The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) began its inaugural season on January 1, 2024. The first game in its league history was a contest between New York and Toronto, with New York winning the first game in PWHL history, 4-0. The league has an original six teams, who are currently identified solely by their city or state; Minnesota and Boston round out the three U.S. teams with New York, while Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto are the three teams who represent Canada.
For PWHL Minnesota, their first regular-season game in history was in Boston on Wednesday afternoon. A former Minnesota Gopher and Minnesota’s first overall draft pick, Taylor Heise, scored the first Minnesota goal ever. Sophia Kunin added a goal herself for Minnesota and Grace Zumwinkle scored the winning goal as Minnesota won 3-2 on the road. It was a hard-fought victory and certainly kept the momentum going after a perfect 3-0 record in the preseason.
However, their best performance in their young history unquestionable came tonight at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul as they hosted their inaugural home opener against Montreal. Though it was a team effort, two players for Minnesota were the story. Goaltender, Maddie Rooney – an Andover, MN native stopped all 24 shots on goal by Montreal. In the process, she had the first shutout in PWHL Minnesota history.
By pitching a shutout, Minnesota needed just the first of Grace Zumwinkle’s goals to secure its second victory of the season. Her first goal was a sharp-angled, backhanded snipe from just outside the goal crease to get Minnesota on the board. Yet, the daughter of Excelsior, MN didn’t stop with just one goal. No, she added two more goals, including an empty netter, to tally the first hat trick in Minnesota and PHWL history. She now has four goals in Minnesota’s two games.
One other mentionable game note was that Minnesota (the state – not the team) set an all-time attendance record for a professional women’s hockey game as 13,318 packed the X and far surpassed the previous women’s attendance record of 8,000+ fans. The attendance record set tonight in Minnesota now serves as the benchmark for women’s hockey. A new world record, no other women’s game in history saw more fans than it did tonight in St. Paul. The State of Hockey showed up, as did the team.
An absolutely amazing start for PWHL Minnesota and for its fans. Minnesota is the only undefeated team in the PWHL and is enjoying its first-place start. Minnesota’s next game will be Wednesday, January 10 at the X as they host Toronto. The puck drops at 7pm and can be seen on Bally Sports North.
The Morning Skate 