Professional Women’s Hockey League game in Detroit chance to show 'hockey is viable career'
One remembers the crowd, the other was part of it. Now they're eager to create another memorable outing.
The Professional Women’s Hockey League is returning to Little Caesars Arena, a year to the date a crowd of 13,736 set an attendance record for a professional women's hockey game in the United States. On Sunday, teammates Elle Hartje (Detroit) and Taylor Girard (Macomb Township) will lead the New York Sirens against the Minnesota Frost at 7:30 p.m. in what both see as a great opportunity to build for the present and the future.
"I attended that game last year, I was one of those people in the crowd," Hartje said. "I think that people are taking away that women’s sports, and women’s hockey in particular, are fun to watch. I think there’s been a really long, misunderstood narrative that people don’t like watching women’s sports, and that’s not the case at all. There just wasn’t any visibility.
"So by bringing the game to Detroit and allowing people to be able to watch women’s hockey at the highest level, I think we are able to break that stigma that it’s not like the men’s game, because it is. It’s physical, it’s the best players in the world, all coming together in one league. And the pace of play is amazing. So it’s that visibility and getting it in front of the right audience and going from there."
Hartje, 23, was a senior and the captain of the Yale women’s hockey team who was home in metro Detroit when the PWHL rolled into LCA in 2024. She attended the game with her sister, watching as Girard, then with the Boston Fleet, defeated the Ottawa Charge, 2-1, in a shootout.
"Last year was a lot of fun," Girard said. "It was the first time I was able to play in front of a lot of family and friends. People flew in. That was something that was really special for me. I’m looking forward to it again this year."
The game will be the second of a doubleheader of hockey Sunday at LCA, where the Detroit Red Wings host the Vegas Golden Knights at 1 p.m. Hertje, 23, played for Little Caesars hockey as a teenager, and one year, the team got its photo taken on the ice at LCA.
To return as a professional player wasn't even something she imagined possible as a child. And that's why it means so much to have so many people in the stands. (The U.S. attendance record now stands at 14,018, set Jan. 12 at a game in Denver).
"I think it’s really important to get the visibility to the younger generation," Hartje said. "When Taylor and I were growing up, there wasn’t really anyone like us to look up to. I mean, you can watch the Olympics every four years, but that was kind of it. I didn’t really know that there was such a vast network of amazing women’s hockey players until I started getting recruited for college and was able to watch the NCAA. And not everybody has that opportunity at such a young age. I think it’s important that growing up, in elementary school, through middle school, before you’re even getting recruited to college, that girls know that hockey is, a) a viable career, and b), there are so many other people like us playing."
Hertje admitted she'd likely have some "game day jitters" Sunday as she debuts at LCA. But for her, and for Girard, the magnitude of what they are doing is just part of the daily joy they take in their lives.
"Growing up, I never imagined I could be a female professional hockey player," Girard said. "When I was younger, I always said I want to play in the NHL. So this is something I never got to dream about. My favorite part is being able to show the younger generation that they do have someone to look up to and this is something they can strive for."
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on X @helenestjames.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit PWHL game chance to show 'playing hockey is viable career'
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