Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) Weekly Notebook

                                               Ottawa’s Brianne Jenner Named PWHL Player of the Week Presented by SharkNinja

NEW YORK AND TORONTO (December 1, 2025) – The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) season continued with five games last week, including four home openers, most notably in Seattle where the expansion Torrent set U.S. attendance records at Climate Pledge Arena.

SEATTLE SETS U.S. ATTENDANCE RECORDS IN HISTORIC HOME OPENER

The league’s first-ever game on Black Friday was one for the record books as Seattle set a new women’s hockey attendance record in a U.S. arena with a crowd of 16,014 for their historic home opener at Climate Pledge Arena. The previous high of 15,359 was recorded by the University of Wisconsin on Jan. 14, 2017, while the previous U.S. record for a professional women’s hockey game was 14,288 during last season’s Takeover Tour at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena on Mar. 16, 2025. The Torrent crowd is also the new PWHL benchmark for attendance at a primary home venue, surpassing the 14,958 at Pacific Coliseum on opening night between Vancouver and Seattle, and ranks eighth all-time in PWHL single-game attendance. Through nine games of the 2025-26 PWHL season, total attendance is 78,340 for a per-game average of 8,704.

PWHL COMMUNITY SENDS STRENGTH AND LOVE TO CARLA MACLEOD

On Sunday, Ottawa Charge Head Coach Carla MacLeod shared personal news of her recent diagnosis with breast cancer. As she begins treatment this week, MacLeod will miss the Charge’s Tuesday night home game. Read more from MacLeod and GM Mike Hirshfeld here.

MONTRÉAL AND NEW YORK WIN HOME OPENERS

The Victoire defeated New York, 4-0, in their home opener at Place Bell last Tuesday, then the Sirens rebounded with a 5-1 victory over Vancouver in their home opener at Prudential Center on Saturday. Both Montréal and New York have now won consecutive home openers and join Vancouver and Boston as four of the league’s eight teams to win their first game at home this season. Seattle became the second team in PWHL history to suffer a shutout loss in their inaugural home opener, falling 3-0 to Minnesota on Friday, and the Fleet snapped a five-game losing streak in Toronto with a 3-1 win over the Sceptres in their home opener Saturday. Last season, home teams won three of the league’s six home openers, while Minnesota was the only team to win its home opener during the inaugural season. The Frost are a perfect three-for-three in opposing team home openers. See all PWHL results here.

BOSTON UNBEATEN

Boston (2-0-0-0) remains the only unbeaten team through two weeks of the PWHL season and are tied with six points atop the standings with New York (2-0-0-1). Minnesota, Montréal, Ottawa, and Toronto all have three points with equal 1-0-0-1 records, followed by Vancouver (0-1-0-2) with two points and Seattle (0-0-1-1) with one point. Minnesota is the only team in PWHL history to open a season with three straight victories, having won their first three games in regulation during the inaugural season. See full PWHL standings here.

JENNER TIES SINGLE-GAME POINTS RECORD

Charge captain Brianne Jenner has been named the PWHL Player of the Week presented by SharkNinja after scoring two goals, including one on the power play and one shorthanded, plus two primary assists in a 5-1 win over the Goldeneyes on Wednesday. The 34-year-old from Oakville, ON, is just the sixth player in PWHL history and first member of Ottawa to record a four-point performance following Laura Stacey (2G, 2A) on Mar. 26, 2025, Hilary Knight (3G, 1A) on Mar. 5, 2025, Hannah Miller (2G, 2A) on Feb. 19, 2025, Claire Thompson (1G, 3A) on Dec. 19, 2024, and Erin Ambrose (4A) on Apr. 18, 20putJenner’s four points puts her atop the PWHL scoring race through two weeks. See this season’s PWHL leaders here.

POULIN FIRST TO 30 GOALS, 50 POINTS

Victoire captain Marie-Philip Poulin recorded a pair of PWHL milestones last Tuesday becoming the first player to score 30 career goals and the first to reach and surpass 50 career points. Both were achieved in, regular-season game, and both totals are seven more than the next highest goal scorer and point producer on the all-time list. Prior to the game, the reigning PWHL MVP was presented her 2024-25 IIHF Player of the Year trophy, with IIHF president Luic Tardif, Katherine Henderson, President and CEO of Hockey Canada, and Jonathan Goldbloom, Chair of the Board, Hockey Canada on hand for the ceremony. See all-time PWHL leaders here.

DESBIENS AND HENSLEY RECORD SHUTOUTS

Ann-Renée Desbiens turned aside all 33 shots faced on Tuesday in the Victoire’s 4-0 win over the Sirens for her second career shutout, and Nicole Hensley stopped all 30 shots on Friday in the Frost’s 3-0 win over the Torrent for her third career shutout. It took just seven games for PWHL goaltenders to accumulate four shutouts. Last season, there were 12 shutouts across 90 games with the fourth coming in the league’s 37th game, and 11 shutouts across 72 games during the inaugural season with the fourth recorded in the league’s 28th game. In her shutout, Desbiens surpassed the 1,000-career regular season saves milestone and ranks fifth all-time with 1,018 behind Aerin Frankel (1,095), Emerance Maschmeyer (1,055), Corinne Schroeder (1,050) and Kristen Campbell (1,033). Hensley ranks sixth on the list with 625 career saves. See this season’s PWHL goaltending leaders here.

FIRST CAREER GOALS FOR FOUR ROOKIES

Kristýna Kaltounková, New York’s first overall pick in the 2025 PWHL Draft, was one of four rookies to score their first career PWHL goals last week. Her milestone marker was scoring the Sirens’ home opener at Prudential Center with her family visiting from Czechia. Fellow Czech forward Natálie Mlýnková, a second-round pick by Montréal, became the first rookie to score on the power play and second to have her first career goal count as a game-winner when she opened the scoring against the Sirens last Tuesday. Boston fifth-round pick Abby Newhook scored her first career goal in the Fleet’s road win over the Sceptres on Saturday. Nicole Vallario became the first rookie defender to score this season, with the Switzerland-born rearguard finding the net just 4:08 into her PWHL debut on Saturday. A total of 10 PWHL rookies have produced offensively so far this season. See all PWHL rookie scoring leaders here.

MORE JAILBREAK GOALS

New York’s Kristin O’Neill and Toronto’s Blayre Turnbull became the first two players to score shorthanded ‘Jailbreak’ goals without an empty net in Saturday action. O’Neill’s goal was her first as a member of the Sirens and makes her one of six players with two career shorthanded goals. Turnbull’s goal made it two straight Scepters ‘wins where the Sceptres first goal on home ice was scored shorthanded. There have been four shorthanded goals scored through nine games, with a total of 12 recorded during the 90-game 2024-25 campaign.

ROQUE SCORES ANOTHER FOR THE HIGHLIGHT REEL

Abby Roque’s home debut as a member of the Victoire last Tuesday was one to remember with a three-point performance against her former Sirens teammates. Most impressively was her breakaway goal scored between-the-legs that made number one on the SportsCenter Top 10. Roque is no stranger to the PWH, L highlight reel with the Michigan native scoring the first-ever ‘Michigan’ goal last March.

JOCKS NEXT GEN TO DEBUT WEDNESDAY

The PWHL’s Jocks in Jills podcast will debut Jocks Next Gen on Wednesday, introducing a new and entertaining show that follows and highlights the next wave of PWHL talent from the collegiate ranks to stars shining overseas. The weekly episodes, hosted by Swiss hockey legend Florence Schelling alongside former PWHL defender Emma Buckles, will include interviews with players and coaches with lighthearted banter, stories, analysis, plus projections and draft rankings throughout the season.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

It was a standout week across the PWHL, with national and local outlets spotlighting big moments on and off the ice. The Montreal Gazette captured the electric atmosphere surrounding the Victoire, highlighting an inclusive fan base that’s turning their games into a vibrant, welcoming hockey universe unlike anything else in the city. The Athletic profiled Minnesota’s Taylor Heise through a uniquely Minnesota love story, tracing her rise in women’s professional hockey and the shared Olympic dreams she’s chasing alongside fiancé Parker Fox. And in Toronto, the Sceptres continued to draw attention as defender Renata Fast shared insights on The Social about her journey, major career moments, and the heat of the league’s newest rivalries.

THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE

Seven games are on this week’s PWHL schedule heading into December’s International Break. The action begins Tuesday night with Ottawa hosting Minnesota in a rematch of last year’s PWHL Walter Cup Finals at 7 p.m. ET at TD Place. Wednesday features a double-header with Boston hosting Vancouver for the Fleet’s first game of the season at Agganis Arena at 7 p.m. ET, followed by Seattle hosting New York’s first trip to the West Coast at Climate Pledge Arena at 10 p.m. ET. Thursday features the first all-Ontario matchup of the season with Toronto hosting Ottawa at Coca-Cola Coliseum at 7 p.m. ET. The weekend consists of Saturday afternoon action in Vancouver as the Goldeneyes host the Sirens at Pacific Coliseum at 3 p.m. ET, followed by a Sunday double-header between the Victoire and visiting Sceptres at Place Bell at 12 p.m. ET and the Fleethostst the Frost at Agganis Arena at 3 p.m. ET. Full broadcast details are below and available online here.

Tuesday, December 2 – 7 PM ET
Minnesota Frost at Ottawa Charge (TD Place)

•           Canada: Prime Video

•           U.S. (In-Market): FanDuel Sports Network North Digital, FOX 9+

•           U.S. (Out of Market): FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin Extra

Wednesday, December 3 – 7 PM ET
Vancouver Goldeneyes at Boston Fleet (Agganis Arena)

•           Canada: TSN

•           U.S. (In-Market): NESN, TV 38

•           U.S. (Out of Market): Great Lakes Sports & Entertainment Network, Last Frontier Sports & Entertainment Network (Alaska), North Star Sportsexcludingrtainment Network (exclude Duluth), Palmetto Sports & Entertainment Network, Scripps Sports, SNP (Pittsburgh), Tennessee Valley Sports Network

Wednesday, December 3 – 10 PM ET
New York Sirens at Seattle Torrent (Climate Pledge Arena)

•           Canada: TSN

•           U.S. (In-Market): FOX 13+, MSGSN

•           U.S. (Out of Market): Last Frontier Sports & Entertainment Network (Alaska), NESN (Boston), SNP (Pittsburgh)

Thursday, December 4 – 7 PM ET
Ottawa Charge at Toronto Sceptres (Coca-Cola Coliseum)

•           Canada: TSN

Saturday, December 6 – 3 PM ET
New York Sirens at Vancouver Goldeneyes (Pacific Coliseum)

•           Canada: CBC and CBC Gem

•           U.S. (In-Market): MSGSN, My9

•           U.S. (Out of Market): FanDuel Sports Network (Detroit, Florida, Midwest, North, Ohio (Extra), South, Southwest, West, Wisconsin), FOX 11+ Los Angeles, Matrix Midwest (St. Louis)

Sunday, December 7 – 12 PM ET
Toronto Sceptres at Montréal Victoire (Place Bell)

•           Canada: TSN, RDS

•           U.S. (Out of Market): Matrix Midwest (St. Louis)

Sunday, December 7 – 3 PM ET
Minnesota Frost at Boston Fleet (Agganis Arena)

•           Canada: Sportsnet 360

•           U.S. (In-Market): NESN, FanDuel Sports Network North, FOX 9+

•           U.S. (Out of Market): FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin, FOX 10 Xtra Phoenix, Matrix Midwest (St. Louis), SNP+ (Pittsburgh)

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