. 16.
WATCH | Nurse scores decisive goal 13 seconds into overtime to beat Montreal:
Sarah Nurse scored twice, including the overtime winner, for visiting Toronto in a 3-2 win over Montreal. Toronto also clinched the league's first playoff spot.
Despite post-season implications with the PWHL regular season in its home stretch, the result felt secondary.
A previous attendance record of 18,013 set at the 2013 women's world championship in Ottawa had stood for a decade.
Poulin says the momentum hasn't died down since the PWHL opened its inaugural season Jan. 1.
"We talked about the PWHL, creating a league for many years," said the 33-year-old from Beauceville, Que. "We're here and we've been filling buildings all throughout the year. We thought it was going to be one week long of people's excitement and it's been what? We're April 20th and people are showing up.
Fans of all ages — some hoisting signs that read "Girls Hockey Rules" and "2033 PWHL Draft Eligible" — waved white towels, wore flashing bracelets and roared from the top of their lungs throughout the afternoon.
Poulin, also captain of the Canadian team that beat the United States 6-5 in overtime to win a world title last Sunday in Utica, N.Y., received a deafening standing ovation followed by chants of "Pou! Pou! Pou!" when introduced in the starting lineup.
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