On the heels of last season’s successful "Takeover Weekends" in Detroit and Pittsburgh, the PWHL announced Monday that the league will embark on a nine-city Takeover Tour spanning nine new markets across the US and Canada this winter.

Accordingly, the tour will shift nine 2024/25 regular-season games to neutral locations, with stars hitting the ice primarily in NHL arenas.

All six teams — the Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost, Montréal Victoire, New York Sirens, Ottawa Charge, and Toronto Sceptres — will play a minimum of two tour matches. Ottawa and Montréal lead all teams with four off-site games on the docket.

According to PWHL SVP of business operations Amy Scheer, "When exploring potential locations for a PWHL game, the enthusiasm from cities eager to engage with our League was incredibly encouraging."

Ultimately, after kicking off in Seattle on January 5th, the second-year league's tour will visit Vancouver, Denver, Québec City, Buffalo, Raleigh, and Detroit before wrapping up in St. Louis on March 29th. One final city, set to host Toronto and Ottawa on February 16th, will be announced in the coming weeks.

pwhl toronto hockey team celebrate a goal on the ice.
The PWHL is looking to add two new teams for the 2025/26 season. (Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

Audience growth and league expansion fuel PWHL tour

With two teams set to join the PWHL before the puck drops on the 2025/26 season, the Takeover Tour allows the league to test potential expansion markets while simultaneously growing fan interest across North America.

"Bringing PWHL games to fans across both countries is a natural next step as we continue building our audience," noted Scheer in the league's statement.

"The PWHL Takeover Tour lets us showcase our game and exceptional athletes across a wider North American footprint — an exciting moment for our players and an important move for our business as we consider expansion."

How to attend the PWHL's 2025 Takeover Tour

Tickets for January 19th's bout between the Ottawa Charge and Montréal Victoire in Québec City are available online now. Pre-sales for all other Tour stops begin on Thursday.

Additionally, all 2024/25 tickets will be available on Friday at 10 AM in each game's local market.

The PWHL unveiled all-new uniforms for its six founding teams on Thursday, after a long process that saw players competing under generic names and logos for the duration of the league's inaugural season.

Bauer — the PWHL's exclusive game and replica home jersey provider — is the sportswear company behind the uniforms. The league also worked closely with creative agency Flower Shop to refine each team's jersey design and branding.

PWHL hockey jerseys hanging against a blue and grey brick wall.
Each team's jersey design incorporates elements unique to the club's identity. (Bauer/PWHL)

Bauer Hockey takes the lead in PWHL jersey production

"We're proud to be the official game and replica jersey partner for the PWHL, as a next step in our long-standing commitment to girls and women’s hockey," said Mary-Kay Messier, Bauer Hockey's VP of global marketing, in Thursday's PWHL press release. "We are honored to celebrate the players, outfitting them with authentic on-ice jerseys. We are equally excited to celebrate the fans, providing premium-crafted replica jerseys so they can show their passion and support for their favorite PWHL team."

Each team's jersey incorporates elements unique to the club's regional and brand identity. Accordingly, the Minnesota Frost's uniform "embraces the chill" with a deep purple and white motif, "capturing the sharpness of the frozen landscape." Meanwhile, the Boston Fleet's jersey draws on alternating colored stripes, resulting in a "wave-like pattern that evokes a strong connection to the sea."

"Working alongside the team at Bauer, we put thought behind every color, every stitch, every fabric choice — every element— to ensure these uniforms are of the highest quality," added Jayna Hefford, PWHL SVP of hockey operations. "From the design process to final production, we aimed to create uniforms that not only reflect the spirit of each team but also deliver top-tier performance and comfort for our athletes."

Minnesota Frost player models new purple PWHL jersey.
The Frost's new jersey design is meant to evoke Minnesota's cold winters. (Grace Zumwinkle/Minnesota Frost)

PWHL brings home replica jerseys to fans

"Players and fans alike have been waiting for this moment and we couldn't be happier with the six unique looks each team will don moving forward," said PWHL SVP of business operations Amy Scheer. "These jerseys mark the latest evolution in our league's history, and we can't wait to see them showcased both on the ice and in the stands."

Fans can now purchase home replica jerseys online at the Official PWHL Shop, with key retailers following on November 14th. Replica jerseys will also be available at all home games when the season kicks off on November 30th.

The Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) released its expanded 90-game 2024/25 schedule on Tuesday, with the puck dropping on the league's second season on November 30th.

The PWHL's six teams — all featuring fresh branding including new names and logos — will play 30 games each, up from 24 last hockey season.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

"Our teams and players are so eager to bring their new identities to life, and the schedule announcement elevates that sense of anticipation," stated Senior VP of Hockey Operations Jayna Hefford in an official league release.

"We have more games, new uniforms, a talented rookie class, and so much more for the PWHL community to look forward to. For our players and our fans, the season ahead will be intense, competitive, and fun."

Minnesota's Sophie Jaques lifts the Walter Cup as her teammates cheer.
Minnesota won the PWHL's inaugural championship in May, becoming the first to lift The Walter Cup. (Troy Parla/Getty Images)

PWHL teams to face each other six times

PWHL teams will play each other six times across the season, with three home and three road matchups on the schedule.

Opening day will see the Boston Fleet visit the Toronto Sceptres at 2 PM ET, with the Montréal Victoire hosting the Ottawa Charge at 5 PM ET. Last year's champions, the Minnesota Frost, will open their 2024/25 title defense at home against the New York Sirens at 6 PM ET on December 1st.

Speaking of the defending Walter Cup Champions, the Frost's second game will be a rematch of last season's deciding Game 5, as Minnesota visits 2023/24 runners-up Boston on December 4th.

PWHL regular season play will run through May 3rd, 2025, with three international breaks on the docket. They start with one-week gaps in December and February for the Women's Euro Hockey Tour and the Canada-USA Rivalry Series, followed by a 22-day pause in April for the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship.

The world women's hockey attendance record of 21,105 is displayed above Montréal's Bell Centre ice.
Montréal and Toronto set a new world women's hockey attendance record at the Bell Centre last April. (Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

Record-breaking inaugural season shifts some PWHL venues

With the first-year league seemingly breaking attendance records every few days last season, some PWHL teams moved into larger venues during the offseason to accommodate demand.

The Sceptres home ice is now Toronto's Coca-Cola Coliseum, which seats 8,140 fans — more than double the 3,850 capacity of their previous home, the Mattamy Athletic Centre. Toronto already sold out their new arena during last season's playoffs, packing 8,500 into the Coliseum.

Similarly, Quebec's Place Bell will now permanently house the Victoire, increasing Montreal's fan capacity from Verdun Auditorium's 3,795-seats to more than 10,000.

After two successful games at New Jersey's Prudential Center last season, the New York Sirens will call the NHL venue home throughout their 2024/25 campaign.

The newly released schedule also includes 14 games without a listed venue, as the PWHL solidifies plans to stage those tilts at either neutral sites or larger arenas in home markets.

It's a tactic that paid off last season, which saw Toronto and Montreal draw the sport's largest crowd on record when 21,105 packed Montreal's Bell Centre. The league also saw success in drawing hockey fans from non-PWHL cities, including Detroit and Pittsburgh.

New York's Jill Saulnier high-fives her bench during a New Year's Day 2024 PWHL game.
PWHL rosters will be in flux until November 27th. (Mark Blinch/Getty Images)

Camps and contract negotiations impact PWHL rosters

While all six teams released their training camps rosters on October 11th, final lists aren't due to the league until November 27th, after training camps and scrimmages.

Each franchise can roster a maximum of 23 players, plus an additional three reserves.

Contract negotiations can continue through the training camp period, with fans most anxiously awaiting news of Princeton University alum Sarah Fillier. The PWHL's 2024 overall No. 1 draft pick remains the league's only first-round selectee still without a signed contract.

While she features on the Sirens's training-camp list, Fillier is reportedly seeking a shorter two-year deal in order to enter negotiations in 2026 — one season earlier than the three-year contract on the table.

2024/25 PWHL season ticket packages now on sale

While the league is still finalizing broadcast details for the upcoming season, fans will be able to buy season ticket packages starting as early as Thursday, October 17th, depending on their local team's roll-out schedule.

Canadian teams are set to release single-game tickets on October 30th, with US franchises dropping theirs on November 1st.

Toronto’s Professional Women's Hockey League team skated to victory Wednesday night, kicking off the league's first playoff match with a 4-0 win over visiting Minnesota.

Natalie Spooner — the league's leading regular season goalscorer with 20 goals in 24 games — opened things up with the first playoff goal in PWSHL history at 9:47 of the first period, later notching an assist in front of Coca-Cola Coliseum's 8,473 fans. Captain Blayre Turnbull followed up Spooner's efforts with two goals of her own, securing the game's final point with just 38 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

In the defensive end, goalie Kristen Campbell put a stop to all 26 shots fired her way. With game one behind them, Toronto has pulled ahead of Minnesota 1-0 in the best-of-five series.

"It's what I believe I expect and I think what the group expects as well," head coach Troy Ryan said in postgame remarks. "Being everything we thought it would be, I think the atmosphere was incredible. I think our performance was pretty good and I think it's a great stepping-stone for us to continue to build on for this series and hopefully moving forward.

For Turnbull, the win came as a result of weeks of regular season preparation, adding that the team was "proud" of its execution throughout their first playoff game. 

"The whole season we’ve been building and building waiting to get into playoffs and trying to find our game every week and get better so that when players arrived, we are ready to go," Turnbull said. "I think there’s still a few areas that we can keep improving on, but overall, we’re pretty happy with where we’re at, so we’re excited to get back on the ice for game two."

The postseason outing continues a record-breaking regular season for the young league. In total, the PWHL set six attendance records for women’s hockey this year, with nearly 400,000 fans showing up to watch the inaugural teams take the ice over the 72-game season.

Toronto will face Minnesota at home once more in Game 2 of the series on Friday, before the teams move to Minnesota for Monday's Game 3. 

Team USA won the 2023 IIHF Women’s World Championship title on Sunday night in a thrilling come-from-behind victory. The U.S. defeated Canada, 6-3, at the CAA Centre in Brampton, Ontario, to win its 10th women’s hockey world title — and first since 2019.

The final score was not indicative of just how tight the game was. Canada led three times on Sunday night, with the U.S. coming back each time.

Tied 3-3 with just over three minutes remaining in regulation, U.S. captain Hilary Knight scored the go-ahead goal on a 5-on-3 power play — her 100th career world championship point. Knight, who also scored Team USA’s second goal of the night, completed her hat trick just 27 seconds later.

Aerin Frankel anchored the U.S. in net, turning away 24 shots.

Canada entered the final with momentum in the cross-border rivalry, having won the last two world championship titles, plus Olympic gold in 2022. Then add in that Canada was on a five-game win streak versus the U.S., which included a nine-round shootout victory during the preliminary round.

For the 22nd time in 22 tournaments, the U.S. women’s hockey team will play in the final of the IIHF Women’s World Championship.

The U.S. defeated Czechia, 9-1, at CAA Centre in Brampton, Ontario, on Saturday to book a spot in this year’s championship game (Sunday 7pm ET, NHL Network). Team USA will play the winner of Saturday’s other semifinal (Canada vs. Switzerland).

The U.S. kicked off scoring into the first period with an Amanda Kessel power play goal (video embedded below).

While Kessel’s was the only goal scored in the first period, the U.S. opened the floodgates in the second with two goals from Hilary Knight, one from Abbey Murphy, one from Abby Roque, and another from Kessel.

Czechia also recorded its lone goal of the game the second period with this snipe from 16-year-old Adéla Šapovalivová, who is making her second senior world championship appearance in Brampton (video embedded below).

 

With the win, the U.S. women’s hockey team continues its unprecedented streak of World Championship finals appearances. Beginning with the first IIHF Women’s World Championship in 1990, the U.S. has qualified for the final each and every time, winning the world title on nine occasions.

Archrival Canada has made the world championship final every year save one: 2019, when the Canadians were upset by Finland, 4-2, in the semifinal round.

Women’s Hockey World Championship – Year-by-Year Finals History

  • 1990: Canada def. United States, 5–2
  • 1992: Canada def. United States, 8–0
  • 1994: Canada def. United States, 6–3
  • 1997: Canada def. United States, 4–3 (OT)
  • 1999: Canada def. United States, 3–1
  • 2000: Canada def. United States, 3–2 (OT)
  • 2001: Canada def. United States, 3–2
  • 2003: Tournament cancelled due to SARS outbreak
  • 2004: Canada def. United States, 2–0
  • 2005: United States def. Canada, 1–0 (SO)
  • 2007: Canada def. United States, 5–1
  • 2008: United States def. Canada, 4–3
  • 2009: United States def. Canada, 4–1
  • 2011: United States def. Canada, 3–2 (OT)
  • 2012: Canada def. United States, 5–4 (OT)
  • 2013: United States def. Canada, 3–2
  • 2015: United States def. Canada, 7–5
  • 2016: United States def. Canada, 1–0 (OT)
  • 2017: United States def. Canada, 3–2 (OT)
  • 2019: United States def. Finland, 2–1 (SO)
  • 2020: Tournament cancelled due to COVID-19
  • 2021: Canada def. United States, 3–2 (OT)
  • 2022: Canada def. United States 2–1

After an up-and-down regular season, the Wisconsin Badgers put on a postseason clinic, winning the 2023 NCAA women’s hockey national championship on Sunday. With the win, the Badgers broke their tie with the University of Minnesota for most NCAA titles in women’s hockey (7).

Wisconsin defeated defending national champion Ohio State, 1-0, at AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, Minnesota. Badgers first year Kirsten Simms scored the lone goal of the game, 13 minutes into the first period. It marks the first time Ohio State’s women’s hockey team was shutout in over a year.

Despite the program’s historic success, Wisconsin didn’t enter this year’s NCAA tournament as the favorite. The Badgers had a rough start to 2023, dropping five straight games in January (including two to Ohio State). After losing to Minnesota in the WCHA Championship earlier this month, Wisconsin got an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 6 seed. They went on to defeat No. 3 Colgate in the quarterfinals, No. 2 Minnesota in the semifinals (winning with a thrilling OT goal), and then met No. 1 Ohio State in the championship game.

All seven of Wisconsin’s women’s hockey NCAA titles (2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2019, 2021, 2023) have been won under longtime Badgers head coach Mark Johnson.

Ohio State graduate student Sophie Jaques was named the 2023 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winner, which is awarded annually to the best Division I women’s college hockey player. Jaques is the first Ohio State athlete and first Black player to win the award. She is also just the second defender to receive the honor, joining Harvard’s Angela Ruggiero, who won in 2004.

“I am extremely honored and humbled to receive the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award,” Jaques said during her acceptance speech at AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, Minnesota on Saturday. “I am grateful to be a recipient of an award named after the incredible athlete, scholar and human being, Patty Kazmaier. While this is an individual award, I have been supported by a whole team of people throughout this season and my career at Ohio State, and I owe this all to my coaches and teammates over the last five years. Receiving this award is something I never even could have imagined was possible.”

Jaques is the WCHA record holder in career goals by a defenseman (61) and also owns 95 career assists. The Toronto native is the 10th Canadian winner of the Patty Kazmaier award, joining Jennifer Botterill (2001, 2003), Sara Bauer (2006), Sarah Vaillancourt (2008), Vicki Bendus (2010), Jamie Lee Rattray (2014), Ann-Renee Desbiens (2017), Daryl Watts (2018), Loren Gabel (2019), and Elizabeth Giguere (2020).

Jaques was a top-three finalist for last year’s Patty Kazmaier award and went on to help Ohio State win its first ever NCAA championship in women’s hockey. The Buckeyes will attempt to defend their national title in Sunday’s final against the Wisconsin Badgers (4 p.m. ET, ESPNU).

Last spring, Jaques graduated magna cum laude with her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and she is currently pursuing her master’s degree at Ohio State in the same field. The 22-year-old is also the vice president of SHEROs, which according to an Ohio State press release, is an “organization that provides a safe space for minority female student-athletes to have open discussions and promote diversity in sport.”

The other finalists for the 2023 Patty Kazmaier award were Northeastern University forward Alina Mueller and Colgate forward Danielle Serdachny. Mueller was also a top-three finalist in 2020.

Wisconsin freshman Caroline Harvey scored a clutch overtime winner in Friday night’s Frozen Four semifinal against the University of Minnesota to send the Badgers to Sunday’s NCAA women’s hockey championship game.

“Honestly, I blacked out, but it was pretty crazy,” Harvey said of her game-winner at AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, Minnesota.

Harvey, 20, deferred her freshman year at Wisconsin in order to compete at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, where she was the youngest member of the silver medal-winning U.S. hockey team. On Thursday, the New Hampshire native became just the second Wisconsin freshman to earn All-America honors.

Friday’s NCAA semifinal marked the sixth meeting between Minnesota and Wisconsin this season and was the third determined in overtime, with two other games ending in a tie.

Minnesota took the early lead after 2022 Patty Kazmaier winner Taylor Heise scored just over three minutes into the game. In the third period, Wisconsin scored two goals in 57 seconds with tallies from Laila Edwards and Sophie Shirley. After pulling goalie Skylar Vetter for an extra attacker, Minnesota forced overtime with 1:11 remaining in regulation thanks to a goal from Madeline Weathington.

In Friday’s other NCAA hockey semifinal, Ohio State defeated Northeastern 3-0. Ohio State enters Sunday’s championship aiming to defend its 2022 NCAA title, while Wisconsin could break the record for most NCAA titles in women’s hockey. The Badgers are currently tied with Minnesota at six titles each.

Sunday’s NCAA hockey championship game between Ohio State and Wisconsin will air on ESPNU (4 p.m. ET).

After being cancelled twice due to COVID-19 concerns, the 2021 Women’s World Championship will now be held from Aug. 20-31.

The tournament is expected to take place in Canada, though the exact location has yet to be revealed.

The announcement by the IIHF and Hockey Canada comes just one week after the world championships, set to take place in Nova Scotia from May 6-16, were called off due to an uptick in COVID-19 cases in the region.

Team USA star Kendall Coyne Schofield took to Twitter after last week’s cancellation to express her disappointment with the IIHF, specifically in the governing body’s lack of contingency planning. She was just one of several players to publicly criticize the result.

The rescheduling will be seen by some as a small step in the right direction, as players felt the IIHF’s planing failures signaled a lack of investment in the women’s game.

If the new dates hold, this will be the first women’s hockey world championship played since 2019.