By Ilyas Hussein
On the first day of the new calendar year, history was made for women’s hockey.
New York took down Toronto 4-0 at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC) in the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s (PWHL) inaugural game.
A third-period scoring flurry and a 29-save shutout from netminder Corinne Schroeder propelled the visitors to the victory. Yet, for everyone involved, the result came second to the landmark event in professional sports that took centre stage.
“That was the moment we were all waiting for,” said Toronto forward and 2022 Olympic gold medalist Sarah Nurse. “The hype leading up to this game was insane and rightfully so. But, it almost felt like an Olympics.”
The professional game returned with hope for a sustainable future for the world’s best talent with the league forming in August 2023. New York and Toronto are joined alongside Minnesota, Boston, Ottawa and Montreal as the six teams represented in the PWHL.
The schedule was announced in late November 2023. As a result, the New Year’s Day regular season matinee matchup was met with great anticipation.
“If I could’ve seen this as a kid it would’ve been pretty special, so to be that for those young hockey players…it feels like an honour,” said Toronto defender Jocelyne Larocque on being a part of the league’s inaugural game.
Tennis legend, PWHL investor and equality advocate Billie Jean King made a surprise pre-game appearance in Toronto’s dressing room where she read the starting lineup for the squad.
In a moment posted to social media, she told the players, “Good luck and this is a day to cherish for the rest of your lives.”
2,537 fans roared out of their seats for Toronto’s player introductions at the MAC. King then dropped the puck alongside PWHL senior vice president of hockey operations and four-time Olympic gold medalist Jayna Hefford at the ceremonial face-off, which also drew a large reaction from the crowd.
As the two sides lined up at centre ice, listening to the national anthems of both the United States and Canada, the atmosphere within the confines of the historic Maple Leaf Gardens reached an incredible height.
The puck dropped shortly after that and a large sigh of relief flowed throughout the arena.
After years of negotiating. After months of planning. After weeks of preparing. It finally happened. A new era has officially begun.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to play hockey for 30 years now and [this] is definitely up there,” said Larocque on where today’s game ranks in her career accomplishments. “It felt pretty surreal seeing the sold-out crowd.”
“That was the moment we were all waiting for”
The nerves were evident early as both sides looked to find their footing in the game. The score remained even until New York defender Ella Shelton broke the deadlock midway through the first period.
Shelton rifled the puck past Toronto netminder Kristen Campbell’s five-hole from above the left face-off circle to etch her name in the history books that will live on forever.
“I think the emotions are just surreal right now,” said Shelton during the first intermission. “This crowd and coming to play your first professional hockey game in 2024, it’s quite the bang to start off the year.”
Toronto went on the offensive in the second frame to find the equalizer, resulting in increased physicality. Both sides traded blows with a barrage of hits and chippy scrums to find the edge.
By the end of the period, Toronto led in the shot total 16-4 as the momentum pendulum swung in their favour, but Schroeder shut the door to maintain the New York advantage heading into the third period.
“She kept us in the game,” said New York head coach Howie Draper about his goaltender. “She was making stops that we absolutely needed. It could very well have been Toronto leading 2-1 or 3-1 going into the third period.”
New York snatched the momentum back early in the final frame with three goals in a less than five-minute span from Alex Carpenter, Jill Saulnier and Kayla Vespa to increase their lead to four and put the game to rest.
Nurse, however, isn’t worried the trend will continue for her and her squad.
“Once we’re able to settle in and remember that we’re just playing hockey, something we’ve been doing for over 20 years, we’ll be off to the races,” said Nurse.
Once the game wrapped up, cameras and microphones from the media filled up the hallways of the MAC. Fans continued to line up to purchase gear, despite not much remaining. Players—win or loss—smirked and smiled as they were proud to be a part of a historic moment.
It was clear that when the final period buzzer rang it not only signalled the end of the game, but it also signalled the beginning of the future.
“It’s hard to put it into words,” said Draper. “I don’t think we could have asked for a better start.”
UP NEXT: Toronto and New York both travel to Bridgeport, Conn. for a rematch on Jan. 5 at Total Mortgage Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.
With files from Konnor Killoran and Curtis Martin
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