Zumwinkle scores historic hat trick as Minnesota blanks Montreal before record crowd in PWHL home opener
3-0 win in Saint Paul sets pro women's hockey attendance record with 13,316 fans
Grace Zumwinkle scored the first hat trick in Professional Women's Hockey League history as Minnesota won its home opener before a record crowd with a 3-0 victory over Montreal on Saturday in Saint Paul.
The forward from Excelsior, Minn., scored once in the first period and twice in the third as the game at Xcel Energy Center set a pro women's hockey attendance record with 13,316 fans, breaking the mark of 8,318 from Ottawa's home opener against Montreal on Tuesday.
Maddie Rooney of Duluth, Minn., posted a 24-save shutout to help Minnesota become the first PWHL team to win at home.
La Malbaie, Que., native Ann-Renée Desbiens stopped 19-of-21 shots for Montreal.
WATCH l Zumwinkle's hat trick leads Minnesota past Montreal:
Montreal pushed and set the pace for the game early and had three power plays without committing a penalty through the first two periods, outshooting Minnesota 21-12, but trailed 1-0 to start the third period.
After a scoreless second period Zumwinkle skated to the top of the slot and rocketed a shot past Desbiens at the 1:47 mark of the third and added an empty-net goal at 17:13 of the period.
Montreal did not get a shot on goal through the first 11 minutes of the third period.
Zumwinkle, who scored a goal in the season opener in Boston, played her collegiate hockey at the University of Minnesota. Rooney played collegiately at the Univeristy of Minnesota-Duluth before winning a gold medal in goal for the United States at the 2018 Olympic Games.
Zumwinkle earned silver with the U.S. at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, losing out to Canada in the final.
Minnesota remained undefeated after opening its season with a 3-2 win over Boston on Wednesday. Montreal dropped to 1-1-0, having defeated Ottawa 3-2 on Tuesday.
Montreal plays at New York and Minnesota plays host to Toronto next Wednesday.
Before the PWHL season, the championship game of the 2021-22 Svenska Damhockeyligan season between Brynäs IF and Luleå HF/MSSK held the worldwide professional women's hockey record with a crowd of 7,765.
The previous North American record for a regular-season professional women's hockey game was 5,938, established Dec. 10, 2016, in the CWHL when Les Canadiennes de Montreal hosted the Calgary Inferno at Bell Centre.
WATCH l Full replay of Minnesota's home opener against Montreal:
With files from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press
