PWHL game sets new attendance record for women's ice hockey - ESPN

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Professional Women's Hockey League game between Minnesota and Montreal on Saturday set an attendance record for the most watched professional women's ice hockey event with 13,316 people at Xcel Energy Center, the league said.

The record crowd, which came five days after the PWHL held its first game, easily outnumbered the 8,318 fans Tuesday who watched the clash between Montreal and hosts Ottawa in the inaugural game for both clubs.

«Living in the State of Hockey, I knew our fans would show up for us, but today they have taken it to a whole new level,» Minnesota general manager and former U.S. national team player Natalie Darwitz said. «I've enjoyed numerous amazing hockey experiences in Minnesota over my career, and experiencing today and the record crowd was emotional and ranks near the top of the list.»

Grace Zumwinkle scored the first hat trick in league history, and Maddie Rooney earned the shutout as Minnesota blanked Montreal 3-0 at the home of the NHL's Minnesota Wild.

Zumwinkle, who scored a goal in the season opener in Boston, is from Excelsior, Minnesota and played her collegiate hockey at the University of Minnesota. Rooney, from Duluth, Minnesota, played collegiately at the University of Minnesota-Duluth before winning a gold medal in goal for the United States at the 2018 Olympic Games.

Montreal pushed and set the pace for the game early and had three power plays without committing a penalty through the first two periods, outshooting Minnesota 21-12, but trailed 1-0 to start the third period.

Zumwinkle backhanded a shot past Ann-Renée Desbiens with 2:39 left in the first period, beating the 2022 Gold medalist for Canada to her stick side. After a scoreless second period, Zumwinkle