Announcer recalls thrill of calling historic 1st goal scored in Women's Professional Hockey League

Daniella Ponticelli's voice will forever be a part of a moment in women's hockey history.

Ponticelli and Cheryl Pounder, a Canadian hockey player and Olympic gold medallist, were the play-by-play announcers for the inaugural Professional Women's Hockey League opener between Toronto and New York on New Year's Day at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto.

A snap shot from New York defenceman Ella Shelton that zipped through traffic in front of Toronto goaltender Kristen Campbell and slid behind her made history as the first goal in the league.

"Ella Shelton scores! History is hers!" Ponticelli shouted over the din of cheering fans at the sold-out arena. "The first goal of the professional women's hockey league, Ella Shelton."

Ponticelli, a former CBC Saskatchewan reporter and current PWHL announcer, said she was wasn't sure how she would call the inevitable first goal of the game and the league, so she jotted down her ideas on a piece of paper that's now a memento of the first PWHL game. 

"It felt like a great release and relief when that moment happened," she recalled, "because, you know, everyone's waiting for it and it was just a beautiful goal, too."

Ponticelli said co-announcer Cheryl Pounder had referred to seeing the day of the first PWHL game happen "her impossible dream." 

"Being able to actually share that with her helped me pause a little bit and take in that moment," Ponticelli said of the chance to call the play-by-play at the league's first game.

There are challenges to being a voice for the new league, Ponticelli said, including the fact that there very few statistics available to add to the broadcast, even though many of the women have played on national teams — in international tournaments such as the