This month, Edmonton is home to women’s hockey. Rogers Place is hosting the rivalry series between Team Canada and Team USA. And later this month, the PWHL comes to town.
While Canada lost its first outing Wednesday night, there is still a lot of success for the sport overall. About 3,500 people attended the game, but the lower bowl is close to sold out for Saturday night.
It’s an example of the growing market for women’s hockey in Edmonton. Even at a younger level, the players are taking note.
“I think it’s grown tremendously. It’s awesome to see all these PWHL teams coming in and growing,” said Riley Cooper, a player with the Vimy Ridge Hockey Academy.
The Vimy Ridge Female Hockey Academy is a recent addition to Edmonton. But in their short time, the program is thriving.
“It’s a really fun space to be around, the girls are awesome, they love the game. They bring a lot of passion to it. It’s really cool to see all the different venues they have now, growing up to be a part of something like this,” said head coach Jason Chimera.
Ryann Chimera also plays hockey with the academy. She says the opportunities are growing.
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“It’s just so cool to see how we can influence younger girls to play hockey, and there are so many more opportunities to come after high school and college,” said Ryann.
Now the players are aiming even higher — hoping to play in the PWHL, maybe even in Edmonton.
“Just to have like a women’s team that we can support, then we would have the Oilers and the PWHL team, which is awesome,” said Ryann.
That demand is felt by the professionals, too.
“This is a huge hockey market, and I think Edmonton would be lucky to have a team, but I also think the league would be lucky to have Edmonton,” said Emerance Maschmeyer, goaltender for Team Canada and member of the PWHL’s Vancouver Goldeneyes.
The Edmonton Female Hockey Alliance has seen its numbers jump since its inception.
“You really start to see that they’re legitimate participants and competitors in this sport, they’re not trying to compete in a co-ed space,” said Aimee Skye, director of the Edmonton Female Hockey Alliance.
With the interest in professional sports here, Skye believes that dream could be a reality.
“Edmonton is really rallying around this idea of becoming, not just thinking about having a PWHL team, but I see them really building an identity of being a city that wants female sports,” Skye said.
The next Rivalry series game takes place Saturday, Dec. 13th at 7 p.m. at Rogers Place.
The PWHL takeover tour comes to Rogers Place for a game between the Vancouver Goldeneyes and Minnesota Frost on Dec. 27th at 1 p.m.
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