Highlights from 2024 and excitement for 2025
NEW YORK AND TORONTO (January 2, 2025) – A closer look at highlights on and off the ice from around the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) heading into 2025.
INAUGURAL SEASON REFLECTIONS
So much has happened in the span of one remarkable year since the very first PWHL game. Relive and reflect on some of 2024’s most powerful memories, surprising moments and inspiring learnings with leaders from across the league’s front office and teams. Click here to read.
BY THE NUMBERS, DURING THE YEAR 2024 IN THE PWHL
- There were 104 games played including 72 during the inaugural regular season, 13 in the playoffs, and 19 so far in the 2024-25 campaign.
- Total attendance through all 104 PWHL games was 607,753 – an average of 5,844 per game.
- Games were played in eight different NHL venues including Minnesota’s Xcel Energy Center (18), New York’s UBS Arena (6), New Jersey’s Prudential Center (5), Montréal’s Bell Centre (1), Ottawa’s Canadian Tire Centre (1), Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena (1), Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena (1), and Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena (1). The total venue count was 16 with games hosted by Boston at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell (18), Ottawa at The Arena at TD Place (13), Toronto at Mattamy Athletic Centre (11) and at Coca-Cola Coliseum (8), Montréal at Place Bell (9) in Laval, QC and at Verdun Auditorium (6), New York at Total Mortgage Arena (4) in Bridgeport, CT, and Minnesota at 3M Arena at Mariucci (1).
- The Minnesota Frost led the PWHL with 22 total wins, including six in the playoffs, to capture the inaugural Walter Cup championship.
- A total of 55 games were decided by one-goal, which represents over 52% of all results, and includes 20 games won in overtime and nine in shootouts.
- The most common final score was 2-1, which occurred 20 times, followed by 3-2, which was the result in 19 games.
- A total of 188 players competed in at least one PWHL game and represent talent from 12 different countries including Canada (94), United States (69), Czechia (8), Sweden (5), Finland (3), Austria (2), Hungary (2), China (1), France (1), Germany (1), Japan (1), Switzerland (1).
- There were 1,263 total points recorded by 152 different players, led by New York Sirens forward Alex Carpenter with 31.
- There were 486 goals scored by 125 different players, led by Toronto Sceptres forward Natalie Spooner with 21.
- There were 777 assists recorded by 136 different players, led by Carpenter and Sceptres defender Renata Fast with 19 each.
- There were 6,015 shots on goal taken by 166 different players, led by Frost forward Grace Zumwinkle with 141.
- There were 94 power-play goals scored by 50 different players, including 21 scored this season following the adoption of the ‘No Escape Rule’. Spooner scored the most power play goals with seven.
- There were 19 shorthanded ‘Jailbreak’ goals scored by 16 different players, led by Zumwinkle with three.
- There were 16 different goaltenders between the pipes, with Boston Fleet netminder Aerin Frankel leading the way with 1,928 minutes played.
- There were 13 different goaltenders who recorded victories, led by Sceptres netminder Kristen Campbell with 19.
- There were 18 shutouts recorded by seven different goaltenders, led by Campbell with five.
- Goaltenders made a total of 5,529 saves, led by Frankel with 880.
- Sirens first overall pick Sarah Fillier and Frost third overall pick Claire Thompson have the highest points-per-game averages at 1.33.
FINAL GAMES OF 2024 HAD SEASON-HIGH ATTENDANCES
The PWHL returned from the holiday break with five games in five days, each with season-high attendances for the home team. Toronto welcomed 8,264 fans to Coca-Cola Coliseum for the 100th game in PWHL history against Boston last Friday, then topped the attendance with a sold-out crowd of 8,278 on New Year’s Eve against Ottawa. Minnesota’s attendance of 8,726 at Xcel Energy Center on Saturday against Montréal was their highest in three home games so far this season, New York’s third home game at Prudential Center on Sunday against Ottawa had a season-high attendance, and Montréal’s third home game at Place Bell featured a sold-out crowd of 10,172. This season’s attendance through 19 games is 124,223 – an average of 6,538 per game.
PWHL TAKEOVER TOUR STARTS SUNDAY IN SEATTLE
The PWHL is launching its first of nine PWHL Takeover Tour™ games on Sunday in Seattle where Boston will host Montréal at Climate Pledge Arena. The Seattle Kraken home will become the ninth NHL venue to host a PWHL game in league history. Fans are invited to attend open practices for both teams on Saturday at Kraken Community Iceplex with autograph sessions to follow. The PWHL will also participate in a sold-out youth hockey clinic with girls from the Seattle area. The PWHL Takeover Tour™ is a slate of nine neutral-site regular-season games that will be played outside the League’s current complement of cities. The nine games will be played over a span of 84 days.
FOUR STRAIGHT WINS FOR FIRST-PLACE MONTRÉAL
The Montréal Victoire (3-2-0-1) enter the New Year riding the longest winning streak in team history and are first in the PWHL standings with 13 points. The Victoire beat Minnesota (3-1-1-1) by a 3-2 score on Saturday to hand the second place Frost their first regulation loss of the season. Montréal then made it four straight wins on Monday with a 3-1 win over Boston (2-0-0-4). The Victoire had two different three-game winning streaks during the inaugural season. Click here to see PWHL standings.
OTTAWA ENDS 2024 WITH SECOND STRAIGHT WIN
The Ottawa Charge (3-0-1-3) have climbed into third place with 10 points following a pair of road victories to close the calendar year. The Charge won 3-1 over New York (2-1-1-2) on Sunday, then won 2-1 over Toronto (2-0-1-4) on New Year’s Eve. The victory against the Sceptres was an emotional game following Monday’s trade between the two teams. Forward Victoria Bach and defender Jocelyne Larocque debuted for the Charge, with defender Savannah Harmon and forward Hayley Scamurra playing for the first time as Scepters. Click here to see PWHL scores and schedule.
LEAGUE LEADERS
There is a three-way tie for first in PWHL scoring between New York forward Alex Carpenter (4G, 4A), Sirens rookie Sarah Fillier (3G, 5A), and Minnesota defender Claire Thompson (1G, 7A) each with eight points in six games. Carpenter is the only player in the league with four goals and Thompson leads the way with seven assists. Frost forward Taylor Heise ranks fourth in league scoring with seven points in six games (1G, 6A). In goal, Ottawa’s Emerance Maschmeyer leads the league with six starts and ranks first with a .938 save percentage, is tied for first with a 2.00 goals-against-average, and tied for first with three wins. Click here for player stats.
SCORING STREAKS
Carpenter has recorded a point in all six games for the Sirens and remains the only player in the league to carry a season-opening point streak. Dating back to last season, she has produced offensively in nine straight games. A point by Carpenter in Saturday’s game against Minnesota would make her the first player in PWHL history to record points in seven-straight games in a single season. Heise and Thompson hold the next longest active point streaks at five and four games respectively.
FIRST CAREER PWHL GOALS
Six players recorded their first PWHL goals in games following the holiday break, including Toronto defender Jessica Kondas who tallied on her first shot in her first career game last Friday against Boston. The 24-year-old from Calgary, AB was in the lineup for the first time after signing a 10-day contract from the team’s reserve list. Four players selected in the 2024 draft also scored for the first time in the PWHL including Boston first round pick Hannah Bilka, Ottawa second rounder Ronja Savolainen, Minnesota fourth rounder Brooke McQuigge, and Montréal fifth rounder Anna Wilgren. Victoire veteran defender Mariah Keopple also scored her first career goal in her 29th game. So far this season, there have been 67 different goal scorers across the PWHL, including 16 rookies.
KIRK RECORDS FIRST CAREER WIN
Toronto rookie goaltender Raygan Kirk became the first goaltender from the 2024 draft class to earn a victory, making 26 saves in a 4-2 win over Boston on Friday. The 23-year-old from Ste. Anne, MB was selected in the seventh round from Ohio State University. She’s now appeared in four games for the Sceptres and carries a 2.41 goals-against-average and a .910 save percentage.
SPOONER HONORED BY IIHF
Sceptres forward Natalie Spooner received her IIHF Female Player of the Year award from IIHF President Luc Tardif on Tuesday night in a special in-game presentation. Spooner had a goal and four points at the 2024 Women’s Worlds in Utica, NY helping Canada win gold. She also earned both the Billie Jean King MVP and Forward of the Year awards in the PWHL after leading the league with 20 goals and 27 points. Click here for more.
MURPHY LEADS CLOTHING DRIVE
Victoire forward Maureen Murphy, who won the PWHL’s inaugural Hockey For All Award presented by Scotiabank, led a winter clothing drive with her teammates ahead of Monday’s game at Place Bell. Fans generously donated thousands of warm clothing items to benefit Chez Doris, whose mission is to support and empower all women in precarious situations so that they can reach their full potential.
THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE
The PWHL schedule resumes tonight with the first puck drop of 2025 taking place in Minnesota, where the Frost will host Boston, at 7:30 p.m. ET at Xcel Energy Center. Minnesota will also welcome New York on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. ET. The first game of the PWHL Takeover Tour, featuring Montréal and Boston, is set for Sunday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. ET at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena.
Thursday, January 2, 2025
7:30 p.m. ET – Boston Fleet at Minnesota Frost (Xcel Energy Center)
FanDuel Sports Network Extra, NESN+, TSN 2
Saturday, January 4, 2025
2:00 p.m. ET – New York Sirens at Minnesota Frost (Xcel Energy Center)
FanDuel Sports Network North, MSG/MSGHD, CBC
Sunday, January 5, 2025
4:00 p.m. ET – PWHL Takeover Tour - Montréal Victoire at Boston Fleet (Climate Pledge Arena)
NESN+, TSN 5, RDS INFO
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.