We went to the Whale-Beauts playoff game last night. The Whale won 3-0 despite being outshot something like 34-26. It's a very high level of play. The very minor league atmosphere is impossible to shake though. The game was played at Chelsea Piers South, which is a huge multi-sport facility, with 2 rinks, and is a nice place. But, there is seating for about 500 max. The arena staff saw that the majority of the 400 seats in the aluminum bleachers were full, opened a garage door, and after a 78 point turn, wheeled in another set of bleachers to set up by the end boards. The bleachers along the side of the rink are about 3' off the glass, which is nice when the play is close to you, but when it's at the other end, you mostly see slightly warped glass as you look down. And for my 41 year old ass, aluminum bleachers for 3 hours isn't exactly comfy. It also makes it feel like you're at a high school game or something. Good hockey, but, well, bleachers. There was probably about 450 people there. That's an estimate and I could be way off. They had a neat press area up high, which allows them to see the play develop better. We sat down below that, and it was kind of cool that we did, because some dude was yelling play-by-play into his phone for some web broadcast. So we got to know player names, etc. They have the jerseys down low so ponytails don't cover them, but the jerseys often get folded or tucked into pants accidentally. There was a bar/restaurant that we ate in prior to the game that overlooks the ice. We should have stayed up there to watch as the seats were better and we had a better view of the whole ice surface. Oh well. That lead to the more minor league feel though- there was a mite practice before the pro playoff game, and a beer league game after it. There was far more video coverage than I had expected. I should check if they have the game on the NWHL site. The camera guys came through our section like 10 times. He had to, as it was the only way to get around the rink.
Some player notes. The Buffalo Beauts goalie is really good & her retro-look pads were awesome. Just plain brown pads. #43 on the Beauts is fucking fast. Really fucking fast. Kelli Stack is really good & had the Whale's first goal. There were a few good collisions and a few incredibly hard shots taken. The majority of the fans were players' friends & family. The Beauts had some fans there, and I eventually noticed they were mostly made up of player parents, both wearing replicas of their daughter's Beaut jersey. Kind of cool, really minor league. But, the players get royalties off jersey sales, so I could certainly see why mom & dad would buy them.
Overall a fun night out. Our girls had a really good time and truly appreciated seeing women play at such a high level. My wife & I are both really sore from the bleachers. The league should get an Aleve sponsorship for its fans.
As much as I'm complaining about the seating, the potential is there for this league to become a lot bigger. The WNBA are sponsored by the NBA, and from what I hear (I didn't fact check this) most of its teams play in mostly empty NBA arenas. I see no reason why the NHL shouldn't step in and help the NWHL and/or the CWHL, and have them do something similar. It would be great for helping the game grow, bring in new fans who may not, as Gary Bettman says, appreciate the hitting & fighting aspect of the NHL. Even if they moved the home rinks to college or AHL arenas, it would be a huge improvement. Attendance isn't currently high enough to warrant that, but it's a Catch 22. Attendance isn't high because the arenas are uncomfortable and only seat like 500. Most people don't want to be shoe-horned into bleachers, and a few I've spoken to assume games are sold out. They also need better advertising. Every rink around here has Rangers banners hanging all over the place. Nothing for the NWHL teams, 2 of which are within an hour (Brooklyn & Stamford, CT). The league obviously needs more funding. I'd like to see the NHL step in & help both the NWHL & CWHL, merge into 1 league, contract or move 1 of the Boston teams, or have them play on opposite sides of the city if there really is enough of a fan base to support both. One of the NWHL's big problems is that the 4 teams are in such a small area: Buffalo, Brooklyn, Boston & Stamford, CT. If they had Chicago & Detroit teams, it would add fans from big hockey cities, increase awareness of the league, and hopefully help grow the interest. Wow. This is a lot more than I meant to write.