Montreal and Toronto to play PWHL game at Bell Centre on April 20

Another chapter in the Montreal-Toronto rivalry will be written this April.

The PWHL has announced that the two teams will face off at the Bell Centre in Montreal on April 20. In association with the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens, the game, officially called the “Duel at the Top,” will be the sixth NHL venue to host a PWHL game this season.

“This game will reach well beyond the rivalry that always accompanies a game between pro hockey teams from Toronto and Montreal,” said Jayna Hefford, PWHL Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations.

“The ‘Duel at the Top’ will bring an intriguing dimension to this chapter: whether PWHL Montreal, which already has played before four of the top five crowds in our inaugural season, can make more women’s hockey history at the Bell Centre by taking the world attendance record away from PWHL Toronto.”

The Bell Centre has a capacity of over 20,000, so there is a good chance that this event will break the single-game attendance record for a women’s game. The record was set on Feb. 16 when Toronto and Montreal took part in the “Battle on Bay Street” at Scotiabank Arena, home of the Toronto Maple Leafs, with a crowd of 19.285. Toronto won the game 3-0.

“Our fans have been asking us for this and we are happy to be able to give them what they want,” Daniele Sauvageau, Montreal general manager, said in a press release. “It’s exciting to know that we will be playing in the largest hockey venue in North America, and I am certain that our supporters will be louder than ever.”

This will be the third game played between the two teams at an NHL venue. The first was at Scotiabank Arena on Feb. 16, and the second game will be played on Sunday, March 17 at PPG Paints Arena, home of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Tickets for the “Duel at the Top” will go on sale on March 20 at 10 a.m.