First PWHL game at Rogers Arena sells out

Vancouver hosts professional women's hockey game Vancouver hosted its first ever PWHL game Wednesday night, drawing a sold-out crowd to Rogers Arena.

The first-ever pro women’s hockey game in Rogers Arena is expected to be loud, with a sold-out Vancouver crowd for the inaugural game.

Vancouver is hosting the PWHL game as part of the league’s nine neutral site stops this season.

The Toronto Sceptres and Montreal Victoire will go head-to-head when the puck drops at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Each of the PWHL’s six teams will play at least two neutral site games as part of the league’s schedule, which expanded from 24 games per team last season to 30 this year.

Billed as the “Takeover Tour,” it’s meant to increase fans’ access to women’s hockey.

The league consists of six teams: Toronto Sceptres, Ottawa Charge, Montréal Victoire, Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost and New York Sirens.

B.C. connection on both teams

Defender Rylind MacKinnon for Toronto calls the game a “full circle moment,” as she grew up in Cranbook, B.C.

The athlete says she first started playing minor hockey because of her older brother, and at the time she had to play with boys because there wasn’t a girls’ team.

She later went on to play for the University of British Columbia before joining the PWHL.

“I think you just you try to prepare like any other game and, you know, try not to get too caught up in it, but it will be special,” she told CTV News.

She’s expecting a crowd of family and friends in the stands Wednesday night, but knows there will also be another group of important fans in the stands.

“All the girls’ teams, the little girls that are there are going to be excited to watch. I think that's really important too, just to showcase and give them something to look forward to in their future.”

The Toronto team has second British Columbia player: Hannah Miller is from North Vancouver and plays forward.

Meanwhile, Montreal forward Jenn Gardiner is from Surrey.