HALIFAX - The first-ever Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) game hosted in Nova Scotia's capital city was decided in a 10-player shootout late Wednesday night at the Scotiabank Centre, with Captain Canada Marie Philip-Poulin notching the game-winner to give the Montreal Victoire a 2-1 win over the Toronto Sceptres.

If the sold-out crowd of 10,438 women's hockey fans, old and young, female and male – with many donning PWHL team jerseys in the venue that is normally home to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Halifax Mooseheads – is any indication of how successful a PWHL expansion team would be in the growing municipality of more than half a million – the choice seems pretty natural.

Not only did Wednesday's clearly enthralled spectators, who filled the rafters with sometimes ear-piercing cheers and held up homemade signs through three periods of regulation, a five-minute back-and-forth overtime period that had everyone on the edges of their seats, and of course the shootout itself, add to the PWHL excitement in the (albiet, chilly) Halifax air – but so, too, did the celebrations surrounding the first of 16 Takeover Tour games on the PWHL schedule.

According to the league, the neutral-site regular-season games will continue to build "new fan engagement" and expand the PWHL beyond its eight home markets. Itcalso gives the PWHL a close look at what cities might work for league expansion.

You can check out the full PWHL Takeover Tour schedule here.

From a traditional Nova Scotian bagpiper leading the Sceptres and Victoire into the rink, with fans lined up along the sidewalks on Carmichael Street in the heart of downtown Halifax to watch their favourite elite female players enter the arena; to teams visiting local schools and holding community hockey clinics and opening up practices to interact with the next generation; to a panel featuring Sceptres head coach and Spryfiend native Troy Ryan, Victoire head coach and New Glawsgow born-and-raised Kori Cheverie, and a Business of Women's Sports breakfast panel that promoted professional women's sports to local Nova Scotia leaders – it's clear the Halifax PWHL case is being voiced loud and clearly for thosr who believe in it, especially and including Nova Scotians playing and working at the highest hockey levels.

"We had a coaching panel (earlier Wednesday), where we sat and connected with local coaches and community coaches,” Ryan told members of the media at the post-game press conference, explaining it gave league leaders the chance to interact with potential business partners.

Panellists included PWHL Executive Vice-President of Business Operations Amy Scheer and Halifax Tides FC CEO Dr. Courtney Sherlock, who is leading the professional soccer team that kicked off competition successfully last year as part of the Northern Super League, the highest level within the Canadian women's soccer system.

The PWHL events surrounding the Sceptres-Victoire game itself have been extremely important to "showcase women's professional sport" and its potential for growth in the Maritimes, Troy told reporters.

Even rivals Poulin had plenty to stay about the positive atmosphere in Halifax.

“Every time you come to a different community, you cheer for them,” Poulin said at the post-game presser. “You want to cheer for them, and they show up for us.”

Cheverie, who like Ryan also represents the province at the international level on the bench with Canada's National Women's Team, pointed out that teams likely travelled not just from across Nova Scotia, but across Atlantic Canada, to take in Wednesday night's PWHL excitement.

“It’s so important for these meaningful moments to happen in hockey and for our sport to continue to grow," Cheverie said.

She also pointed out what women are accomplishing off the ice, whether they're officiating on the ice, coaching from the bench, leading the league behind the scenes, or broadcasting the games on national and international television and streaming networks.

 “I just think that the sky is the limit and young people can now see that you can make a living doing many different jobs in sport on the women’s side," she said.

Last Friday, leading up to the first Takeover Tour game of the season, the PWHL had a virtual media availability featuring Sceptres blueliner Allie Munroe, 28, of Yarmouth, N.S., nestled on Nova Scotia's southwestern shores.

"It's been incredible just seeing the growth of women's hockey all throghout the province," Munroe said, "but especially down in my area of Yarmouth, we run actually a girls' hockey camp, Coastal Female Hockey, and there's probably 70 to 80 girls and some on the waiting list.

"And when I was growing up, I was maybe four girls playing hockey; I had to play with the boys. So, these girls have a lot more opportunities than Maggie (Connors), and I did growing up," she said. "I'm happy that we get to be a part of that and hopefully help them grow as hockey players and people."

"It's so cool just to see the growth of women's hockey just across the province," Munroe said. "There's a lot of really, really good players coming out of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, P.E.I.,  all of the (Atlantic Canadian) provinces, so... hopefully the PWHL can just inspire more young females to get into hockey and stay in hockey because it's so much fun."

Connors, who was also on the media call, is a 25-year-old forward from St. John's, N.L.

"I think it would mean so much," Connors said of what bringing a PWHL team to Canada's east coast would mean to the growth of the female game across the region. "I think to have that access... for girls to be able to see it in person and be able to root for their hometown team, I think it would inspire people beyond (what we see now)."

"I think one day that would be incredible if there was a professional women's hockey team in Atantic Canada, and I know many girls from these provinces are hoping for that."

Munroe added, "I will say Halifax would be an awesome market."

Halifax was originally supposed to host the 2020 IIHF Women's World Championship, but the much-anticipated international event was cancelled due to COVID not just once, but twice, again in 2021, which dashed the hopes of bringing women's worlds back to a city that hosted the event with a bang in 2004, when Canada beat the United States 2-0 for the gold medal – again all at the Scotiabank Centre (then Metro Centre).

"Maybe I'm biased, but the people are so incredible (in Nova Scotia)," Munroe said. "They're so welcoming and inclusive and I think that's such an important aspect of all these markets and our fan base.

"And I know the women's soccer team, the Halifax Tides, are doing so well," she said. "I know a women's hockey team would do just as good, maybe even better, but there's so much room for women's sports in the city.

"And I just know that people would open us with open arms and really, really get behind the scene," Munroe added. "And I think the rink is the perfect size. I just think (Halifax) has everything that a PWHL market would need."

Connors couldn't agree more. "Just from speaking individually, the support that you feel growing up and as you climb the levels, and the passion from different fans who watch your game, and we may have never met, but people back in Newfoundland are always sending their congratulations, or commenting and following, so you feel the support and passion."

"For a team to go to Halifax, it would do incredibly well," she said.

Back at the Scotiabank Centre on Wednesday night, Olympic gold medallist, three-time world champion and Sceptres captain Blayre Turnbull pointed out that while she looked up to her Team Canada role models and male NHL players while growing up playing the game she loved in Stellarton, N.S., at the time, becoming a professional female player wasn't even a possibility. 

“It’s something you could really never dream of,” she told media. 

Despite the Toronto loss to rival Montreal, Turnbull said the long-term goal is to inspire the next generation of professional women's hockey players.

Put simply, if they can see it, they can dream it.  

“For young girls now to have the chance to see us play in the PWHL, I think it’s an awesome opportunity for them to chase their dreams – and to try to be professional hockey players when they grow up.”

Of note: Nova Scotia locals who faced off in the first of the two-game PWHL Takeover tour in Halifax include Toronto Spectres forward Blayre Turnbull of Stellarton, blueliner Allie Munroe of Yarmouth and head coach Troy Ryan of Spryfield, along with Montreal Victoire head coach Kori Cheverie of New Glasgow.

Spectres forward Maggie Connors is from St. John’s, N.L.

Atlantic Canada comprises 11 per cent of registered female hockey players across the country, according to Hockey Canada.

Shootout game-winning goal scorer Poulin, Victoire netminder Ann-Renée Desbiens with 35 saves and all shootout attempts stopped, and Sceptres goaltender Raygan Kirk with 30 saves were named the PWHL Three Stars of the Game on Wednesday night.

Toronto defender Anna Kjellbin (Goteberg, Sweden) opened the scoring at 3:26 in the first to give the Sceptres an early lead, on assists from Clara Van Wieren and Emma Woods, but Montreal forward Maya Labad (Mascouche, Que.) tied it up at 12:16 with helpers from Kaitlin Willoughby and Kati Tabin before the first intermission. Both were first PWHL goals scored.

Fan favourite Blayre Turnbull of Stellarton, N.S., almost scored the winner off her own rebound in the final seconds in regulation, but the feisty forward was unable to put it past Desbiens. Sceptres forward Emma Maltais appeared to win the game on a breakaway in overtime, but Toronto defender Renata Fast was called for interference to negate the goal.

The Sceptres fought off five penalties over the 65 minutes. After three straight losses to Montreal, the Toronto squad will be looking for a win when the two Canadian rivals face off on Dec. 27 at the Bell Centre.

Check the full PWHL schedule here.