Odd woman rush

January 13, 2024 2:57 PM

The Professional Women's Hockey League is now in its second week of operation. Live games can be found on their Youtube channel, including the third period of Boston at Montreal happening right now.
posted by clawsoon (15 comments total)

Hey, cool! I've been thinking lately about watching hockey—I was never super into it, but I do enjoy it—and this seems like the perfect thing. For no reason other than that I like Québec, I'm going to cheer for Montréal for the time being.
posted by heteronym at 5:04 PM on January 13 [1 favorite]

She shoots, she scores!
posted by Keith Talent at 5:06 PM on January 13 [3 favorites]

Still grumpy that the Connecticut Whale got snapped (because loudly holding a grudge over the loss of whale(r) themed hockey teams is Connecticut's most beloved sport).

Now we've got to root for New York. The actual team is called New York. Terrible. However, their home is Bridgeport CT which is both highly convenient and a source of personal smugness.

Coincidentally, Bridgeport is also the home of another hockey team with a total diss of a name. (The Islanders. Come on.)
posted by Baethan at 5:46 PM on January 13 [2 favorites]

I watched the Minnesota / Montreal at Minnesota game (first home win! First hat trick in the league! A guy I know got a bunch of players to sign a jersey!) and I'm pretty sure they talked about forthcoming team names on the video coverage.
posted by Alterscape at 5:48 PM on January 13 [1 favorite]

Why don't the teams have names anymore? Boston Pride was a great name. As was the Connecticut Whale.
posted by kokaku at 8:48 PM on January 13 [1 favorite]

I'm going to a game on Tuesday! Is it bad that I don't care who wins? I just want to see some great hockey.
posted by vasi at 9:38 PM on January 13 [1 favorite]

The First CBA In Women’s Hockey Is A Picture Of The Future, And A Story Of The Past (Defector)

... the group of 200 players, which included every pro member of the U.S. and Canadian national teams, announced themselves as the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA), and vowed not to play professionally in North America until there existed a “single, viable women’s professional league” that would “provide financial and infrastructure resources to players; protect and support their rights and talents; provide health insurance; and work with companies, business leaders, and sports professionals worldwide who have already voiced support for women’s hockey.”

The new PWHL is the rare league to begin play with a CBA, which was negotiated over the course of more than two dozen meetings and ratified unanimously by 97 PWHPA members in July, days after the Walter Group acquired the PHF.

posted by Doofus Magoo at 12:30 AM on January 14 [4 favorites]

Thank you for sharing that, Doofus Magoo. I've been following the PWHL a bit, but I didn't know this part of the history, and it's awesome that the players were able to make this happen.
posted by Alterscape at 10:07 AM on January 14

The names are coming next year! There were some leaked names (I think leaked when trademark applications were found out) that were roundly panned by everyone, so it seems that the league may have gone back to the drawing board.

A Toronto bar is playing the games and getting a good crowd.
posted by hepta at 10:12 AM on January 14 [1 favorite]

Ooh thanks hepta.

The trademarked names were "Toronto Torch, Montreal Echo, Ottawa Alert, Minnesota Superior, Boston Wicked and New York Sound" (article).

Here's an article mentioning some of the backlash.

Per this article, "torch" in French can be a very unfortunate slang term (urban dictionary).


I approve of the Sound for New York. We generally think of the Sound as being ours despite its full name.
posted by Baethan at 11:08 AM on January 14 [1 favorite]

New York at Minnesota, live right now.
posted by clawsoon at 1:17 PM on January 14

I randomly ended up going to the NY vs. MIN game today, as friends had an extra ticket. The atmosphere was really fun and the crowd was nearly 8K strong -- not bad for a frigidly cold Sunday afternoon on a holiday weekend! I'm a Minnesota Lynx (WNBA) season ticket holder, and I'm so pleased that attendance is so strong right out of the gate -- we probably get 7K or 8K at an average Lynx game, and we've been around for 25+ years. I'm psyched to have another women's professional league in MSP to support! Might look into getting season tickets for next season, depending on the price.

Also, I am DELIGHTED that they're making games easy to watch on YouTube! I pay for WNBA LeaguePass to follow the Lynx's away games, but I otherwise don't end up watching a lot of women's sports because I don't have cable. I'd love to follow women's college basketball more closely, but I refuse to give that kind of money to Comcast.
posted by leftover_scrabble_rack at 4:52 PM on January 14 [2 favorites]

This is great! So happy this is happening!
posted by lock robster at 9:04 PM on January 14

Thanks for posting links to games in progress. They're not posted to the PWHL Youtube channel afterwards, but the links still work.

I love that the players went into this new league with a union and a CBA. It makes watching the game even better.
posted by heteronym at 1:56 PM on January 15

New York at Montreal, live now!
posted by heteronym at 4:24 PM on January 16