Edmonton’s hopes for an expansion franchise in the Professional Women’s Hockey League got another boost Tuesday when 10,794 fans turned out for a third Takeover Tour game at Rogers Place.
While attendance was down from the first of the three games played in Edmonton over the last two seasons, the enthusiastic fan response throughout the 5-1 Boston Fleet win over the Vancouver Goldeneyes caught the attention of the players.
“It would be great for the league,” Goldeneyes captain Ashton Bell said of Edmonton getting a franchise. “We’ve played two games here and the fans have been great…they’ve been hoping for a team.”
Vancouver, which along with the Seattle Torrent joined the PWHL this season, dropped its second neutral-site game in Edmonton. The Minnesota Frost defeated the Goldeneyes 2-1 in December.
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Goldeneyes head coach Brian Idalski nevertheless thought the addition of Edmonton would be “awesome. Nice to have someone else go through what we’re going through. And there’s a lot of positive for the player pool.”
The eight-team PWHL intends to expand again by two to four teams for 2026-27.
No other Canadian city has hosted as many Takeover Tour games as Edmonton.
The first last season drew 17,518 fans to Rogers Place. Attendance for the second Dec. 27 was 10,264.
Jessie Eldridge of Barrie, Ont., scored her team-leading ninth and 10th goals for Boston on Tuesday in the Fleet’s fifth straight win.
Boston was a single point behind the Montreal Victoire — a 4-1 winner over the Torrent on Tuesday — in the race for first place in the standings.
Stan Kasten, a member of the PWHL advisory board, said last week the league, nearing the end of its third season, is ready for expansion.
“There is a line of cities eager to have us there, whether it’s for a couple Takeover Tour games or for a full-time team. We’re going to have news about that in the next few weeks,” Kasten said at a New York news conference.
The league’s original six teams are the Victoire, Fleet, Frost, Toronto Sceptres, Ottawa Charge and New York Sirens.
This season’s 16 Takeover Tour games were to build audience and test markets. Halifax, with two games, Calgary, Winnipeg, Quebec City and Hamilton also hosted PWHL games this season.
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