At the espnW Summit on Tuesday, the PWHL’s Vice President of Business, Amy Scheer announced that the league will host nine neutral site games in the United States and Canada during the upcoming season. The first neutral site game location was officially revealed on Wednesday, when the Montréal Victoire announced that they will be hosting the Ottawa Charge in a neutral site game at the Videotron Centre in Québec City.
That leaves eight more neutral site games to be announced, and 13 games on the PWHL’s official calendar with locations TBD.
The league has a wealth of options for where they could place the remaining neutral site games. Last season, four NHL arenas in Detroit, Pittsburgh, Montréal, and Toronto hosted neutral site games, in addition to the three which hosted standard home games for PWHL teams. The University of Minnesota also hosted a neutral site game at the 10,000-seat 3M Arena at Mariucci. And, as we see with the announcement of the game in Québec City, there are other venues which could be excellent hosts for a professional game.
So where might the other eight neutral site games be played?
Friday, December 6: Ottawa Charge host Montréal Victoire
The league’s only two Francophone teams (for now?) deserve a big stage. Last season, Montréal hosted Toronto at the Bell Centre in the game that set the world record for attendance at a professional women’s hockey game. Meanwhile, Ottawa had the highest average attendance in the league. While no doubt these teams would be a great draw for a neutral site game outside their markets, it would be awesome if they could complete the 20,000-fan trifecta at Ottawa’s Canadian Tire Center, which has no conflicting events announced that evening.
Wednesday, January 8: Toronto Sceptres host Montréal Victoire
These two teams battled for the attendance record at Scotiabank Arena and the Bell Centre last year. Both games were sellouts, meaning that Montréal took home the record thanks to the Bell Centre’s higher capacity. This pair were also deployed at one of the league’s tentpole neutral site games last season in Pittsburgh. While Scotiabank Arena appears to have an opening that evening, could this be another show for the road? With a light NHL slate, any number of arenas might be available to host this heavyweight matchup.
Saturday, January 25: Toronto Sceptres host New York Sirens
Last season, Toronto hosted New York in the PWHL’s first ever game. New York dominated Toronto in a crushing 4-0 shutout. This could be the opportunity for the Sceptres to return the favor in a big way. Scotiabank Arena currently has no event listed on that weekend, and I think it would make for a great storyline to raise the stakes by putting this matchup on the biggest stage in the province.
Sunday, February 16: Ottawa Charge host Toronto Sceptres
While the NHL is on break this week, that doesn’t mean there’s nothing else to draw viewers’ attention. In lieu of an All-Star Game, this year the NHL is throwing the Four Nations Faceoff, a tournament between NHL players representing Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the US. February 16 is the only day of the week on which no Faceoff games are being played, providing a unique stage for the PWHL. The Canadian Tire Center does not currently have events scheduled on that week. It would be quite a statement for the league to fill it up during a week with no NHL games. But this could also be a great Sunday-night matchup for a neutral site game elsewhere in Canada– maybe somewhere like Calgary, where the Saddledome ice will be laid for the AHL’s Wranglers, who play on Saturday and Monday.
Sunday, February 23: New York Sirens host Boston Fleet
While the PWHL is a young league, New York versus Boston should be one of the easier rivalries to cultivate. And as the representation for the Eastern US, any number of neutral sites would make sense for this matchup. Playing a game at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia could be a testing ground for more than just women’s hockey interest: as a city without a professional women’s team in any sport, a number of leagues are eyeing up the metro. It would also be great to see the Sirens host at the Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio, where OSU’s men’s (though not its women’s) NCAA D1 team plays.
Saturday, March 1: Montréal Victoire host Boston Fleet
In last year’s post-season, fans packed Place Bell for Montréal’s first playoff games. This year, how many will come to see Marie-Philip Poulin’s team look for revenge on Hilary Knight’s team, who shocked them with a sweep? This rivalry is off to a great start, and has decades of men’s hockey rivalry to build on as well. I don’t know if this matchup has the power to sell out 20,000 seats just yet, but I wouldn’t bet against it. And with the Bell Centre available during the only ‘location TBD’ game Montréal is hosting, it would be a shame not to try.
Friday, March 7: Minnesota Frost host Ottawa Charge
The first and second place teams in average attendance last year could make for a unique draw in any number of places. Last year, Minnesota hosted their neutral site game at the University of Minnesota, and while that’s an option, I don’t expect them to double up again without an acute scheduling conflict. This game would be a great opportunity to test out potential expansion markets in the midwest, or to pack a smaller arena. AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, home of the UMD men’s and women’s D1 NCAA programs, sits 6,700 for hockey, slightly under the team’s average attendance at XCel Energy Center last year. A game there would have incredible energy, and there would be Bulldog alums on the ice. On the larger side, they could try to fill Allstate Arena, the home of the AHL’s Chicago Wolves.
Sunday, March 16: New York Sirens host Minnesota Frost
There’s a bevy of options for two American teams not married to any particular location, even looking at just NHL arenas. PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh hosted a Toronto-Montréal neutral site game last year, though the turnout wasn’t as stupendous as that in the Canadian markets. A second game in season two may yield better results and help with evaluating the strength of the market for women’s hockey. The United Center in Chicago has hosted PWHPA events, and Frost captain Kendall Coyne Schofield previously worked in player development for Chicago’s NHL team; hosting the reigning Walter Cup Champions could be a great fit. And Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles has hosted a Rivalry Series game the past two years, but is not hosting one this season.
The above eight dates are those I predict the PWHL want to end up playing their remaining neutral site games on. There are five other dates without locations that are likely left unscheduled as backups, but I expect that at least one of the Boston home games will end up happening.
Sunday, January 5: Boston Fleet host Montréal Victoire
Saturday, March 8: Boston Fleet host Montréal Victoire
Wednesday, March 26: Boston Fleet host Toronto Sceptres
Saturday, March 29: Boston Fleet host Ottawa Charge
Entering season two, the Fleet has the lowest home capacity in the PWHL, seating 6,500 fans at Tsongas Center in Lowell. Only once, in the Walter Cup Final Game Five, did they top 5,000 fans at their home rink. Whichever of these games they host, I expect the PWHL will pick a site for its accessibility to fans in the greater Boston area, rather than trying to spread the word further afield. One potential option would be playing an early game on January 5 at TD Garden in Boston prior to the Bruins hosting the Islanders, though this seems unlikely. It may be easier to find ice time, particularly later in the season, at Agganis Arena, where Boston University’s men’s NCAA D1 program plays (and its women’s team, this season, while their smaller rink is renovated). Ice time near Boston is at a premium, but it should be easier to place a single game closer to the city than to schedule a full season.
Sunday, January 12: Minnesota Frost host Montréal Victoire
Likely a backup for the March 7 game (Minnesota hosting Ottawa), the same interests apply. The league could seek out a smaller arena hoping for a more electric event, but this matchup could easily pull in a larger crowd. My dream pick for this game is the Canada Life Center in Winnipeg, which sits over 15,000. A game there would be the westernmost played in the PWHL so far.
