Canucks' home rink sold out for PWHL game in Vancouver

Looks like there’s no shortage of support for women’s hockey in Vancouver.

The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) is playing a game at Rogers Arena next month, and it appears they’ve already sold out the 18,910-seat home rink of the Vancouver Canucks.

“Tickets are sold out now. Check back soon,” is the message that fans are greeted with when trying to purchase tickets through Ticketmaster for the January 8 game between the Toronto Sceptres and Montreal Victoire. Many of those tickets were snapped up quickly after they went on sale November 22.

The game is sold out (Ticketmaster.ca)

The resale market appears to be alive and well, with the lowest-priced tickets on StubHub currently listed for $75.

A number of big names are expected to suit up, with 13 members of Canada’s world championship-winning squad on both rosters, including Marie-Philip Poulin (Montreal) and Sarah Nurse (Toronto).

Other names hockey fans will recognize include Natalie Spooner (currently injured), Emma Maltais, Renata Fast, Blayre Turnbull, Julia Gosling, Jocelyne Larocque, and Kristen Campbell from Toronto. Montreal features Laura Stacey, Kristin O’Neill, Erin Ambrose, and Ann-Renee Desbiens.

Year 1 of the PWHL was a smashing success, with big crowds turning up for games, and there’s plenty of reason for optimism in its second season. Expansion seems like an eventuality for the six-team league, which unveiled new names, logos, and jerseys ahead of this season.

The Vancouver event is one of nine neutral-site games as part of the PWHL Takeover Tour. Games will also be played in Seattle, Denver, Quebec City, Edmonton, Buffalo, Raleigh, Detroit, and St. Louis.

Will Vancouver eventually get a PWHL team of its own? Geography appears to be a major hurdle, given that the closest team is in Minnesota, but that could change in the near future.

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