Une Place Assurée

A look back on what 'home ice' has meant for women's professional hockey in Montréal over the last several years.

Une Place Assurée
PWHL Montréal players salute the crowd at Place Bell. Photo via PWHL.

On April 24, PWHL Montréal clinched a berth in the inaugural playoffs of the Professional Women’s Hockey League. They defeated PWHL New York 5-2 at Verdun Auditorium in front of a crowd of 3,232 overjoyed fans. 

Verdun Auditorium is a beautiful venue for a hockey game. The seating in the main rink is made up of wooden benches, connected like risers, that wrap around the ice on all four sides. The building was built in 1938 and it has seen hockey leagues and basketball leagues come and go, and the weight of that history can be felt in the bones of the recently refurbished building. It’s both old and new, full of echoes and full of hope. It was impossible to watch the game on Wednesday evening, to see the celebrations of the fans as their playoff dreams were realized, and not think about the long, long road to reach that point.