World Record ✅
— Claire Hanna (@clahanna) April 20, 2024
The crowd size for today’s PWHL game is 21,105 the highest attendance ever for a women’s hockey game in history. #PWHL pic.twitter.com/Qavn3Zr40P
The PWHL returned to the ice after the 2024 IIHF Women's World Championship in Utica, New York. A record crowd came out to watch Toronto and Montréal play at the Bell Centre, home of the Montréal Canadiens.
The game received the Duel at the Top moniker for the event. Toronto's Sarah Nurse scored the game-winning goal 13 seconds into overtime for th 3-2 win. Nurse had 2 goals in the game. The idea of seeing Nurse and Marie-Philip Poulin (Montréal) and many others on the NHL ice in front of a full crowd is incredible.
The same teams participated in the previous world record: Battle on Bay Street in February with 19,285 fans at Scotiabank Arena, home of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Caitlin Clark is phenomenal to watch on the basketball court. Playing in the WNBA will be tough for the incoming Indiana Fever rookie. What may be tougher is dealing with a misogynist sports reporter, Gregg Doyel from The Indianapolis Star.
“Start doing it to me and we’ll get along just fine." This referred to the heart gesture currently in vogue.
Visually, you could look at me and think I was on Dovel's side. The complete and total opposite.
Reporters earnestly don't make themselves part of the news, especially at a press conference. I interviewed girls and women early in my career as a sports writer. I knew I was covering these beats because I was low on the rankings at work.
I treated all the athletes, regardless of gender, like athletes. Getting quotes from girls (high school) and women (college) players was easier since females are usually more articulate at that age.
I recognize that Dovel apologized. I personally don't view it as sincere. The original exchange is exactly the wrong step on behalf of journalists and women's sports. An athlete is an athlete is an athlete.
I know this isn't "relevant" to the Canadian aspect of the blog yet pertinent to the coverage of women's sports.
CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage
We should squeeze in some male sports news. The odds for the NHL Draft Lottery are set. San Jose has a 25.5% chance of keeping the top spot. Montréal has the best chance among the Canadian teams at 8.5% in 5th place with Ottawa at 6.5% in 7th place and Calgary at 5.0% in 9th place. Only teams 1-11 can jump into the top spot to likely pick Macklin Celebrini (Canadian).
The lottery is on May 7 (ESPN and Rogers Sportsnet) with the actual NHL draft happening on June 28-29.
Twitter capture: @clahanna
photo and video credit: PWHL
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