Latest news with #Charge-MinnesotaFrost
Calgary Herald
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Calgary Herald
Expansion draft rules and bumped up ticket prices aside, Ottawa Charge set for PWHL final
Article content In the leadup to the first Walter Cup final in Canada, the Professional Women's Hockey League is stealing its own thunder. Article content Article content When the focus should be solely on the present, on an Ottawa Charge-Minnesota Frost championship series that starts Tuesday at TD Place, the PWHL has inexplicably turned attention to the future. Article content By announcing rules for a June 9 expansion draft to stock the new Vancouver and Seattle entries with a press release hours before the Charge and Frost held final on-ice tuneups at TD Place on Monday — rather than, say, on May 29, the day after a potential fifth and deciding game — post-practice questions to players were as much about where they might be next season as they were about the big stage they're on now. Article content Article content It's not the only quizzical call made by the PWHL, which has bumped up ticket prices for the final to as high as $150 in two end zone sections and $130 between the blue lines, while charging $63 for low-end seats. Article content Article content That hasn't completely turned off fired-up Charge fans, however, with Ticketmaster showing only about 650 tickets still available as of noon Monday. Article content But if Game 1 isn't completely sold out, after a PWHL playoff high for this season was reached when 8,012 fans turned out for Thursday's series clincher against Montreal, this might explain why. Article content And what will ticket-gouging do to fans in Minnesota, who showed up just 3,107 strong to see the Frost eliminate the Toronto Sceptres at the 20,554-seat Xcel Energy Center (which does curtain off top sections for PWHL games) last Wednesday? Article content Ticket prices for Game 3 of the final on Saturday range from $60-to-$157 (U.S.). Article content Article content As popular as the PWHL has become, it also seems to be getting a little ahead of itself with its pricing. Article content Article content Meanwhile, Charge players were notified of the expansion draft rules before they were made public, but say they put them where they belong: on the back burner. Article content 'I got an email today about what's going to be happening, but I didn't read it,' said defender Jocelyne Larocque. 'I'll read it at some point, but it's not my concern right now. Right now, we're focused on (Tuesday) and taking (the series) one game at a time. If I was (on) one of the other four teams, I'd be looking at that email pretty closely, but right now it's definitely not on the top of my priority list.' Article content Coach Carla MacLeod and GM Mike Hirschfeld expect players won't be distracted from the task at hand and have told them, if they have questions, their door is always open. Article content 'At the end of the day, the league is going to do what they're doing and they're going to roll things out as they see fit,' said MacLeod. 'Obviously, what we're doing is our priority and our only focus. I can't control those variables. All we can do is control what we've been doing, and what we've been doing has been a lot of fun.
Ottawa Citizen
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Ottawa Citizen
Expansion draft rules and bumped up ticket prices aside, Ottawa Charge set for PWHL final
Article content In the leadup to the first Walter Cup final in Canada, the Professional Women's Hockey League is stealing its own thunder. Article content Article content When the focus should be solely on the present, on an Ottawa Charge-Minnesota Frost championship series that starts Tuesday at TD Place, the PWHL has inexplicably turned attention to the future. Article content By announcing rules for a June 9 expansion draft to stock the new Vancouver and Seattle entries with a press release hours before the Charge and Frost held final on-ice tuneups at TD Place on Monday — rather than, say, on May 29, the day after a potential fifth and deciding game — post-practice questions to players were as much about where they might be next season as they were about the big stage they're on now. Article content Article content It's not the only quizzical call made by the PWHL, which has bumped up ticket prices for the final to as high as $150 in two end zone sections and $130 between the blue lines, while charging $63 for low-end seats. Article content Article content That hasn't completely turned off fired-up Charge fans, however, with Ticketmaster showing only about 650 tickets still available as of noon Monday. Article content But if Game 1 isn't completely sold out, after a PWHL playoff high for this season was reached when 8,012 fans turned out for Thursday's series clincher against Montreal, this might explain why. Article content And what will ticket-gouging do to fans in Minnesota, who showed up just 3,107 strong to see the Frost eliminate the Toronto Sceptres at the 20,554-seat Xcel Energy Center (which does curtain off top sections for PWHL games) last Wednesday? Article content Ticket prices for Game 3 of the final on Saturday range from $60-to-$157 (U.S.). Article content Article content As popular as the PWHL has become, it also seems to be getting a little ahead of itself with its pricing. Article content Article content Meanwhile, Charge players were notified of the expansion draft rules before they were made public, but say they put them where they belong: on the back burner. Article content 'I got an email today about what's going to be happening, but I didn't read it,' said defender Jocelyne Larocque. 'I'll read it at some point, but it's not my concern right now. Right now, we're focused on (Tuesday) and taking (the series) one game at a time. If I was (on) one of the other four teams, I'd be looking at that email pretty closely, but right now it's definitely not on the top of my priority list.' Article content Coach Carla MacLeod and GM Mike Hirschfeld expect players won't be distracted from the task at hand and have told them, if they have questions, their door is always open. Article content 'At the end of the day, the league is going to do what they're doing and they're going to roll things out as they see fit,' said MacLeod. 'Obviously, what we're doing is our priority and our only focus. I can't control those variables. All we can do is control what we've been doing, and what we've been doing has been a lot of fun.
