Over 14,000 people went to Ball Arena last February to get a taste of PWHL hockey. If the league can pull that off again Sunday when the Seattle Torrent and Vancouver Goldeneyes clash in LoDo, it’ll be even more impressive.

Those two teams will drop the puck at 4 p.m. — right as the Broncos and New England Patriots are wrapping up the AFC Championship Game down the road at Empower Field at Mile High.

Unfortunate timing for the PWHL, no doubt. But hockey fans are a different breed. If there’s hockey being played, they’ll show up.

Torrent defenseman Cayla Barnes, who will represent Team USA in February at the Olympics, spent last season with the Montreal Victoire, one of the teams that played in Denver a year ago. She remembers that game fondly.

“You don’t really know what to expect going into a new market, but they definitely showed up and showed out,” Barnes said. “I think I remember from that game they were chanting, ‘We want a team!’ which was a really cool moment from that game. Just super excited to go back and be able to engage with the fans and be a part of another ‘Takeover’ game there.”

Whether Denver lands a women’s hockey team remains to be seen, but Sunday may be the city’s chance to prove it deserves one. Not only will the Broncos be playing with a chance to advance to the Super Bowl, but the Avalanche and Nuggets also have games scheduled.

If a PWHL game can sell tickets on a day three major sports teams are playing, there really is an appetite for a PWHL team in Denver. These games in different cities are a great way for the league to test where it may be a fit, and a great way for young children to be exposed to another brand of hockey.

Both the Torrent and Goldeneyes will be playing their third game of the Takeover Tour, so they’ve had a chance to see all the potential markets. Both teams will host open practices that include autograph sessions all day Saturday at Family Sports Center to meet some of those fans in person.

“In the cities where it works out for us to get in early and have open practice or host a clinic, the excitement on the little girls’ faces and them all wanting pucks on the glass or wanting autographs post-game, it’s really special,” Goldeneyes standout Sophie Jaques said.

After the Goldeneyes and Torrent play Sunday, the PWHL will return to Denver March 15 when the New York Sirens and Minnesota Frost come to town.