PWHL Minnesota smashes attendance world record and wins in shutout
Grace Zumwinkle scored a hat trick as Minnesota's Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) team earned a 3-0 shutout win over Montreal in front of more than 13,000 fans Saturday in the State of Hockey.
With an official attendance inside the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul of 13,316, the game didn't just set a new record for a professional women's hockey game, it blew the old record out of the water. The previous record was set five days earlier when 8,318 fans watched Tuesday's PWHL game between Ottawa and Montreal.
The previous worldwide record for a women's game was 7,765 for a game in Sweden.
Minnesota (2-0) got a shutout from goaltender Maddie Rooney while Zumwinkle scored once in the first period and then two more in the third period, the last on an empty net to complete the hat trick. Rooney made 24 saves in her first start of the season.
Minnesota's starting lineup featured a top line of Taylor Heise centering forwards Denisa Krizova and Kenda Coyne Schofield, with Lee Stecklein and Maggie Flaherty as the top defensive pairing.
Heise and Stecklein played in college for the Minnesota Gophers, Flaherty and Rooney went to Minnesota-Duluth, and Krizova and Coyne Scholfield played at Northeastern University.
“Living in the State of Hockey, I knew our fans would show up for us, but today they have taken it to a whole new level,” said Minnesota GM Natalie Darwitz. “I feel tremendously proud and inspired by our fan support. On behalf of our team and our league, I want to thank the fans and everyone who has made this day possible. I’ve enjoyed numerous amazing hockey experiences in Minnesota over my career, and experiencing today and the record crowd was emotional and ranks near the top of the list.”
Up next: Minnesota vs. Toronto, Wednesday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. Ct.
Jan 6, 2024; St. Paul, Minnesota, USA; A general view during the first period in a PWHL ice hockey game between Minnesota and Montreal at XCel Energy Center.
Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
