PWHL
The PWHL, which on Saturday again set the all-time record for women’s hockey attendance, is “on its way, with one notable exception: New York,” according to David Waldstein of the N.Y. TIMES. Despite a roster “replete with talented, scrappy and likable player,” the N.Y. franchise has “not matched the early buzz, for a variety of reasons.” Home games are “scattered over three arenas in three states, and the practice facility is 35 miles outside Manhattan.” The team owns the worst record in the league and faces “persistent questions over whether the city is even a ‘hockey town.'” No matter where the home games are, the stands have “mostly been empty.” The N.Y. franchise has the “worst attendance in the league,” with an average of 2,325 spectators per home game. If ticket sales continue to lag, there is “no guarantee the league will keep the team in New York” (N.Y. TIMES, 4/19).
OTTAWA READY TO GO BIG: In Ottawa, Don Brennan wrote at the rate they are going, PWHL Ottawa and its “band of loud, faithful followers is going to force the franchise to relocate” to Canadian Tire Centre “at least for a game or two.” Even before seeing Montreal and Toronto draw a world record crowd to the Bell Centre on Saturday, Ottawa officials were “considering the possibility.” They are “thrilled with the support fans have given the team at TD Place” this inaugural season. The atmosphere at Saturday’s game against Minnesota was “as electric as it was for the team’s debut” against Montreal almost four months ago. With the “excitement the high-quality product has created in the nation’s capital, Ottawa’s top dogs have to believe the team would draw another 10,000 for a playoff game at CTC” (OTTAWA SUN, 4/21).
