The Ottawa Charge will look to electrify fans on a bigger stage in a game against the Montreal Victoire held at the Canadian Tire Centre in December.
It will be the first time the 19,000-plus capacity arena will play host to the new women’s professional hockey league. Last year, the Charge (then called PWHL Ottawa) played each of their home games at TD Place Arena at Lansdowne, which has a capacity of 8,585.
“We are excited for the opportunity to bring our game to the Canadian Tire Centre for the first time,” said Ottawa General Manager Mike Hirshfeld in a statement released by the league. “This game is coming on early in our season, so we’re hoping to fill the place, as we’re going to need their energy when we face our closest rivals.”
It won’t be the first time the PWHL had made the jump to major sporting venues, as two games last season between Toronto and Montreal saw record crowds for women’s hockey. In particular, an April game at the Bell Centre in Montreal, branded the ‘Duel at the Top,’ took place in front of a sold-out crowd of 21,105 people.
Meanwhile, the Minnesota Frost’s home arena last year was the Xcel Energy Center, which they shared with the Minnesota Wild. The Frost were among the league leaders in average attendance en route to winning the league’s first championship.
The matchup at the Canadian Tire Centre is likely to feature the largest crowd ever to watch the Charge play, as the team’s biggest turnout was 8,452 last season.
“I’ve played in that arena many times, including in a World Championship setting,” read a statement from Ottawa captain Brianne Jenner. “Our fans have earned that opportunity with how much they showed up last year.”
“So, if we can fill that arena with really loud fans, I think it’s going to be such a fun environment.”
The newly-named Charge are looking to rebound after an inaugural season where they were one of only two teams that failed to qualify for the playoffs. It will also be the team’s first season without star forward Daryl Watts, who left for Toronto in free agency over the summer, after enjoying a breakout season in the nation’s capital.
That being said, Jenner, who has been part of three Canadian Olympic teams, will be back for another season in the red-and-white, as will Katerina Mrazova, who led the team in assists last year.
Ottawa is also set to welcome highly-touted Danielle Serdachny to the squad. The 23-year-old from Edmonton, Alta., was taken with the second overall pick in the most recent PWHL draft. Serdachny played her college hockey at Colgate University and already has experience representing Canada on an international level, having been part of the World Championship-winning team earlier this year.
