NEW YORK AND TORONTO – The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) officially launched the second half of the league schedule with a wave of momentum following the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. Fans celebrated all 61 PWHL Olympians, including the league’s 41 Olympic medalists, in five games highlighted by three sold-out crowds, a U.S. attendance record of 17,335 fans in Seattle, and a new PWHL weekend attendance record of 49,343 fans for games played at primary home venues Friday through Sunday.
PWHL SETS U.S. AND WEEKEND ATTENDANCE RECORDS
Seattle’s first-ever sold-out crowd on Friday night at Climate Pledge Arena set a new U.S. arena record for a women’s hockey game with 17,335 fans in attendance to see the Torrent host the Toronto Sceptres. It was the first of three sold-out PWHL games played over the weekend, with 8,572 fans at Ottawa’s TD Place on Saturday to see the Charge host the Boston Fleet, and 10,172 fans at Place Bell on Sunday as the Montréal Victoire hosted the Minnesota Frost. Also on Sunday, 13,264 fans packed Vancouver’s Pacific Coliseum for the Goldeneyes and Sceptres to set a new PWHL three-day weekend attendance record among games played at primary home venues with 49,343 fans. The previous record, set in the first four games of the season played Nov. 21-23, was 36,633. PWHL attendance through 66 games of the 2025-26 season is 580,494, an average of 8,795 fans per game.
LIVE FROM NEW YORK, IT’S KELLER AND KNIGHT
Boston captain Megan Keller and Seattle captain Hilary Knight made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live, joining guest host and Heated Rivalry star Connor Storrie during his opening monologue. Storrie was on stage with brothers Jack and Quinn Hughes when the PWHL pair entered to a loud and lengthy ovation wearing their Team USA jerseys and new Olympic gold medals. They also appeared on stage with the full cast at the end of the show wearing their Fleet and Torrent jerseys. The cameo completed a whirlwind day for Keller who contributed an assist in Boston’s 3-2 shootout win in Ottawa just hours before. Knight, who previously joined SNL after winning Olympic gold in 2018, is the first professional female athlete to appear on the show twice.
DESBIENS TIES SINGLE SEASON SHUTOUT RECORD
Montréal’s Ann-Renée Desbiens returned from Milan with an Olympic silver medal for Canada and jumped right back into the action with two wins, including one shutout, and has been named PWHL Player of the Week presented by SharkNinja. The 31-year-old from Clermont, QC, made 34 saves in the Victoire’s 4-1 win against New York on Thursday, then turned aside all 17 shots faced against Minnesota in a 4-0 shutout on Sunday for a combined 0.50 goals-against-average and .986 save percentage. The shutout was her fourth of the campaign, tying the PWHL single-season record set by Corinne Schroeder last season with the Sirens. Desbiens, Schroeder and Boston’s Aerin Frankel are all tied for the all-time lead with five career shutouts. Desbiens leads all PWHL goaltenders this season with 11 wins, a 1.06 GAA and .958 SV%, and has not surrendered more than two goals against in 15 starts, including 10 games with one or fewer goals against. Click here to see this season’s goaltending leaders.
The PWHL Player of the Week award will continue throughout the second half of the league schedule with recipients honored every Monday. The monthly PWHL Starting Six will return at the end of March, inclusive of the first five games played in February.
MONTRÉAL MOVES UP FROM WORST TO FIRST
The Victoire (9-3-0-5) have taken over first place in the PWHL standings with 33 points while riding a five-game winning streak and wins in eight of their last nine games since they occupied eighth place back on Jan. 4. It’s the first time the Fleet (8-3-2-2) have dropped down to second place all season as they sit just one point back with 32 points and two games in hand, showing an incredible 12-point improvement through 15 games this season compared to last. The Frost (7-2-3-4) had their six-game point streak snapped but remain in third place with 28 points, followed by the Sirens (7-0-3-7) with 24 points in fourth place. The Charge (4-5-1-7) are tied with the Sceptres (6-1-3-8) with 23 points following Toronto’s first two-game win streak of the season over the Goldeneyes (5-1-2-9) and Torrent (4-1-2-8) who occupy the final two spots with 19 and 16 points, respectively. Click here to see the full PWHL standings.
THERE’S NO PLACE (BELL) LIKE HOME
Montréal remains undefeated through their first seven of 12 games at Place Bell this season, which represents a team record for most consecutive wins at their primary home venue in a season. The Victoire have an incredible .952 points percentage in those games, just slightly ahead of Boston’s .944 points percentage in their six wins in six games split between Agganis Arena and the Tsongas Center. The rest of the league’s primary home venue point percentages consist of Minnesota (.722) at Grand Casino Arena, Ottawa (.625) at TD Place, Vancouver (.611) at Pacific Coliseum, Seattle (.542) at Climate Pledge Arena, New York (.458) at Prudential Center and Toronto (.267) at Coca-Cola Coliseum. Montréal’s seven straight wins at Place Bell are tied for the second-longest winning streak at a single venue in a season, matching Boston’s seven straight wins at the Tsongas Center in 2024-25, and one behind Toronto’s eight straight wins at Mattamy Athletic Centre in 2024.
BOSTON THRIVES IN BONUS HOCKEY
The Fleet became the first team in PWHL history to play three consecutive games with shootout results and have emerged victorious in all three. The record was interestingly set on Saturday against the Charge in the third straight shootout of the head-to-head season series, where Ottawa had won the first two. Boston leads the league with five shootout games in total, one shy of New York’s record of six last season. The 2024-25 Fleet hold the record for most shootout wins in a season, going 4-0 in such games. This season, Frankel has now faced 30 shootout attempts, twice as many as the previous single-season record of 15 set by Minnesota’s Maddie Rooney in 2024-25. On Saturday, Boston’s Hannah Brandt recorded her fourth shootout goal of the season and is tied with Ottawa’s Brianne Jenner for the league lead, one shy of Marie-Philip Poulin’s record of five scored last year with Montréal. Brandt and Poulin share the single-season record with 10 shootout attempts. The Fleet have played in eight straight games decided by one goal, dating back to their last shootout at TD Place on Dec. 27. Prior to that, each of Boston’s first seven games were decided by multiple goals. Click here to see all PWHL results.
STACEY JOINS HALF CENTURY CLUB
Montréal’s Laura Stacey became the eighth PWHL player to record 50 career points as part of a multi-assist effort on Thursday, then added to her total with her first career shorthanded ‘jailbreak’ goal on Sunday. The Canadian Olympian’s 51 career points consist of 24 goals and 27 assists in 67 games. Past players to reach the half century club include Poulin, Jenner, Knight, Minnesota’s Kendall Coyne Schofield and Taylor Heise, Seattle’s Alex Carpenter and Toronto’s Daryl Watts. Seattle’s Jessie Eldridge (21G, 28A), Boston’s Alina Müller (15G, 31A) and Vancouver’s Hannah Miller (18G, 27A) are next in line for the milestone. Click here to see PWHL all-time leaders.
FAST BECOMES TORONTO’S NEW ALL-TIME LEADING SCORER
Renata Fast became the first member of the Sceptres to reach 40 career points, entirely produced in a Toronto uniform, when she scored a goal and an assist on Friday in Seattle. Her 40 points include 10 goals and 30 assists in 68 games and is one point ahead of Watts (18G, 21A) with 39 points in 46 games as a Sceptre, and Natalie Spooner (26G, 13A) with 39 points in 56 games. Miller held the previous team record with 38 points (17G, 21A) in 52 games in two seasons with Toronto. Three of the league’s six inaugural teams have maintained its top scorer through two and half seasons, including Montréal (Poulin, 64 points), Minnesota (Coyne Schofield, 56 points) and Ottawa (Jenner, 51 points). Earlier this season, Müller surpassed Knight to become Boston’s all-time leading scorer, while Carpenter’s 43 points in New York remain a team record. Sarah Fillier (40 points) has the Sirens record within reach.
LESLIE CLIMBS INTO TIE FOR SCORING LEAD
Ottawa’s Rebecca Leslie scored twice in her final game before the Olympic break, then picked up where she left off with two more tallies on Saturday to bring her season goal total to 10. She’s the third PWHL player to reach double-digits in goals this season following Frost captain Coyne Schofield (10) and Sirens rookie Kristýna Kaltounková (11). Leslie’s 16 points are also tied for first with Coyne Schofield, Jenner (8G, 8A), and Minnesota’s Britta Curl-Salemme (7G, 9A) and Heise (3G, 13A). Keller leads all defenders with 12 points (5G, 7A) and Kaltounková and teammate Casey O’Brien (5G, 7A) are tied for the rookie lead in scoring with 12 points each. Click here for PWHL leaders.
FIRST GOALS FOR HJALMARSSON, IRVING, MESSIER
Toronto’s Sara Hjalmarsson carried the momentum from her Olympic performance with Sweden (2G, 3A) back to the PWHL where she scored her first two career goals in her first two games following the break, after the fifth-round draft pick had been scoreless in her first 16 games. Montréal third-round pick Skylar Irving scored her first career PWHL goal on Thursday in her 14th game, and Sceptres rookie Lauren Messier scored her first career PWHL goal on Sunday in her fourth game. A total of 107 players have scored at least one PWHL goal so far this season, including 24 rookies. Click here to see PWHL rookie leaders.
PWHL 101
If you’re new to the PWHL or hockey in general, class is in session with ‘Professor Puck’ delivering all you need to know in a new video content series titled PWHL 101. Episode 1 will catch you up on the history and composition of the PWHL and Episode 2 covers the basics of ice hockey. New episodes will be posted regularly to the PWHL’s YouTube channel.
REMEMBERING MARC MAISONNEUVE
Prior to Sunday’s game in Montréal, a moment of silence was observed to honor the life of Marc Maisonneuve, who served as a PWHL off-ice official, among his countless contributions to the hockey community. Marc was among the first to actively promote girls’ and women’s hockey, championed opportunities for female athletes across Québec and worked on behalf of Hockey Canada to help advance the women’s game nationwide. His vision, belief, and commitment helped open doors for generations of players and strengthened the foundation of the sport we celebrate today. His passion, generosity, and dedication left a lasting mark on the hockey world, and he will be remembered not only for his contributions to the game, but for the integrity, kindness, and encouragement he shared with so many.
THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE
PWHL action continues with five games this week, beginning Tuesday night when Toronto hosts Montréal at 7 p.m. ET at Coca-Cola Coliseum where the first 6,000 fans will receive a Blayre Turnbull Bobblehead presented by Esso, while quantities last. On Wednesday, it’s Ottawa’s Indigenous Peoples Celebration Unity Game when the Charge host Seattle at 7 p.m. ET at TD Place. On Thursday, New York welcomes Boston to Prudential Center at 7 p.m. ET where the first 2,000 fans will receive a Kristýna Kaltounková Bobblehead, while quantities last. The weekend features two Sunday afternoon games at 12 p.m. ET, including the Sirens hosting the Charge at Prudential Center where the first 1,000 fans will receive an exclusive ‘In My Women’s Sports Era’ Hat in collaboration with Gotham FC, and the Sceptres will host the Frost at Coca-Cola Coliseum for Toronto’s Black History Celebration Unity Game. Full broadcast details are below and available online here.
Tuesday, March 3 – 7 PM ET
Montréal Victoire at Toronto Sceptres (Coca-Cola Coliseum)
- Canada: Prime Video
- U.S. (Out of Market): FOX 11+ Los Angeles
Wednesday, March 4 – 7 PM ET
Seattle Torrent at Ottawa Charge (TD Place)
- Canada: TSN
- U.S. (In-Market): FOX 13+
- U.S. (Out of Market): Arizona’s Family Sports, 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, Palmetto Sports & Entertainment Network, Peachtree Sports Network, Rock Entertainment Sports Network, SNP+ (Pittsburgh), South Texas Sports, Tennessee Valley Sports Network
Thursday, March 5 – 7 PM ET
Boston Fleet at New York Sirens (Prudential Center)
- Canada: Sportsnet Pacific
- U.S. (In-Market): MSGSN, NESN+
- U.S. (Out of Market): FanDuel Sports Network (Detroit, Florida, Midwest, North Extra, Ohio, Southeast, Southwest, SoCal, Wisconsin), SNP+ (Pittsburgh)
Sunday, March 8 – 12 PM ET
Ottawa Charge at New York Sirens (Prudential Center)
- Canada: Sportsnet ONE
- U.S. (In-Market): MSG, My9
Sunday, March 8 – 12 PM ET
Minnesota Frost at Toronto Sceptres (Coca-Cola Coliseum)
- Canada: TSN
- U.S. (In-Market): FanDuel Sports Network North, FOX 9+
- U.S. (Out of Market): FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin, NESN+ (Boston)
Fans around the world can continue to follow every game live via the PWHL YouTube channel and thepwhl.com, with the exception of Canada, and in Czechia and Slovakia — where Nova Sport will continue to carry games locally.