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Calgary shows up with massive Saddledome attendance for PWHL

Colton Pankiw
Colton Pankiw
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Apr 2 2026, 4:34 pm
Calgary shows up with massive Saddledome attendance for PWHL
@thepwhlofficial/X

Calgary proved on Wednesday night to be a city that can and will support PWHL hockey.

With talks of expansion looming, Calgary was given its first-ever opportunity to host a game on Wednesday evening, and the city didn’t disappoint. In fact, 16,150 fans were in the Saddledome to watch the Ottawa Charge take on the Toronto Sceptres.

Those who were in the building on Wednesday were treated to a show, as the Sceptres, thanks to goals from Maggie Connors and Claire Dalton, were able to walk away with a 2-1 victory.

“It was an incredible evening,” said Charge head coach and Calgary native Carla MacLeod. “The crowd was all in on this game. These Takeover Tours are always enjoyable, but certainly it’s extra special when you get to come home.

“Calgary’s such a great hockey market with rich history with the Inferno and the X-Treme and the classics before that. It was fun to be able to play here and bring our product to this city.”

The 2025-26 PWHL Takeover Tour, which began in December, includes 16 neutral-site games across 11 cities. The last outing of the Tour will be played in Edmonton on Apr. 7 between the Boston Fleet and Vancouver Goldeneyes.

That will also mark Edmonton’s second PWHL game of the season, with the other having already taken place on Dec. 27 between the Goldeneyes and Minnesota Frost. That outing saw 10,264 in attendance at Rogers Place, nearly six thousand less than we saw in Calgary on Wednesday.

In Edmonton’s defence, they were also able to host a PWHL game on Feb. 16, 2025 ā€” the first PWHL at Rogers Place ā€” and had an attendance of 17,518.

The attendance at the Saddledome on Wednesday night is the fifth most ever for a Takeover Tour game, and ranks first among Canadian markets this season. The only city to have a bigger showing on a Wednesday night was Vancouver, who hosted 19,038 guests on Jan. 8, 2025, in a game between the Sceptres and Montreal Victoire.

The turnout in Calgary last night is a good reminder of how great a hockey market this city has. With the PWHL hoping to expand by two to four teams for the 2026-27 campaign, Wednesday night’s showing at the Saddledome couldn’t have hurt Calgary’s chances.

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