Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) Weekly Notebook

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NEW YORK AND TORONTO (December 29, 2025) – The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) is coming off a record-setting weekend for attendance as the first quarter of the schedule is completed with 31 of 120 games played, including six games last week. Four of the 16 games on the PWHL Takeover Tour™ have also been played, with two more set for Saturday as part of this week’s seven-game schedule.

PWHL SETS SINGLE DAY, WEEKEND ATTENDANCE RECORDS

The PWHL’s three Saturday games in Ottawa, Montréal, and Edmonton combined for an attendance of 36,868, representing the highest single-day total in league history. With Sunday’s game in Dallas, the league also set a new weekend attendance record of 45,382. The crowd of 18,107 at the Bell Centre is the highest of the season and ranks sixth all-time, while Ottawa’s sold-out crowd of 8,497 at TD Place was the second highest in team history. Through 31 games of the 2025-26 PWHL season, total attendance is 262,168 for a per-game average of 8,457.

PWHL TAKEOVER TOUR TO DEBUT IN HAMILTON, RETURN TO DETROIT

For the first time in league history, two Takeover Tour games will be played on the same day as the PWHL makes its debut in Hamilton and returns to Detroit on Saturday. The DoorDash PWHL Takeover Tour at Hamilton’s TD Coliseum features the Seattle Torrent and Toronto Sceptres at 2 p.m. ET and, for the first time, will have the Takeover Tour logo painted at center ice. Then, it’s the PWHL Takeover Tour presented by Ally Financial at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena between the Boston Fleet and Vancouver Goldeneyes at 7 p.m. ET. This marks the league’s third time playing in Detroit in three seasons, with each of the first two games setting U.S. professional women’s hockey attendance records in 2024 and 2025.

Both games will be close to home for a number of PWHL players, notably Burlington natives Renata Fast and Emma Maltais on the Sceptres, and five of the league’s 13 Michigan players, including the Fleet’s Megan Keller, Riley Brengman, and Amanda Thiele, and Goldeneyes Mellissa Channell-Watkins and Anna Segedi. Both Boston and Vancouver will hold open practices and autograph sessions on Friday. See the full Takeover Tour schedule and all public events here.

BELL CENTRE, EDMONTON, AND DALLAS CONTINUE STREAK OF ONE-GOAL GAMES

The third annual Duel at the Top, presented by Scotiabank, played Saturday at Montréal’s Bell Centre, was won 2-1 by Toronto over host Montréal. It marked the third straight season the game has been decided by one goal, with the previous two settled in overtime, including Toronto’s 3-2 victory in the inaugural season. All four games of this season’s Takeover Tour have also been decided by one goal, including weekend stops in Edmonton and Dallas. For the second straight year, fans at Rogers Place were treated to an overtime thriller, this time with Minnesota defeating Vancouver, 2-1, with Taylor Heise scoring the winning goal.

The PWHL’s debut at American Airlines Center in Dallas didn’t go to extra time but was another competitive one-goal contest won by New York, 4-3 over Seattle, on the strength of a Casey O’Brien hat trick. It was also a Lone Star State homecoming for Texas natives Hannah Bilka and Allyson Simpson, who were given a warm welcome when they performed the ceremonial faceoff prior to the Dallas Stars game on Saturday. Both games were true family affairs, with the Bilka and Simpson families doing the lineup reads for Seattle and New York, while Emerance Maschmeyer’s family, from nearby Bruderheim, also read the Goldeneyes lineup in Edmonton. Follow all PWHL results here.

O’BRIEN SCORES FIRST THREE CAREER GOALS

O’Brien had a night to remember in Dallas and has been named the PWHL Player of the Week presented by SharkNinja for her hat-trick performance. The Sirens third overall pick scored her first three career goals, including a season-high two on the power play, to become the first-ever player to score a hat trick in a Takeover Tour game, achieving the feat with four shots on goal. She’s the third player this season to score a hat trick and the second member of the Sirens following Taylor Girard in the team’s season opener on Nov. 22.

The 24-year-old from Milton, MA, is just the third rookie to score a hat trick in league history, following Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle on Jan. 6, 2024, and Claire Dalton on Feb. 24, 2024, with Montréal. She’s also the third player all-time to score her first three career goals in the same gam,e following inaugural season hat tricks by Montréal’s Marie-Philip Poulin on Jan. 10, 2024, and Jade Downie-Landry, who scored New York’s first hat trick on Jan. 20, 2024. O’Brien won the 2025 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award when she led the NCAA with 88 points (26G, 62A) in 41 games with Wisconsin, but hasn’t had a hat trick since a four-goal performance with the Badgers on Sept. 25, 2021.

OTTAWA WINS THREE STRAIGHT, BOSTON STILL ON TOP

The Charge (1-3-0-5) is the league’s hottest team after surging to a trio of wins beyond regulation and is positioned in a three-way tie for sixth place with the Sirens (3-0-0-5) and Goldeneyes (2-1-1-4), all with nine points each. The Fleet (6-0-1-1) is still the league’s top team with 19 points, followed by the Sceptres (4-0-2-2) with 14 points after picking up points in four straight games. The Frost (3-1-1-2) have points in three consecutive games and sit in third place with 12 points, followed by the Victoire (3-1-0-3) in fourth with 11 points, and the Torrent (3-0-1-3) in fifth place with 10 points. The league’s competitive balance in the standings is in a similar state year-to-year, with a nine-point margin from top to bottom through 31 games last season, compared to 10 points presently. See full PWHL standings here.

OVERTIME STREAKS

Ottawa’s current streak marks just the fifth time a team has played three or more consecutive games beyond regulation, and a win in their next overtime/shootout game would tie a single-season record. New York holds the record of five consecutive games played beyond regulation during the inaugural season and compiled a three-game winning streak in that stretch. Last season, Boston and Montréal both had a stretch of four consecutive games requiring extra time, and the Fleet followed it up with another stretch of three straight games later on in the year.

Over the course of a single season, both Boston and Montréal compiled four straight wins in games beyond regulation in 2024-25, and Toronto also won four straight in the inaugural season. Only six of the league’s 31 games have needed extra time this season, compared to 10 at this stage of the 2024-25 campaign and 11 through 31 games of the inaugural season. Minnesota’s last two games have gone to overtime, while New York is the only team without an overtime/shootout game this season.

SIRENS SHOTS ON GOAL

New York has outshot their opponent in all eight games this season and leads the league with an average of 33.63 shots on goal per game, while also carrying the lowest average shots on goal allowed at 25 per game. The Sirens shot differential of plus-69 is the best in the league, followed by the Frost at plus-22. The Fleet have outshot their opponent in five of their eight games, followed by the Frost and Victoire in four of their seven games. The Goldeneyes are the only team that has yet to lead a game in shots, while the Torrent have outshot their opponent once. The two teams tied in shots on goal when they faced each other in the season opener.

CURL-SALEMME LEADS IN POINTS, KELLER STILL STREAKING

Minnesota’s Britta Curl-Salemme sits alone atop the PWHL scoring race with nine points in seven games, including a league-high seven assists, and is currently on a three-game point streak. There’s a three-way tie for second in scoring between Frost alternate captain Kelly Pannek, Charge captain Brianne Jenner, and Fleet captain Megan Keller, all with eight points on three goals and five assists. Keller leads all defenders in scoring and is currently riding the longest point streak of the season at five games. Frost captain Kendall Coyne Schofield leads the league with five goals, and Charge defender Rory Guilday leads all rookies with six points. See this season’s PWHL leaders here.

CHULI STAYS UNBEATEN

Toronto’s Elaine Chuli is the only goaltender with a perfect record remaining across multiple starts, having won each of her first three games of the season. Her 1.67 goals-against-average ranks fourth,h and her save percentage of .943 ranks fifth among goaltenders with more than one game played. She’s chasing the bar she set in the inaugural season with Montréal, where she won her first five games. Boston’s Aerin Frankel continues to lead the league with five wins, three shutouts, a 0.99 GAA, and .963 SV%. See this season’s PWHL goaltending leaders here.

WINN, HUSTLER, AND WHEELER SCORE FIRST CAREER GOALS

Boston’s second overall pick, Haley Winn, scored her first career goal on Saturday in Ottawa with one of her record-tying nine shots on goal. Also on Saturday, Minnesota second-round pick Abby Hustler became the first player from Prince Edward Island to score a goal when she sniped in Edmonton. New York fourth-round pick Maddi Wheeler scored her first career goal on Sunday in Dallas and is tied with Winn and teammate O’Brien for second in rookie scoring with five points each. There have been 82 different goal scorers so far this PWHL season, including 17 rookies. See this season’s PWHL rookie leaders here.

CARPENTER, WATTS, AMBROSE ON MILESTONE WATCH

Seattle’s Alex Carpenter (23G, 26A) and Toronto’s Daryl Watts (25G, 24A) are both one point away from reaching 50 career points. Poulin was the first player to reach the all-time milestone in her second game this season. Montréal’s Erin Ambrose is one assist shy of 30 and would become the first player to reach the all-time mark. See career PWHL leaders here.

PWHL LAUNCHES NEW MENTORSHIP PROGRAM

The PWHL officially launched its leaguewide Mentorship Program, a new cornerstone initiative developed in collaboration with Strong Girls United and supported by Kyndryl as the program’s Founding Partner. Designed to empower and retain girls in hockey during a critical participation drop-off age, the program will engage 120 youth athletes (grades 8–9) across all eight PWHL markets this season. Each team will welcome 15 mentees selected through an open application process, with three PWHL players per team serving as mentors throughout the year.

The program combines monthly virtual mentorship sessions and group workshops focused on leadership, mental wellness, and confidence-building, along with an in-person experience in each market that may include a game-day visit, closed practice, or live mentorship workshop. The initiative builds on a successful pilot held during the 2025 PWHL Draft, where participants reported increased confidence and motivation to remain engaged in the game, reinforcing the impact of mentorship in supporting the next generation of players. CBC profiled the program here.

THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE

There are just two more games remaining in 2025, including Tuesday when Toronto hosts Minnesota at 7 p.m. ET at Coca-Cola Coliseum for the team’s Asian Heritage Celebration. Then on Wednesday, New York hosts Vancouver for a New Year’s Eve matinee at 1 p.m. ET at Prudential Center. The Sirens will be the first to host a game in 2026 when they welcome Montréal to Prudential Center on Friday afternoon at 1 p.m. ET. Saturday’s slate includes three games, beginning with Ottawa and Minnesota at 1 p.m. ET at TD Place for the Charge’s Mental Health Awareness game, then Takeover Tour games in Hamilton between Seattle and Toronto at 2 p.m. ET and in Detroit between Vancouver and Boston at 7 p.m. ET. The week wraps up Sunday with Montréal hosting Minnesota for the Victoire’s Black History Celebration at Place Bell at 2 p.m. ET. Full broadcast details are below and available online here.

Tuesday, December 30 – 7 PM ET
Minnesota Frost at Toronto Sceptres (Coca-Cola Coliseum)

Canada: Prime Video
U.S. (In-Market): FanDuel Sports Network North, FOX 9+
U.S. (Out of Market): FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin, NESN (Boston), Scripps Sports, SNP+ (Pittsburgh)

Wednesday, December 31 – 1 PM ET
Vancouver Goldeneyes at New York Sirens (Prudential Center)

Canada: Sportsnet ONE
U.S. (In-Market): MSGSN
U.S. (Out of Market): Great Lakes Sports & Entertainment Network, KCRG-TV 9/Ottumwa–Kirksville CW (Iowa), Last Frontier Sports & Entertainment Network (Alaska), NESN (Boston), North Star Sports & Entertainment Network, Rock Entertainment Sports Network, SNP+ (Pittsburgh), South Texas Sports, Tennessee Valley Sports Network

Friday, January 2 – 1 PM ET
Montréal Victoire at New York Sirens (Prudential Center)

Canada: Sportsnet (East, Ontario, Pacific) RDS
U.S. (In-Market): MSG
U.S. (Out of Market): NESN+ (Boston), SNP (Pittsburgh)

Saturday, January 3 – 1 PM ET
Minnesota Frost at Ottawa Charge (TD Place)

Canada: Sportsnet ONE
U.S. (In-Market): FanDuel Sports Network North, FOX 9+
U.S. (Out of Market): FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin, NESN (Boston), SNP+ (Pittsburgh)

Saturday, January 3 – 2 PM ET – PWHL Takeover Tour
Seattle Torrent vs. Toronto Sceptres (TD Coliseum – Hamilton)

Canada: CBC and CBC Gem
U.S. (In-Market): FOX 13+
U.S. (Out of Market): FOX 11+ Los Angeles, Last Frontier Sports & Entertainment Network (Alaska)

Saturday, January 3 – 7 PM ET – PWHL Takeover Tour
Vancouver Goldeneyes vs. Boston Fleet (Little Caesars Arena – Detroit)

Canada: TSN
U.S. (In-Market): NESN, TV 38, TV 20 Detroit
U.S. (Out of Market): Matrix Midwest (St. Louis), SNP+ (Pittsburgh)

Sunday, January 4 – 2 PM ET
Minnesota Frost at Montréal Victoire (Place Bell)

Canada: Sportsnet (East, Ontario, Pacific), Radio-Canada
U.S. (In-Market): FanDuel Sports Network North, FOX 9+
U.S. (Out of Market): FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin, FOX 10 Xtra Phoenix, Matrix Midwest (St. Louis), NESN+ (Boston), SNP+ (Pittsburgh)

Fans around the world can continue to follow every game live via the PWHL YouTube channeland thepwhl.com, with the exception of Czechia and Slovakia, where Nova Sport will continue to carry games locally.