Les Canadiennes to host Calgary Inferno at the Bell Centre

This marks the first time in Les Canadiennes' history that a regular season CWHL game will be played in an NHL rink

On Wednesday, the Montreal Canadiens announced that Les Canadiennes de Montreal will host the Calgary Inferno at the Bell Centre in Montreal for a regular season contest.

It’s the first time in Les Canadiennes' history that a regular season game will be played in an NHL rink, though other teams have played in NHL rinks throughout the CWHL’s history; the Furies played at the Air Canada Centre in the first year of their partnership with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Calgary Inferno have also played at the Saddledome.

Making the game more exciting is that these two teams won’t have faced each other since the Clarkson Cup game at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, where the Inferno blew out Les Canadiennes 8-3.

The matinee game will take place at 1:30 p.m. on December 10, and fans can buy tickets for $15 each. Tickets will be available to the public on Friday, November 11 at 1 p.m. and can be bought at canadiens.com

"We're very excited to be able to host Les Canadiennes for the first time in the home of the Montreal Canadiens," said Canadiens owner, president and CEO, Geoff Molson. "We look forward to giving fans a chance to see some of the best female hockey players in the world live in our building. This is another example of our organizations working together towards our common goal of growing the game at both the professional and grassroots levels in Quebec."

This is another way that the NHL has expressed its support of the CWHL at the team level. For the last three years, the CWHL All-Star Game has been held at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, and partnerships in past years have helped with marketing and redesigning team logos for teams including the Toronto Furies and Les Canadiennes.

"The season is a landmark for the CWHL as we celebrate our 10th anniversary," added Brenda Andress, the CWHL’s commissioner. "We are thrilled to partner with the Montreal Canadiens to bring Les Canadiennes and their heritage celebrations to one of the world's biggest hockey stages as there is no better place in Quebec to celebrate both the women's game and the incredible legacy of the Montreal team and its players over the past decade."