PWHL Montreal takes aim at attendance record

Ann-renee Desbiens isn't comfortable with Toronto holding the attendance record for a women's hockey game.

The goalie for Montreal's Professional Women's Hockey League team believes the title should belong to her home province.

And Toronto's rival city.

“I want it in Montreal. I don't want it in Toronto,” Desbiens said without hesitation Wednesday. “Any time Montreal can beat Toronto in any area of life, I'm pretty happy about it.”

Toronto set the attendance record of 19,285 when its PWHL club played host to Montreal at Scotiabank Arena on Feb. 16.

Montreal, much to Desbiens' delight, will have a chance to raise the bar even higher after the league announced her team would play host to Toronto on April 20 — a Saturday — at the Bell Centre, which seats more than 21,000 spectators and is home of the NHL'S Canadiens.

Montreal alternate captains Laura Stacey of Kleinburg, Ont., and Erin Ambrose of Keswick, Ont., grew up bleeding blue for the NHL'S Toronto Maple Leafs, and with that came a dislike for Montreal and the Canadiens.

Stacey's roots go even deeper. Her grandfather, King Clancy, played for the Leafs in the 1930s and her family still has season tickets. Despite how special it was to set the current record in Toronto, Ambrose said Scotiabank Arena can't compare to the Bell Centre's “electric” atmosphere on a Saturday night.

“I'll even say it as a Toronto Maple Leafs fan,” Ambrose said. “Scotiabank Arena doesn't even come close. The fans in Montreal are way louder and way more electric.”

Stacey said the chance to set another attendance record transcends the historic rivalry.