Last week, it was a full house at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium, as fans cheered on Team Canada and Team USA  national women's hockey teams in their the second to last 2023 game of the RivalrySeries. People of all ages filled the stands and the space around the glass wearing Team Canada/Team USA gear and waving posters and flags.  Some young fans made player specific posters and some were lucky to be handed a puck from their favorite player. As those unaware of the event drove past the arena, watching cars fill the parking lots and spill into the neighborhood streets, they probably would not have guessed that a women's hockey game was the reason.  It was a surreal evening for this photographer.  
I have been covering women's hockey in the Waterloo Region for local teams and their opponents for a few years now. The support for these teams continues to grow. But the atmosphere on Thursday night (Dec 14) was more than I could have hoped for.  

The players gave the fans quite a show, and I enjoyed every minute.  Having an up close view of the game for a while as I shot through the photo holes, taking turns with SeeWhatSheCanDo founder Caroline Wiley, I could feel the speed of the game and hear the players as they fought for pucks and pushed for position in front of the net.  The crowd would hold its breath at times and collectively sigh at close calls or almost goals.  The noise of the crowd was deafening sometimes when I moved above the ice to the tunnels around the arena and chants of "Can-a-da" drowned out the initial chants of "U-S-A" that started behind the Team USA bench.  The outcome of the game may not have been what the majority of fans wanted, but I don't think anyone would say they didn't enjoy the experience. 

I would like to thank @seewhatshecando for giving me the opportunity to help highlight the incredibly skilled and dedicated players, the awesome fans, the young future players that joined the teams on ice and the new little players that are just learning about the game that skated during intermission.  This was an unforgettable experience.  And who knows, maybe some young fans in the crowd will be wearing their country's colours themselves in a few years.