On cloud nine

The GIST: The U.S. lost to rival Canada in OT in the gold medal match of this year’s IIHF Women’s World Championship last night in Utica, NY. The competition, which began in 1990 and has featured these two nations in the championship 22 out of 23 times, introduced a new element to the ice this year: the PWHL. Here’s how the pro women’s hockey league is impacting the game.

68K: The number of fans who attended this year’s tournament, up almost 15% YoY with average attendance of 2.3K per game. After the U.S. and Canada welcomed a record crowd of 4K for their preliminary match, their gold medal match sold out. Power play.

9: The number of participating countries (out of 10) that broadcast this year’s tournament, with Japan and China broadcasting it for the first time, and seven countries televising the gold medal game. Additionally, 71 accredited media representatives from seven countries were at the tourney.

23: The number of brand partners the league has teamed up with during its inaugural season, which bumps to 34 when official PWHL suppliers are included. This doesn’t include team sponsorships or group sponsorships like PWHL Canada’s deal with BIC razors, another deal sharpening Canada’s edge in PWHL backing and brand exposure.

0: The number of times Czechia has hosted an IIHF Women’s World Championship, with the European country slated to host for the first time next year. Hosting an international tournament tends to generate buzz and uplift the sport in the host nation — just ask Australia.

7: The number of NHL venues that will host a PWHL game this season, the latest addition being the 16.5K-seater Prudential Center in New Jersey. Since PWHL New York decided to abandon its 10K-seater home at Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport, CT, they will now play their remaining home games at two NHL venues, one of which is UBS Arena, home to the New York Islanders.

100,000: The number of women and girls registered to play hockey across the country this year, a record for USA Hockey. Came to play and here to stay.

The GIST: With March Madness over and many of the NCAA’s top players preparing for the WNBA Draft, the court will look different come fall. On top of that, the NCAA transfer portal rules might change soon to allow athletes to transfer more than once. With more than 1.1K players already entered, the transfer portal might get pretty crowded. No more sitting out.

The proposal: Much like its NIL restrictions, the NCAA’s restrictions on student-athlete transfers have been challenged for violating antitrust laws and limiting market competition. As college athletes move away from amateurism to lobbying for labor rights, they’re taking their talents to the market to land deals with the best programs available. While transfers could soon be unlimited, an athlete couldn’t switch schools mid-season with the proposed rule change.

The rule: The NCAA hasn’t officially changed its rule on limiting an athlete’s transfers, but a federal judge in West Virginia filed a restraining order in December that temporarily prevents the NCAA from enforcing its old rule. By January, more states and the Department of Justice banded together to challenge the rules. The NCAA just might make this change official during a vote later this week.

Player movement: The proposed rule change comes amid a flurry of portal movement, perhaps because it would allow athletes to operate like “free agents” every year. Already, former LSU star Hailey Van Lith shocked the sport by deciding to leave one season after transferring from Louisville.

• As of now, 106 women’s basketball (WBB) athletes in the portal have noted new schools, with the dissolving Pac-12 Pac 2 particularly prone to losses — like Stanford’s top scorer Kiki Iriafen and Oregon State’s Raegan Beers. Beers is OSU’s seventh player to jump ship to escape the realignment, which serves football and decimates WBB.

Zooming out: These changes incentivize WBB to step further into its superteam era. Although Van Lith buoyed LSU in its Elite Eight run, the real champion was South Carolina, a dynasty praised for recruitment and team culture. Dawn Staley will continue to draw talent, but the new rules will make it hard for any coach to build comparable longevity. Don’t hate the players, hate the game?