Ella Shelton is not only a women’s hockey Olympic gold medalist. She now will be forever known as the answer to a trivia question in her sport after scoring the historic first goal in PWHL history on New Year’s Day.

The 25-year-old defenseman snapped a shot from the left circle through a screen to beat Toronto goalie Kristen Campbell at 10:43 of the first period to give New York a 1-0 lead.

Alex Carpenter, a two-time Olympic silver medalist with the United States, won a face-off back to Shelton and then skated to the net to set a screen. Shelton did the rest with a low, well-placed shot for the historic first goal in the Professional Women’s Hockey League opener.

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“The emotions are just surreal right now … start the New Year with a bang,” Shelton said after the first period on the TV broadcast.

Shelton, who helped Canada win Olympic gold at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, is an Ontario native. So, it was fitting that she scored the first goal in Toronto at a sold-out Mattamy Athletic Centre with her family in attendance.

Prior to the game, PWHL board member and women’s tennis legend Billie Jean King dropped the ceremonial first puck along with League vice president Jeyna Hefford, who’s also one of the most celebrated players in women’s hockey history.

The PWHL has six teams and is funded by a single entity, the Mark Walter Group, and bought out the previous women’s pro league in North America, the PHF, this past summer. Each team will play 24 games in 2024 and the top four will make the playoffs.