NEW YORK AND TORONTO – A closer look at highlights on and off the ice from around the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) as the schedule resumes following the international break.
TORONTO CAN CLINCH
The Sceptres can become the second team to officially punch their ticket to the PWHL Playoffs if:
- Toronto earns a single point against Boston on Saturday; or
- Ottawa loses to Montréal on Saturday; or
- Ottawa beats Montréal in a shootout on Saturday; or
- Minnesota loses to New York on Sunday.
In addition to securing a playoff berth, the Sceptres can clinch a top-two seed this weekend if:
- Toronto wins in regulation over Boston, and Ottawa is held to two or fewer points against Montréal; or
- Toronto wins in overtime/shootout against Boston, and Ottawa loses to Montréal.
Montréal can clinch a top-two spot with at least one point against Ottawa.
NEW YORK FACING ELIMINATION
The Sirens could become the first team to be officially eliminated from playoff contention on Saturday if:
- Boston beats Toronto in regulation and Ottawa beats Montréal in regulation.
The Sirens will have the opportunity to stay alive on Sunday under the following scenarios:
- If both Boston and Ottawa earn overtime/shootout wins, then New York must beat Minnesota in regulation; or
- If both Boston and Ottawa lose their games in overtime/shootout, then New York must earn at least an overtime/shootout win against Minnesota; or
- If one of Boston or Ottawa earns a win of any kind while the other loses in regulation, then New York must earn at least an overtime/shootout win against Minnesota; or
- If both Boston and Ottawa lose their games in regulation, then New York must earn at least a single point in an overtime/shootout loss against Minnesota.
Once a team is eliminated from playoff contention, any standings points earned by that team in games played following the date of elimination are classified as ‘Draft Order Points’. Per the league’s innovative use of the ‘Gold Plan’ to ensure competitive play, Draft Order Points are used to determine the draft order of selection among the league’s two non-playoff teams.
Click here for full PWHL standings and here for the tiebreaking procedures.
RECAPPING WOMEN’S WORLDS
The 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship wrapped up Sunday in České Budějovice, Czechia. A total of 42 PWHL players earned medals, including 16 gold medal-winning members of Team USA, 23 silver medalists on Team Canada, and three bronze medal-winning members of Team Finland. The U.S. defeated Canada 4-3 in overtime to capture the nation’s 11th gold medal since the tournament was introduced in 1990. Tessa Janecke scored the golden goal at 17:06 of the extra frame, capping the longest game in Women’s Worlds history. Finland’s victory was also a 4-3 overtime decision, beating Czechia after erasing a 3-0 deficit to claim a second straight bronze. Total attendance for the tournament was a record 122,331, surpassing the previous high of 119,231 set in Winnipeg in 2007. Click here for more information about the event, and here for a recap of Sunday’s games on the Jocks in Jills podcast.
PWHL MEDALISTS
All six PWHL teams have at least four medalists and one player who won gold with Team USA, meaning that— for the first time in league history— a World Champion will also be crowned a Walter Cup Champion in the same season.
Boston (4): Aerin Frankel (USA), Megan Keller (USA), Hilary Knight (USA); Susanna Tapani (FIN).
Minnesota (8): Kendall Coyne Schofield (USA), Britta Curl-Salemme (USA), Taylor Heise (USA), Kelly Pannek (USA), Lee Stecklein (USA), Grace Zumwinkle (USA); Sophie Jaques (CAN), Claire Thompson (CAN).
Montréal (8): Cayla Barnes (USA), Anna Wilgren (USA); Erin Ambrose (CAN), Ann-Renée Desbiens (CAN), Jennifer Gardiner (CAN), Kristin O’Neill (CAN), Marie-Philip Poulin (CAN), Laura Stacey (CAN).
New York (5): Alex Carpenter (USA); Sarah Fillier (CAN), Ella Shelton (CAN), Micah Zandee-Hart (CAN); Noora Tulus (FIN).
Ottawa (6): Gwyneth Philips (USA); Emily Clark (CAN), Brianne Jenner (CAN), Jocelyne Larocque (CAN), Danielle Serdachny (CAN); Ronja Savolainen (FIN).
Toronto (11): Jesse Compher (USA), Savannah Harmon (USA), Hayley Scamurra (USA); Kristen Campbell (CAN), Renata Fast (CAN), Julia Gosling (CAN), Emma Maltais (CAN), Sarah Nurse (CAN), Natalie Spooner (CAN), Blayre Turnbull (CAN), Daryl Watts (CAN).
TOURNAMENT AWARDS, ALL-STARS & TOP PERFORMERS
Poulin was named Tournament MVP for the second time in her illustrious career after leading all players in scoring with 12 points (4G, 8A). The Victoire and Canadian captain was also selected as the Best Forward by the tournament directorate and as a member of the Media All-Star Team. Frankel was named Best Goaltender with a goals-against-average of 1.05 and save percentage of .945 between the pipes for the U.S, while American Caroline Harvey (2G, 2A) was named Best Defender. Joining Poulin as a tournament All-Star at forward was Pannek (4G, 4A), who led Team USA with four goals, and PWHL draft prospect Kristýna Kaltounková (4G, 2A), who tied for Czechia’s scoring lead in her World Championship debut. All-Stars on defense include Fast (8A) for a second straight year, and Savolainen (3G, 3A), as the duo finished first and third respectively in scoring among tournament blue liners. In goal, Boston’s Klára Peslarová was named an All-Star, notably earning two shutout victories for the host Czechia. Ten PWHL players were selected among their team’s top-three performers by their coaches, including Poulin, Fast and Gardiner for Canada, Ottawa’s Kateřina Mrázová for Czechia, Savolainen for Finland, Montréal’s Sandra Abstreiter for Germany, Boston’s Alina Müller for Switzerland, plus Keller, Knight and Stecklein for the United States.
RECORDS AND MILESTONES
Knight captured a record-setting 10th Women’s Worlds gold medal and leads all three of the tournament’s all-time offensive categories including points (120), goals (67) and assists (53). Poulin surpassed Hayley Wickenheiser (37G, 49A) and Jayna Hefford (40G, 43A) to become Canada’s all-time leading scorer in World Championship play with 89 points (39G, 50A) and is second only to Knight. Coyne Schofield climbs into fifth on the all-time scoring list with 80 points (31G, 49A). Desbiens set a new Women’s Worlds all-time record with her 22nd career victory. Campbell and Philips both earned their first three career wins, including one shutout each. The Ottawa rookie turned aside 17 of 18 shots faced after entering the gold medal final in the third period. Four PWHL players made their Women’s Worlds debuts and recorded their first points on the tournament stage, including Gardiner (6G, 4A), Jaques (2G), Watts (4G, 1A) and Wilgren (1A). Larocque became the first defender in Team Canada history to play 200 international games and is one of five players, along with Poulin, to reach the all-time milestone.
AUSTRIA AND DENMARK EARN PROMOTION
Ottawa’s Anna Meixner and Boston’s Theresa Schafzahl led Austria to an undefeated record at the IIHF Women’s World Championship Division I Group A tournament in Shenzhen, China. The victory earns the country its first-ever promotion to the Top Division in 2026 where they will be joined by Denmark, replacing relegated teams from Hungary and Netherlands. Meixner finished second in tournament scoring with eight points (4G, 4A) in five games, while Schafzahl had six points (2G, 4A). New York’s Chloé Aurard competed for France and tied for third in scoring with seven points (2G, 5A). Click here for more.
PWHL IN NHLPA PLAYER POLL
The 2024-25 NHLPA Player Poll asked NHL players to answer 12 hockey-related questions, and this season the initiative featured PWHL rule innovations among the fun topics. When asked which PWHL rulebook change they would like to see in the NHL, the top answer among players was the jailbreak goal at 29.70%, followed by the league’s three-point standings format at 24.36%. The other three responses included the first-place team choosing their playoff opponent at 16.83%, players eligible to take multiple shootout attempts at 15.64%, and no goaltender’s trapezoid behind the net at 13.47%. Click here for more.
SUPPORTING WOMEN’S SPORTS
Last Monday, members of the Sirens were in attendance for the 2025 WNBA Draft in New York where UConn star Paige Bueckers was selected first overall by the Dallas Wings. Then, on Saturday, members of the Sceptres watched history unfold in the Northern Super League’s second-ever game where AFC Toronto took on the Montreal Roses in front of more than 14,500 fans.
THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE
All teams will play their first of three remaining games this weekend. There are two games on Saturday afternoon, beginning when Ottawa hosts Montréal for the Charge’s Pride Unity Game at 12 p.m. ET at The Arena at TD Place, then Boston hosts Toronto at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell at 2 p.m. ET. On Sunday, Minnesota will play their final home game of the regular season at Xcel Energy Center when they welcome New York at 2 p.m. ET. This game was previously listed on the schedule for Apr. 26 but was changed due to the Minnesota Wild’s playoff game.
Saturday, April 26, 2025
12 p.m. ET – Montréal Victoire at Ottawa Charge (The Arena at TD Place)
TSN 1, RDS
2 p.m. ET – Toronto Sceptres at Boston Fleet (Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell)
NESN, CBC
Sunday, April 27, 2025
2 p.m. ET – New York Sirens at Minnesota Frost (Xcel Energy Center)
FanDuel Sports Network North, MSGSN2, TSN 1
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.
