After an exciting first season, the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) returns on Nov. 30 with more games, rebranded team names, bigger venues and a lot more anticipation entering year two.
The regular season kicks off on Nov. 30 with a doubleheader to begin the 2024-25 season. First, the Toronto Sceptres — the new name of Toronto’s PWHL team — will host the Boston Fleet at Coca-Cola Coliseum, which will serve as the new home of the Sceptres after playing last season at the smaller Mattamy Athletic Centre.
The Montreal Victorie will then host the Ottawa Charge at Laval’s Place Bell, which will become Montreal’s primary home venue after splitting time with the smaller-capacity Verdun Auditorium last season.
For the Charge, their home campaign begins on Dec. 3 against the Sceptres who remain at TD Place Arena where they played last season.
Stateside, the reigning Walter Cup champions, Minnesota Frost, begin their title defence at home on Dec. 1 against the New York Sirens at the Xcel Energy Center, which is also home to the NHL’s Minnesota Wild.
The Sirens will also play their home games at an NHL venue, moving across the river to New Jersey to play at the Prudential Center, home of the NHL’s Devils. Looking to build strong home momentum after playing home games across three different venues last season, New York begins their home schedule on Dec. 18 against Toronto — the last home opener of the six teams — as the 2024 regular season champions come to town.
The marquee matchup of the opening week will be Boston’s home opener on Dec. 4, as the Frost return to the Tsongas Center after defeating the Fleet in game five of the Walter Cup Finals last May to claim the championship.
The two rivals will battle six times this season, including the regular season finale on May 3.
In total, there will be 90 regular season games in 2024-25, each team playing a 30-game schedule, which is an increase from the 24-game schedule last season.
Throughout the five-month season, there will be three international breaks where the schedule is paused: Dec. 9 to 16 and Feb. 3 to 10 for the Canada-U.S. Rivalry Series, and April 3 to 25 for the IIHF Women’s World Hockey Championships, which will be hosted in the Czech Republic.
There are also 14 games without a venue listed as the league looks to continue hosting “neutral site” games at NHL venues to attract larger crowds and continue the growth of women’s hockey, which was a success last season. Both Scotiabank Arena in Toronto and the Bell Centre in Montreal hosted a PWHL game last season, packing 19,285 and 21,105 fans respectively, which rank as the top two attended women’s hockey games in the world.
A U.S. record was also set last season when 13,316 fans watched Minnesota battle Montreal in January.
The league will look to continue their growth when the teams hit the ice for training camp on Nov. 12, wearing their new jerseys — set to be released in the coming weeks — featuring the new team names and logos.
For the full PWHL schedule and additional information surrounding the new season, head to thepwhl.com.