First-place battle and second annual Duel at the Top leads PWHL schedule into March
NEW YORK AND TORONTO (February 25, 2025) – A closer look at highlights on and off the ice from around the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL).
FIRST PLACE ON THE LINE IN MONTRÉAL
This week’s action begins with a first-place battle between Montréal (9-3-1-4) and Toronto (8-2-4-6) tonight at Place Bell. The Victoire currently sit atop the standings with 34 points in 17 games, with the Sceptres on their heels with 32 points in 20 games. Toronto is the league’s hottest team with a six-game winning streak since Feb. 1 and points in nine straight games dating back to their Battle on Bay Street victory over New York on Jan. 25. The Victoire have won all three games of the season series, including a 4-3 shootout triumph at Place Bell on Jan. 30. Click to see the full PWHL standings and schedule.
DUEL AT THE TOP ON SATURDAY
The Victoire have another big game coming up this weekend when they return to the Bell Centre on Saturday afternoon. The second annual Duel at the Top, presented in partnership with Air Canada, features a 2 p.m. ET matchup between Montréal and Boston (6-5-2-6). The Fleet are ranked third in the PWHL standings following a four-game winning streak. Last season’s event at the Bell Centre on Apr. 20, 2024, between Montréal and Toronto, set a world record for attendance at a women’s hockey game, with a sold-out crowd of 21,105.
LOOKING BACK ON BUFFALO
The PWHL Takeover Tour™ continued with its sixth game on Sunday afternoon at Buffalo’s KeyBank Center where Boston skated to a 3-2 shootout win over New York. The Sirens dressed to impress for their arrival, sporting Buffalo Sabres and Rochester Americans jerseys, Buffalo Bills threads, and, for the staff, matching jackets. On Saturday, both teams held open practices and signed autographs for fans; then, that night, players attended the Sabres game for more fan interaction, highlighted by leading the ‘Let’s Go Buffalo’ drum beat and chant. Sunday’s game featured a crowd of 8,512 to bring Takeover Tour™ attendance up to 89,953 through six games. Three more stops remain on this season’s tour with upcoming games in Raleigh (Mar. 7), Detroit (Mar. 16) and St. Louis (Mar. 29). Click here for more.
PWHL SURPASSES INAUGURAL SEASON ATTENDANCE
The PWHL raised the bar for regular-season attendance last week in 17 fewer games than the inaugural season. The new standard was set on Saturday in Ottawa where a sold-out crowd of 8,424 – a season-high at TD Place - watched the Charge defeat the Victoire 3-1. The 55th game of the 2024-25 campaign brought attendance up to 396,174 to surpass the 72-game total of 392,259 last season. Sunday’s season-high crowd of 8,770 at Minnesota’s Xcel Energy Center, plus the 8,512 at Buffalo’s KeyBank Center, has PWHL attendance at 413,456 through 57 games – an average of 7,254 per game.
TRADE DEADLINE MOVES TO MARCH 13, ROSTER FREEZE MARCH 14
Last week during a virtual media availability with PWHL leadership, Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Jayna Hefford announced that the league’s trade deadline has moved to Mar. 13 at 2 p.m. ET followed by the roster freeze on Mar. 14 at 12 p.m. ET. There have been two trades so far this season: Dec. 30 when Ottawa acquired Victoria Bach and Jocelyne Larocque from Toronto in exchange for Savannah Harmon and Hayley Scamurra, and Jan. 21 when Boston acquired Jill Saulnier from New York in exchange for Taylor Girard. There were three trades made during the PWHL’s inaugural season, including two on last season’s trade deadline day of Mar. 18, 2024.
CLARIFICATION ON FIGHTING
Following last week’s altercation in the game between Boston and Ottawa, Hockey Operations has provided clarification on the league’s position on fighting. In the PWHL Rulebook, Rule 46 clearly states that fighting is not part of the PWHL’s game. It further states that [a] “fight” shall be deemed to have occurred when at least one (1) player punches or attempts to punch an opponent repeatedly or when two (2) players wrestle in such a manner as to make it difficult for the Linespersons to intervene and separate the combatants. A “fight” in a PWHL game will be penalized with a 5-minute major penalty and a game misconduct, with a possibility of further discipline following a review and taking into consideration repeat offenders.
CHARGE AND VICTOIRE SHOWCASE SKILLS ON NHL STAGE
On Sunday, members of the Charge joined the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre, while the Victoire joined the Montréal Canadiens at the Bell Centre to take part in skills competitions hosted by the NHL teams. Of note, Jennifer Gardiner led all players in accuracy shooting in Montréal, and Brianne Jenner was a top performer for ‘Team Black’ in the same event in Ottawa. Click for full recaps of the events in Montréal and Ottawa.
SCEPTRES CONTINUE POWER PLAY SUCCESS
Over the course of Toronto’s nine-game point streak, the Sceptres have simultaneously produced a league-record power play streak of nine games. Half of the team’s total goals (16/32) have come with the advantage during this stretch as the power play has converted at a 47.1% success-rate. Toronto’s 21 power play goals this season have surpassed the previous PWHL-high of 19 PPG scored by New York in 24 games during the inaugural campaign. Through 20 games, three Toronto players have also tied or exceeded the inaugural season power play points record including Hannah Miller (4G, 8A), Renata Fast (2G, 9A) and Daryl Watts (3G, 7A). Last season, New York’s Alex Carpenter (3G, 7A) and Ella Shelton (2G, 8A) led the way with 10 power play points apiece, and Toronto’s Natalie Spooner led all players with seven power play goals.
FLEET, FRANKEL STAY HOT IN SHOOTOUT
Boston remains the only undefeated team in shootouts this season after picking up their third shootout victory over New York on Sunday. Aerin Frankel has backstopped the Fleet in all three of those matchups and has denied an incredible 12 of 13 attempts, including all five Sirens shooters on Sunday, for a shootout save percentage of .923. The Fleet have now won both of their Takeover Tour™ games this season— in Buffalo and Seattle — by way of the shootout and secured a shootout victory in the league’s Takeover Weekend last season in Detroit.
IT'S MILLER TIME
Last Wednesday in New York, Miller scored two goals and two assists for Toronto and became just the third player, and first forward, in PWHL history to record a four-point performance. The single-game record is shared by Minnesota defender Claire Thompson (1G, 3A on Dec. 19, 2024) and Montréal rearguard Erin Ambrose (4A on Apr. 18, 2024). In addition to those four-point games, all three players are among 19 players across the PWHL to record three-point performances so far this season.
SHUTOUT FOR ROONEY
Minnesota’s Maddie Rooney posted the league’s sixth shutout of the season last Tuesday in a 4-0 win over Montréal, turning aside all 21 shots she faced. The 27-year-old from Andover, MN, recorded two shutouts during the inaugural campaign and is now tied with Kristen Campbell (TOR) and Corinne Schroeder (NY) for the most all-time in the regular season. Rooney’s shutout follows two this season by Schroeder, one by Frankel, and one each for rookies Gwyneth Philips (OTT) and Kayle Osborne (NY). Last season, seven goaltenders combined for the league’s 11 shutouts.
FIRST GOALS FOR MARKOWSKI AND SCHEPERS
Charge rookie defender Stephanie Markowski lit the lamp for the first time in her PWHL career on Saturday against Montréal. The fourth-round pick from Ohio State University tallied on her eighth shot in her 18th career game. Frost forward Liz Schepers also found the back of the net for the first time in regular-season action, on Tuesday against the Victoire, after scoring in Game 5 of the PWHL Finals last May. Both goals were game-winners. So far this season there have been 92 different PWHL goal scorers, including 21 rookies.
LEAGUE LEADERS
Miller continues to lead the league with 22 points (10G, 12A) in 20 games, followed by Sirens rookie Sarah Fillier with 19 points (6G, 13A) in 19 games. Frost captain Kendall Coyne Schofield (8G, 10A) and Watts (6G, 12A) are tied for third with 18 points each, then Fleet captain Hilary Knight (8G, 9A) and Fast (4G, 13A) are tied for fifth with 17 points each. Victoire captain Marie-Philip Poulin leads the league with 11 goals, with Fillier and Fast tied for the most assists with 13. In goal, Montréal’s Ann-Renée Desbiens leads the league with a goals-against-average of 1.81 and save percentage of .934, and Frankel leads with 10 wins. Click here for PWHL stats.
THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE
The league’s final two games of February will both celebrate Black History Month as Montréal hosts Toronto tonight at Place Bell, followed by Wednesday night’s Unity Game between Ottawa and visiting New York at TD Place. Then, all eyes will be on the Bell Centre this Saturday afternoon as the calendar turns to March and Montréal welcomes Boston for the second annual Duel at the Top, presented by Air Canada.
Tuesday, February 25, 2025
7 p.m. ET – Toronto Sceptres at Montréal Victoire (Place Bell)
Prime Video (Canada)
Wednesday, February 26, 2025
7 p.m. ET – New York Sirens at Ottawa Charge (The Arena at TD Place)
TSN 3/5, MSG/MSGHD
Saturday, March 1, 2025
2 p.m. ET – Boston Fleet at Montréal Victoire (Bell Centre)
CBC, ICI TÉLÉ and ICI TOU.TV, NESN+
All PWHL games will be streamed on the league’s YouTube Channel and at thepwhl.com, and are available to watch worldwide outside of Canada, and in Czechia and Slovakia where games are available via Nova Sport.