It's not just in North America that women's hockey attendance records are falling, as Czechia set a new national record in their Euro Hockey Tour game against Finland.
It's not just in North America that women's hockey attendance records are falling, as Czechia set a new national record in their Euro Hockey Tour game against Finland.
It continues to happen. Whether it's in the PWHL or international stage, attendance records for women's hockey are falling across the globe.
In the PWHL, the league is averaging 4,856 with Ottawa setting a new professional women's hockey record of 8,318, which was broken days later by Minnesota bringing in 13,316 fans. Next it was PWHL Montreal who welcomed 8,646 fans breaking Ottawa's Canadian record. All of those records will be crushed February 16 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto for a sold out game at the 18,800 seat facility.
The trend continued this week across the Atlantic as Czechia set a record of their own in Liberec at the Euro Hockey Tour. 3,313 fans showed up to watch Czechia face Finland setting a new record for the nation.
"The atmosphere was amazing," said Czechia head coach Carla MacLeod. "I even had to take pictures of the fans to send to my friends in Canada. There was a lot of support from the audience."
"I am very happy that we managed to break the audience record," added Czechia's general manager Tereza Sadilová. "In recent years, women's hockey in the Czech Republic has enjoyed greater awareness and attention, which the players more than deserve."
Czechia however, fell 6-1 to Finland, a surprise result for many given recent international results. Czechia also suffered the loss of netminder Klára Peslarová who went down with an injury. Peslarová missed all of last season with a knee injury.
Finland got goals from six different scorers including Petra Nieminen, Viivi Vainikka, Noora Tulus, Emilia Vesa, Sanni Vanhanen, and Michelle Karvinen. Tereza Vanisova had Czechia's lone goal.