TORONTO — When Kristen Campbell is at her best, locked in and laser-focused, she can barely hear the crowd.
But when the bellows of “Sooooouuuuuup!” are raining down from more than 19,000 fans filling an NHL arena?
“Yeah, I heard those a couple times,” Campbell says with a smile following Toronto’s 3-0 win over rival Montreal in front of a sold-out crowd at Scotiabank Arena. Soupy’s 30-save performance, her second shutout of the season, couldn’t have come on a bigger stage — literally.
A total of 19,285 people flocked to the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs for Friday’s PWHL marquee matchup between rivals Toronto and Montreal, making the “The Battle on Bay Street” the best-attended women’s hockey game in history.
“It’s a lot of fun,” says Campbell, as even-keeled in her post-game press conference as she was through 60 minutes of game action. “It’s really special to have that many people here.”
The crowd typically clad in blue was dressed in a slightly brighter hue on Friday night. Sweaters of all shades, in fact, dotted the sold-out crowd as minor-hockey teammates packed the house, a sea of young fans up past their bedtime and loving every minute of it.
“It was amazing. You know, I’d like to think that I’ve been in some pressure situations, or some exciting situations, but even a middle-aged man, walking out on that bench, I was emotional,” Toronto head coach Troy Ryan says post-game. “So, I can’t even imagine what some of the players who have fought so long to get these opportunities … Just exciting, to be honest. All the signs, the young girls and young boys that had signs supporting the players, supporting the athletes. Just a special day.”
A youngster named Quinne held up a sign that read “We’re way louder than Leafs fans.” (And she wasn’t wrong.)
“Some of the coaches were joking around that they kept getting notifications on their watches, saying the environment was too loud,” Ryan quips.
The buzz started to build up Friday morning, long before the seats were filled.
“We walked out and saw all the towels on the seats, and knowing that it’s sold out, it’s incredible,” Toronto forward Alexa Vasko said Friday morning following the optional team skate.
Toronto is no stranger to historic matchups — the team hosted New York on Jan. 1, the very first game in PWHL history, at the much smaller Mattamy Athletic Centre.
“I think having that season-opener at Mattamy was — first of all, it was amazing … standing on the blue line, you could feel the emotions. I know everyone was sort of looking around and saying, ‘Wow, we finally did it,’” said Vasko. “We were just grateful to be a part of it.”
Montreal, too, has already been part of plenty of historic matchups when it comes to attendance. The club helped set league attendance records in both Minnesota and Ottawa earlier this season.
While the Toronto crowd made clear its loyalties to the home team throughout the game, there was plenty of enthusiasm for both sides of this rivalry.
It’s rare to get such a raucous welcoming for the visiting squad — especially one from Montreal — but these are no ordinary visitors. Montreal captain Marie-Philip Poulin was given a particularly warm welcome as No. 29, better known nation-wide as Captain Canada, Captain Clutch, or simply The GOAT (take your pick!).
Ever the selfless captain, though, her focus during those first few strides was on her teammates.
Speaking post-game alongside Poulin, Montreal defender Erin Ambrose nods towards her captain and tells reporters about a special exchange the two shared on the ice before the action.
“This one came up to me before the drop of the puck and just said, ‘Take this all in,’” says Ambrose, the emotion still front and centre on her face.
“Obviously it’s not the result we wanted, but it’s so special,” says Poulin. “To see the amount of signs in the stands, to see little girls, little boys, families coming out, it’s unbelievable. What’s happening in women’s hockey right now, it’s surreal.”
Call Friday’s game historic, momentous, emotional — all of the above. Toronto forward Hannah Miller calls it “the coolest birthday that I’ve had, ever.”
The newly minted 28-year-old celebrated her big day with 19,000-plus of her closest friends by slipping a low wrist-shot from the point past a screened Ann-Renee Desbiens, blocker-side, with less than five minutes left in the third period.
Ten minutes earlier, Miller assisted on Jesse Compher’s game-opening goal, breaking up what was a scoreless affair. Compher, the lone American on PHWL Toronto — don’t worry, she’s already well-practised in the art of the Canadian Tuxedo — was held scoreless up until Friday night, but indicated post-game it was worth the wait.
“To have the support we had here tonight, all of these fans in person — and obviously we’ve had it through TV and through streaming all year, but to see and hear the fans when I got my first goal was definitely something that was special,” she says.
Victoria Bach tucked home the insurance marker into an empty net to make it 3-0, scoring her first of the season after picking the pocket of Montreal’s defender.
This was the second head-to-head of this inaugural PWHL season for Toronto and Montreal. Considering how the first one ended — a 4-3 Toronto victory settled via a six-round shootout — the expectations were understandably set for another offensive affair. This one was more focused on the physical, with plenty of penalties to go around — particularly for Toronto, whose penalty kill got plenty of air time and clearly thrived in the spotlight.
Both teams entered Friday’s game riding three-game win streaks. The win marks Toronto’s fourth straight victory, and fifth in its last six games — a far cry from the slow start that plagued the squad through much of January.
“None of us were happy with the start of the season we had. We had to look within our team, make some adjustments, and I think that we’ve done that in the past couple of games,” says Compher. “We’re on a little bit of a winning streak here, and the goal is to just keep it up.”
Even in a loss, Ambrose made it clear that Friday’s historic game was a resounding victory for everyone involved.
“It’s a regular-season game. It’s February. And people want to watch. We’re putting a product out there, and people want to watch,” she said.
Now, does Montreal want to beat the record? Of course, Poulin and Ambrose both agree.
Hey, it is a rivalry after all.
