17. March 2026
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Watching Montreal Victoire at Place Bell

Florian Buechtingby Florian Buechting

Montreal Victoire at Place Bell

Montreal Victoire at Place Bell
4.8

Rating

 4.8/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Easy public transport
  • Great atmosphere
  • Very nice food pricing

Flyctory.com Cons

  • No Sandra Abstreiter jersey at stores ;(

The key reason why I planned to do a trip to Canada in March 2026 was the PWHL. I had never seen a match of the Professional Women’s (Ice) Hockey League before. Germany’s national team goalie and very likely best player overall, Sandra Abstreiter, was part of the Montreal Victoire in the 2025-26 season. On 15th March 2026, Victoire de Montreal (how they are named in French) hosted the league leader at that time, Boston Fleet. Here is a review of my stadium experience at Victoire’s home ice, Place Bell.

 

 

Place Bell – Location & Transport

Technically, Place Bell is not located in Montreal, but in Laval, the largest suburb of the Quebec city. Laval is located Northwest of the city center. The arena is located in a rather commercial area. There is also a college nearby. The area also features a shopping mall, a hotel and  a few restaurants around the venue.

There are quite major parking lots around Place Bell. However, the easiest way gettting there from city center is by the Montreal Metro. Montmorency, terminal stop of the orange line 2, is just a few steps away from the venue. Please note that Laval is located in zone B of the regional transit and thus cannot be reached with the the Zone A tickets for Central Montreal. The upgrade fee is small, though.

 

Getting Away after the Match

It is a bit of tricky to get of of Place Bell, as the vast majority of visitors feel using the same exit, heading towards car parks and the metro. There were also some lines at the ticket machines at Montmorency after the match. However, you do profit that the station is a terminus of the metro, so that you enter an empty train. I had no issue of even grabbing a seat in the train.

 

Place Bell – The Venue & Tickets

There are three arenas at Place Bell. The main one is having a capacity of 10,172 spectators. It is not only used by Victoire, but also by the AHL farm team of the Montreal Canadians, the Laval Rocket. As the PWHL is playing comparably rarely, you find significantly more branding for that team in the arena. Place Bell opened in 2017 and thus feels modern. Unfortunately, they just had moderate light in the arena when I arrived so that the venue pictures are a bit of poor. It comes with wide aisles, well-placed services and also rather comfortable seating.

 

The PWHL has grown their popularity significantly since its first season, 2023-24. Especially for more attractive matches, I would definitely not recommend trying to walk in at the arena and trying to get tickets there directory or from a reseller. The match against Boston was sold out. Ticket prices are rather moderate. I had a nice seat behind the goal, rather close to the rink and paid 54.50 CAD.

 

Montreal Victoire at Place Bell – Atmosphere

I am used to typical NHL audiences in North America. The more, I was amazed by the atmosphere at Place Bell. The crowd (with a quite significant majority of female fans) cheered loudly for their team. This was even more remarkably to me as they was not too much of the typical organ, music and Clap Your Hands stuff you are used to when you visit the men’s league. The people pushed their ladies just without being told to do so. I would even say, there was a bit of a European vibe in that game.

 

Montreal Victoire at Place Bell – Merchandise & Food

There were two merchandise booths before and during the match. One was more like a vending stall placed in the aisle of the concourse. It featured Victoire items only and felt significantly more popular than the fixed merchandise store, which also sold Laval Rocket gear. Prices are in the expected range. A fan-style jersey without branding was 160 CAD, a jersey with name and number (better quality) 275 CAD, both excluding tax.

I was absolutely amazed by the food offered. Not only that there are a lot of different stands in the arena. The prices are extremely moderate. Poutine was 10 CAD, a donut 2 CAD, a fountain drink (large) about 6 CAD. The quality was absolutely fine, so that I really liked the variety and value for money Place Bell is offering.

 

 

Montreal Victoire at Place Bell – Services

The staff was helpful. The toilets are modern and were well maintained. From certain positions, you could look inside the bathroom from outside, which felt a bit of weird.

 

Montreal Victoire at Place Bell – My View

I absolutely enjoyed my PWHL debut. Place Bell is a modern arena. The people love their Victoire team and turn a match into a really nice atmosphere and experience. Furthermore, I really liked the services and the good food options. Initially, leaving after the match felt a bit of too congested, but even that part overall worked out very well. Last but not least, the match was really interesting and well presented. The only downside of my visit was that Sandra Abstreiter was solely the backup goalie on that day. This does not impact that I would definitely recommend thinking about a visit there.

 

Ice Hockey Arena Reviews

Here are all my Stadium & Arena review postings related to ice hockey:

 

Canada 2026

Here are all my postings related to Canada published in 2026:

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