Local female hockey players excited about the start of the PWHL

Local female players are gearing up to witness the first-ever Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) game set to start on Jan. 1. 

The historic first season includes six teams — three in Canada and three in the United States — with a total of 72 total games. 

"It's something I have been dreaming of for so long," said Ariella Merlino, the goalie for the Windsor Southwest Wildcats U22 team. 

The Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., native moved to Mississauga, Ont., in Grade 10 to play in the Ontario Women's Hockey League and in Grade 11 committed to Syracuse University. 

This league, she said, brings the chance for more women to play hockey following a university career. 

"You have an opportunity to play four years in university, whether that's American or Canadian, and that next thing is the Olympics. If you're in Canada that is 23 spots, now we have six full teams for way more spots," said Merlino, while waiting for practice at the Forest Glade Arena.

"I have always said my entire life, I want to play hockey as long as I possibly [can]. It's another goal we can strive for."

Merlino and her teammates know the impact these players can have on a younger generation of female hockey players. 

Sixteen-year-old Southwest Wildcat Sophie Brush is most excited to see Natalie Spooner and Sarah Nurse play — names she says that are becoming increasingly more common in households across the country. 

"I know that at one point in life, those girls were the same as where I am now. They were young and they were just trying to work hard and make it to where they are now. Now that they have their names known, it should be something that everyone should be proud of."

With other women's hockey leagues folding in the past, there's added pressure on the PWHL — but the players say the appetite is there.

Last year, 2.7 million people in Canada watched the Olympic gold medal game in Beijing between the Canadian and U.S. women.

And ahead of the league's first game on New Year's Day, Toronto's team announced it had sold out all of its regular-season home games at Mattamy Athletic Centre, which seats about 2,600 spectators.

Merlino said she expects the interest to grow.