HALIFAX: With a sold-out crowd and dozens of young girls wearing jerseys bearing their favourite players’ names, the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s (PWHL) Takeover Tour game in Halifax left exactly the kind of impression league leaders hoped for.
The Montreal Victoire and Toronto Sceptres were facing off in the first game of the DoorDash Takeover Tour for this season (there’s 16 neutral-site games to be played this year), and they wowed the crowd in the stands at Scotiabank Centre.
A second Takeover Tour date next month will see the Ottawa Charge and Boston Fleet battle in the capital of Halifax in a 1 p.m. game.
The sold-out crowd was left entertained as there was extra hockey played with the game ending in a shootout as Marie Philip Polin’s lone tally stood as the winner of the shooters that shot and Montreal left with the two points and a 2-1 win.
Montreal Victoire head coach Kori Cheverie, who hails from New Glasgow, was asked by The Laker News in a post-game press conference what her hope was for the impact of the many young girls in the crowd at the game from seeing the two teams play.
“It was amazing to see the young girls and the young boys in the crowd, having our jerseys on and saying our names and wanting our autographs,” said Cheverie. “It’s extremely special.”
She recalled her days playing hockey and the fact there weren’t any girls teams to play on in Pictou County.
“Now we’re seeing associations and girls teams traveling from all over Nova Scotia, and even other Atlantic provinces, to be here,’ she said. “These meaningful moments are so important for our sport to continue to grow.”
“The cool thing is there are females on both benches, female bench staff, and female officials.
“The sky’s the limit now, and young people can see you can make a living doing many different jobs in women’s hockey.”
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For Nova Scotia native Blayre Turnbull of Stellarton, the Captain of the Toronto Sceptres, the moment was deeply personal.
“Everywhere we go, we want to leave a positive impact,” said Turb=nbull.
“We want little girls to know they have a dream and that their dreams can become a reality.”
She spoke of her and Allie Munroe growing up in the sport with not much chance to continue playing the sport they love into their adult years.
“When Allie and I were little, we didn’t have the chance to dream of playing professional hockey,” she said. “We saw men in the NHL and women in the Olympics.
“Now young girls can see us playing in this league and have something new to aspire to.”
There were many of those young girls—and boys—outside Scotiabank Centre to greet the two teams—Toronto led in by a bagpiper and their two N.S. darlings in Team Nova Scotia jerseys leading the way. Shortly after, the Victoire followed as their bus pulled up and players departed into the throngs of the crowd cheering them on yearning for a photo with their idols.
Some of those fans had lined up outside the downtown Halifax facility beginning at 2:30 p.m.
Toronto forward Allie Munroe was stoked at the electric atmosphere from the crowd.
“The crowd was incredible,” said the Yarmouth native.
“Nova Scotia supports women’s sports so passionately, and it was such a privilege to be part of this game.”
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Sceptres head coach Troy Ryan, who was the bench boss with the Dal Tigers women’s hockey team when COVID19 pandemic hit, said the Takeover game was just one part of leaving an impact on the game that took place over the past couple of days in Halifax.
“The best thing about a takeover event like this is that, while it has a huge impact on young girls playing hockey, it also reaches far beyond that,” said the Spryfield coach.
“What both teams were able to do was connect on many levels. The performance on the ice impacts fans and spectators, but there are also meaningful off-ice opportunities.”
Among those opportunities was a Coaching Panel and on Wednesday a breakfast was held with business leaders and officials form HRM and such. Councillor Cathy Deagle Gammon was among those attending the breakfast.
“We held a coaching panel that brought together local and community coaches, and there was also a breakfast with business leaders that highlighted women’s professional sports.
“Inspiring young girls to play the game is a major part of it, but the PWHL has the ability to make an impact across the entire community.”
Toronto was scheduled to go to the Pictou County Wellness Centre on Thursday
Anna Kjellbin for Toronto and Maya Labad with her first career PWHL goal had the tallies in regulation for their respective teams.
First star Ann-Renee Desbiens stopped 35 of 36 pucks she saw for the win, while Raygan Kirk, named the game’s third star, made 30 of 31 saves. Poulin was the second star. The Three Stars were chosen by media members in the press box.
Fall River Indigenous singer DeeDee Austin sang the national anthem before the game.
With strong attendance, loud support, and deep local connections, the Halifax showcase reinforced what many in Nova Scotia already believe, that women’s hockey has a strong and growing home in Atlantic Canada and that Halifax should be home to one of the next teams in PWHL when they do expansion.
