19,285 In Attendance At Battle On Bay Street Setting Women's Hockey Record

19,285 fans filled Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Friday night to watch PWHL Toronto play PWHL Montreal at the Battle on Bay Street.

The Battle on Bay Street, a contest between PWHL Toronto against PWHL Montréal attracted a sold-out crowd of 19,285 to Scotiabank Arena becoming the most attended women's hockey game of the modern era. 

The crowd surpassed the 18,013 at the 2013 IIHF Women’s World Championship for a preliminary round game between Canada and Finland in Ottawa in 2013 and Olympic Games record of 16,805 set in Vancouver in 2010.

The previous record for a professional women's hockey game was set January 6 of this year when Minnesota hosted Montreal at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota bringing in 13,316 fans.

“Once again, PWHL fans have made history,” said Jayna Hefford, PWHL Senior Vice President, Hockey Operations. “With a record-setting performance on a national stage, our fans made the Battle on Bay Street an unforgettable, inspirational moment — and we couldn’t be more appreciative.”

“We are beyond excited to get to play in front of a sold-out crowd at Scotiabank Arena,” said Gina Kingsbury, PWHL Toronto General Manager. “The support of our fans has been incredibly empowering, and we feel privileged to get the opportunity to represent them and this world class city.”

While the game is believed to be the best attended women's hockey game of the modern era, there's debate surrounding whether or not the 19,285 fans is a world record. According to reports from the time, a women's hockey game at the Montreal Winter Carnival in 1929 between the Toronto Pats and Northern Electric Verdun drew 29,000 fans. Toronto's team that season was led by Canadian Sports Hall of Fame inductee Fanny “Bobbie” Rosenfeld. Rosenfeld helped form the Ladies Ontario Hockey Association in 1924, and in 1928 won Olympic gold in the 4x100 relay, and silver in the 100m dash.