Women’s hockey gold medal game finishes with record rating

Women’s hockey has taken center stage after a record number of people watched the gold medal game of Olympics women’s hockey.

Going into the 2018 Winter Olympics, women’s hockey was fighting for attention, as the men’s version got a far bigger spotlight. On Wednesday night, women’s hockey got an impressive victory. The gold medal game between Team USA and Canada, shown on NBCSN, got the network’s best-ever late-night rating (2.06).

Why this wasn’t on a national network (such as NBC or even the USA Network) is up for debate. But this shows how dedicated people are to watching quality hockey, regardless of who’s playing. It’s also worth noting that for many Americans, the game happened late at night, as it started at 11:00 p.m. on the east coast.

Women’s hockey has stolen the show at the Winter Olympics. The NHL’s lack of participation in the men’s hockey tournament gave it a chance to shine, and it sure has. Hopefully, this interest in women’s hockey won’t die out. There are a ton of quality leagues out there. Maybe people get interested in them.

For people in the United States, there are several options. First of all, there’s the NWHL. Finding broadcasts can be tough, but most of their games can be streamed for free on Twitter. Also, check out college hockey, as numerous members of Team USA are college kids.

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In Canada, the primary option is the CWHL. Like the NWHL, there are some issues with finding broadcasts, but the league site has streams for most of the games. It’s rare to find quality hockey that’s free to watch, so fans should take advantage of this. Women’s players are deserving of this support.

This was a great Olympics for women’s hockey. Hopefully, this is a trend that continues.

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