Record-breaking crowd and a playoff atmosphere: The perfect storm for PWHL’s Takeover of Detroit

DETROIT, Mich. – The PWHL considered starting a franchise in Detroit, but elected to work with the six teams they chose in the end.

But when the league made it down to Little Caesars Arena for the first time ever, fans made it known that they are hungry for women’s hockey.

In the first of two games that are part of PWHL Takeover Weekend, Ottawa and Boston battled it out in front of 13,376 fans in Detroit on Saturday night, a new American attendance record for a pro women’s hockey game.

It surpassed the record set earlier this season, when Minnesota played Montreal on Jan. 6, with 13,316 people stepping inside Xcel Energy Center.

“It exceeded [expectations],” Farmington, Michigan native and Boston defender Megan Keller said after the game. “It was pretty special to play in front of this crowd. They were loud all night long. Especially coming home…bringing the PWHL here is awesome to be a part of.”

Hundreds of minor hockey teams around Michigan were scattered throughout the building. From high school down to the early stages of development, players got a chance to look at the current state of the women’s game and begin to dream of playing at the highest level.

However, it wasn’t just the kids who brought the energy to Hockeytown. People of all ages waved rally towels in the air, reacting to every scoring chance and big save like a do-or-die playoff game.

Even during game stoppages, the crowd was engaged. When Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me” came over the loudspeaker during the second period, the patrons decided that the short pause in play was not enough, serenading those on the ice as the action resumed.

Boston and Ottawa came into Saturday night tied for the league’s fourth and final playoff spot, so everything mattered even more. The fans expressed delight when Keller got an assist on Hilary Knight’s fourth goal of the season, opening the scoring minutes into the contest.

In the end, Knight scored the clinching goal in the shootout, giving Boston a 2-1 win and giving them sole possession of fourth place.

The game was a neutral site outing, with Boston designated as the home team. having Keller as a local star definitely swayed the crowd to support the team in green.

“We probably figured there would be a few Boston fans,” Ottawa captain Brianne Jenner said. “I think it was during the starting lineups, someone turned to me and said, ‘Oh, they’re going for Boston.'”

Keller was honest in saying that, growing up, she never thought she would ever play on this big of a stage, especially in her own backyard.

“When I was growing up, I was watching women’s hockey on TV every four years at the Olympics,” Keller admitted. “To come back and play in a professional setting at home is pretty special.”

Boston goaltender Aerin Frankel, who made 25 saves in her fifth win of the season, says the atmosphere inside LCA ranks up there with some of the biggest games of her career.

“I think now that we’re getting these crowds consistently,” Frankel said. “I think we knew if we built it, the fans would come. That’s exactly what we have proven this year.”

Though her team was on the losing end, Ottawa head coach Carla MacLeod recognized how animated the crowd was.

“To be able to roll into a community that isn’t built with one of the franchises,” MacLeod explained. “and see them show up…and not even just show up, but be as engaged as they were, it was exciting…a lot of fun for all of us.”

PWHL senior vice president of hockey operations, Jayna Hefford, was very impressed by the turnout – and just how electric the crowd was.

“It’s quite exciting,” Hefford said. “I think we couldn’t be happier with what’s happened here tonight. We expected a crowd that was going to come and push a U.S. record…that it was going to be loud and be excited…it’s just so much fun to be part of this environment.

“I’m Seeing so many fans for our league even though we’re in a market that doesn’t have a hometown team. I’m seeing all kinds of PWHL gear—Ottawa gear and Boston gear. I think it shows that you have hockey fans in this market who are following even though they don’t have a team. It’s really cool to be a part of.”

It is no secret that Detroit was in the running to be one of the inaugural franchises, but Hefford admits that many factors make the area a prospect for future expansion.

“The grassroots market we know is huge…proximity to Canada, so you get the cross-border fans, and obviously the legacy of the Red Wings,” she said. “It just seems like an obvious spot for a hockey market that we love to be a part of. Although not in our Original Six, it’s somewhere that we still have our eyes on and [Saturday] has been another proving point that is a market that loves hockey, and I think loves women’s hockey.”

While the league has been pushing off the idea of expanding while it is still in the middle of its first season, Hefford says that the passion for the game, along with having inspired partners and a good foundation of the sport in general, are critical factors in what the PWHL looks for in its future franchises. All of that was evident Saturday night.

One of the underlying storylines re-emerging from the game is the desire to bring an NCAA Women’s D-I program to the state. Keller says that with the support of fans around Michigan, it is only a matter of time before a top-tier college or a professional team – or maybe even both – comes to town.

“There’s so much girls hockey in the state,” Keller explained. “It continues to grow at rapid rates, and I think it’s something that a lot of these young girls deserve to be able to look up to. It’s called Hockeytown for a reason…I think we should have one here.”