Canada’s Ella Shelton makes history as New York beats Toronto in 1st-ever PWHL game

New York defender Ella Shelton wound up from behind the circle, sending a puck flying past several bodies in front of the net, through the five hole past Toronto goaltender Kristen Campbell, and straight into the history books.

Ingersoll, Ont.'s Shelton scored the first goal in the first Professional Women's Hockey League game, en route to shutting out Toronto 4-0 on Monday afternoon.

When New York selected her with the team's first-round draft pick (4th overall) in September, part of the team's plan to build from the blue line out, 25-year-old Shelton was asked what the younger version of herself would think of that moment.

WATCH l Shelton of Ingersoll, Ont., scores league's 1st-ever goal:

Canada's Ella Shelton scores 1st ever PWHL goal for New York

7 hours ago

Duration 1:01

The Canadian, picked fourth overall by New York in the 2023 PWHL Draft, will go down in history as the league's first goal scorer.

"Ten-year-old Ella didn't know that women could play hockey," Shelton said. Growing up in a small town, she always played with boys.

On New Year's Day, playing in front of a sold-out crowd of 2,537 people at the old Maple Leaf Gardens (now Mattamy Athletic Centre), Shelton's goal marked the start of a new era in professional women's hockey.

In the process, she created a moment that young girls in those stands will remember for the rest of their lives, and offered a glimpse of what could be possible for the next 10-year-old girl dreaming hockey dreams.

"I think the emotions are just surreal right now," Shelton told CBC's Anastasia Bucsis during the first intermission."This crowd and coming to play your first professional hockey game in 2024, it's quite the bang to start off the year."

New York goaltender Corinne Schroeder saved all 29 shots that came her way in the win, earning a shutout and first-star honours, while Alex Carpenter, Jill Saulnier and Kayla Vespa had the team's other goals.

WATCH l Canadian goaltender Schroeder makes 29 saves in New York's win:

Corinne Schroeder shuts out Toronto, New York takes inaugural PWHL game

5 hours ago

Duration 1:14

The Canadian goaltender made 29 saves in New York's 4-0 win in Toronto.

Toronto failed to capitalize on more than a minute of 5-on-3 time in the third period, and ultimately couldn't solve Schroeder over three periods. New York came out looking faster and more connected.

"We have a special group in there," Shelton said. "We have a lot of fun together. We work hard and we come determined to put our best foot forward and be a successful team this year."

Campbell made 24 saves for Toronto in the loss.

A new beginning

Before the game, PWHL investor, tennis legend and equality advocate Billie Jean King read out the starting lineup inside Toronto's dressing room: Sarah Nurse, captain Blayre Turnbull, Samantha Cogan, Jocelyne Larocque, Renata Fast and Campbell, the goalie her teammates call "Soup."

When it came time for GM Gina Kingsbury to address her squad, she felt uncharacteristically speechless.

It's a moment she's dreamed about for years, too, having played in leagues that didn't pay, inside community rinks with staff who were volunteers, playing with women who worked long days at second jobs to come to the rink late at night and play a game they loved.

"We are there with the athletes on the ice today," Kingsbury told CBC's Andi Petrillo.

"I think we're all so excited that we're finally here and that there's a professional league for these athletes to play in, and that the door of the gate is wide open for the next generation of athletes to walk right in and be a professional athlete."

WATCH l How we got here: The journey to the creation of the PWHL:

How We Got Here: The journey to the creation of the PWHL

3 days ago

Duration 2:39

CBC Sports' Andi Petrillo chronicles the long road to a sustainable professional women's hockey league, from the collapse of the CWHL to first puck drop in the PWHL.

As excited as she was for the players, Kingsbury said she was also thrilled for the team's staff to get the opportunity to do their jobs in a professional environment.

"For me to be a GM and just talk hockey and to plan and build a team is a dream come true," Kingsbury said. "It's pretty hard to put into words what it means. It's not just the athletes. It's everyone involved."

'They keep pinching themselves'

During the pre-game ceremony, every member of Toronto's team, including reserve players, heard their name and hometown announced as they skated on to the ice.

There were rookies like Emma Maltais and Maggie Connors, who get to start their careers with the kind of resources women before them could only have dreamed about.

There was Nurse, who spent countless hours as part of the player committee that negotiated the eight-year collective bargaining agreement that secured players benefits like maternity leave and a housing stipend. It enshrined things that sound basic, like pre- and post-game meals, but haven't always been guaranteed for women who played professional hockey.

There were Jess Jones and Erica Howe, who spent years making almost nothing in the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL), and who have put other careers on hold to be part of this new league. They aren't on their country's national team, but they've kept playing through a folded league and a pandemic, maybe wondering whether they'd get a chance to be a part of this.

There was Vespa, who was about to score her first professional league goal in front of a hometown crowd, after spending last hockey season balancing hockey with a job as a snowplow operator with the City of Hamilton.

Shortly after, King took the arm of Jayna Hefford, the Hockey Hall of Famer who serves as the PWHL's senior vice president of hockey operations, and they walked to centre ice, waving to the crowd. King kissed the puck before dropping it between New York captain Micah Zandee-Hart and Turnbull.

WATCH | Billie Jean King drops ceremonial opening puck for 1st PWHL game:

Billie Jean King drops ceremonial opening puck for 1st PWHL game

7 hours ago

Duration 2:30

King unofficially kicked off the league's debut game between Toronto and New York with the long-time hockey tradition.

It was almost five years ago when King and her wife, Ilana Kloss, answered the phone at a Los Angeles Lakers game. When they found a quiet spot to talk, they heard Minnesota forward Kendall Coyne Schofield on the other end of the line, asking for their help.

King and Kloss became advisors to the players' association that Coyne Schofield and other players spearheaded, and ultimately convinced Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter to invest what is now the PWHL. Both King and Kloss sit on the league's advisory board.

But the creation of the PWHL is a story that spans more than five years. It weaves through more generations than the women who got to play on Monday. Men have had the NHL for more than 100 years, while women have been waiting for a similar opportunity, King told Petrillo before the game.

"The women are so excited," King said. "They keep pinching themselves. I don't think people realize the yearning that's gone on for generations for this."

Rematch set for Friday

For the last five years, female hockey players have spent a lot of time talking about inequity, about league building, and about a supposed "rift" between the players who sat out and those who played in the defunct Premier Hockey Federation.

Next up is Montreal at Ottawa, where an expected crowd of more than 7,800 should break a record for the most-attended professional women's hockey game in North America.

For Toronto and New York, the budding rivalry resumes on Friday when Toronto travels to Connecticut for New York's home opener.

The remaining 17 PWHL games on CBC Sports' schedule will all take place on Saturdays, continuing Jan. 6 when Montreal visits Minnesota at 3.30 p.m. ET.

The full schedule is available here.

WATCH CBC Sports' Andi Petrillo speaks to ports equality icon Billie Jean King:

Billie Jean King reflects on the 'birth' of the PWHL

7 hours ago

Duration 4:27

The tennis and sports equality icon spoke to CBC's Andi Petrillo about the journey and importance of the PWHL.

Click below for full team previews for each of the PWHL's six franchises.

• TORONTO | Familiarity an asset for PWHL Toronto heading into 1st season
  
• NEW YORK | PWHL New York blue-line built around talented trio of young Canadians
  
• MONTREAL | Sky is the limit for Poulin, Desbiens-led PWHL Montreal in inaugural season
  
• OTTAWA | PWHL Ottawa aims to build on team culture heading into inaugural season
  
• BOSTON | Swiss star Alina Müller among PWHL Boston squad boasting depth up and down lineup
  
• MINNESOTA | PWHL Minnesota enters season with firepower up front, led by 1st overall pick