Somebody Who Tries

Back in January, an ad for the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s [PWHL] Takeover Tour popped up on my instagram. For the first time ever, two teams from the PWHL would be coming to Winnipeg to play. Obviously, this was something I could not pass up on. So I booked myself and three others tickets, and the wait began.

The group going to the game consisted of myself, my partner, my brother, and my brother’s wife. It’s hard to say who was the most excited between me and my brother. For the longest time, my brother has been my inspiration for what equality means. He is someone who always recognized the privilege that being a straight, white male has provided him, and uses that to advocate for those who aren’t awarded the same.

Growing up in a family that loved sports, that love naturally grew within us. My brothers grew up playing hockey, starting younger than I even can remember, while all us girls were taught was how to skate. I didn’t have the chance to start playing hockey until I was 18, by the time that most boys my age had been playing for over 10 years already. This wasn’t because leagues wouldn’t let us, but because my parents didn’t see a point in us girls playing hockey.

Growing up as a girl in that environment, and seeing how catered sports were to men , I always wondered why there wasn’t a platform for women.

The typical answer I got to that question, is that women’s sports simply are not as interesting. They aren’t as fast, they aren’t as strong, they aren’t as good. My thought was that, if that may have been true, they also lacked the support and opportunities to get to that same level. How can a woman who has to work a full time job to support herself and then also find time to train in a sport become as good as a man who is paid millions to perfect it?

Admittedly, I didn’t start following along with the PWHL when it first began. It’s been years since I have played hockey, and I hadn’t followed along with any sport team in just as long.

Last year, my home NHL team, the Winnipeg Jets, had their best season of all time. Winning the Presidents’ Trophy, William M. Jennings Trophy, and becoming the Central Division Champs for the season. They had been on fire from the beginning of the year, right until the end, when they lost in the second round of the playoff to the Dallas Stars. It lit a fire within for hockey again.

It was at the beginning of the 2025-2026 season that I started getting into the PWHL. I was excited for hockey, the olympics were coming up, and I wanted to see what the sport was made of. Without any local team to cheer for, I browsed around, eventually settling on cheering for the Minnesota Frost, with the Montréal Victoire as a close second.

During the olympics, watching all the women from both teams get to represent and play for their country, I felt like there was no way I could lose. As much as I would have loved to see team Canada win [such a devastating loose], it was incredible to see the women’s USA team filled with so many Frost players win. Canada will get them next time though.

Arriving to the game, I was overwhelmed seeing all the women and young girls. I don’t think I have ever seen so many women at the Canada Life Center, and the feeling was electric.

All the posters from young girls saying that this was their first PWHL game, or that it was even their first hockey game. All the young girls in their hockey team jerseys. The fact that these girls are going to grow up in a world where it’s just normal that they have these women to look up to.

The stadium was packed, filled with 15,321 fans. Considering the centre has a capacity of 15, 321 for NHL games, it was a sold out game and an incredible display of our city’s interest in the PWHL. It goes to show that everyone really does watch women’s sports!

The game itself was phenomenal to watch. Despite being a low scoring game, the two teams were battling it out the whole time. Pucks were flying into the crowd, nets were pushed out of place, penalties were being served, and there were a couple times I thought I was going to see a jailbreak!

Scoring opened up in the second period, with Gabbie Hughes from Ottawa sending the puck in to a wide open right side of the net after the perfect pass from Peyton Hemp. Montréal did not let that go unanswered, scoring just under 6 minutes later. Abby Roque winning the face off and tipping it back to Nicole Gosling who sniped it through the five-hole to tie the game.

The game continued through the third period, both teams desperate to not let the game run into a sudden-death overtime, and the loss of game points in the standings as we begin to near the end of the season.

I felt as though I was holding my breath all throughout the final period as the clock ticked down. Every shot, every penalty, just hoping to see one more goal from the Victoire to steal the game. As the clock hit zero, ending the regulation game and letting everyone know we were getting more hockey than we originally paid for, 33 seconds remained in Ottawa’s power play. This meant we were heading into 3-on-3 overtime at a 4-on-3 for the Charge instead.

Unfortunately for me and everyone else cheering on Montréal, the man advantage for the Charge proved to be too much to overcome for the day. Rebecca Leslie, after some wonder full passing from Brianne Jenner and Ronja Savolainen, put the puck right in the top corner, sealing the win for Ottawa just 12 seconds into the first overtime.

It was heartbreaking to see Montréal lose, especially in such a circumstance, but that’s the way the game goes. Penalties, especially so close to the end of the game, can have such devastating consequences.

My boyfriend, brother, sister-in-law, and I were so glad we went to the game. To be at such an event, watching history be made through women’s sports, I cannot wait to watch the game develop over the years. To watch this platform that has been given continue to grow, and the skills of these incredible women continue to elevate.

On Sunday, March 22 of this year, Winnipeg hosted its first PWHL game in history. The teams – Montréal Victoire and Ottawa Charge – battled it out over three regulation periods, and into overtime in a phenomenal battle, giving us in Winnipeg our first [and hopefully far from last] taste of what professional women’s hockey is all about.

As the league continues to expand, I hope that one day I’ll be able to cheer for Winnipeg’s own PWHL team. For now, I’ll continue loving the teams through screens, watching them pave the wave for future generations. And maybe sometime I’ll make my way down south to watch a Minnesota Frost game. Until then, I’ll continue to support from afar.

Please let me know who PWHL team you’re rooting for as we start to close in on the end of the season. It’s still anyone game at this point, so it’ll be exciting to watch and see who makes it into the playoffs.