After strong turnout for Rivalry Series, could Halifax become home to a PWHL team?

With a little more than two minutes left on the clock in a Rivalry Series game between Canada and the United States, Nova Scotian Blayre Turnbull scored the game-tying goal for the Canadians.

The home crowd inside Halifax's Scotiabank Centre exploded with a chorus of cheers from 9,265 people.

Even the American head coach couldn't help but think it was cool to see the crowd's reaction to Turnbull scoring in front of her hometown crowd, even if it forced his team into a shootout.

"That was probably the loudest crowd and most into a game that we've seen in [the Rivalry Series] or even a world championship," U.S. head coach John Wroblewski said after the game, a 2-1 shootout win for the U.S., in early February. 

"And that's saying a lot because last year [at the world championship] in Utica, I thought our home crowd was just amazing. But that was electric."

There is a long list of cities that would like to add a PWHL expansion franchise, as the league looks at whether to add as many as two teams as early as next season. An announcement on the league's plans are expected to come within the next month.

Halifax isn't likely to be on the short list this time around. But it's a market that could check off a number of items on the league's wish list, including arena availability, a growing number of girls and women playing hockey, and a fan base hungry for pro sports.

"Women's hockey is thriving in Nova Scotia," Toronto Sceptres and Canadian team head coach Troy Ryan, who's from Spryfield, N.S., said about the prospect of a Halifax PWHL team. "I think the support would be incredible."

Halifax is home to professional lacrosse and soccer, including women's professional soccer. The Northern Super League team, Halifax Tides FC, will begin play on April 26.

But the city hasn't been home to professional hockey since the AHL's Halifax Citadels left in 1993.

Soon after, the city got a QMJHL team: the Halifax Mooseheads.

The team plays out of Scotiabank Centre, which seats more than 10,500 in downtown Halifax. The Mooseheads regularly rank among the top teams in the QMJHL when it comes to attendance. Last season, the team drew more than 8,300 fans on average. 

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There's also evidence that Nova Scotia loves women's hockey. The number of women and girls playing hockey in the province has increased by more than 83 per cent between 2007 and 2024, according to Hockey Canada registration data.