Top-seeded Montréal suffered a surprising loss in their first 2025 PWHL Playoffs game on Thursday, falling 3-2 to postseason debutant No. 3-seed Ottawa.
Despite a tense back-and-forth battle, Ottawa forward Shiann Darkangelo broke through with a third-period game-winning goal, pushing the Charge to an early lead in the best-of-five semifinal series.
The Victoire, who notably used their No. 1-seed advantage to handpick the Charge as their semis opponent, have yet to log a playoff win, adding Thursday's defeat to last season's first-round sweep by Boston.
Even so, Montréal is already viewing the loss as fuel to even the score this weekend.
"We outshot them, we had a lot of great opportunities. We were right there," said Victoire forward Laura Stacey. "If we can put that game together for a whole 60 minutes, it'll look scary I think."
Toronto takes Game 1 from defending champs Minnesota
In the PWHL's other semifinal matchup, No. 2-seed Toronto claimed a one-win advantage over No. 4-seed Minnesota on Wednesday, halting the defending champion Frost's late-season surge with a 3-2 Sceptres victory.
Captain Blayre Turnbull opened scoring in the first period, giving Toronto a lead that they never relinquished, while rookie Julia Gosling netted a second-period brace to secure the Sceptres' win.
Minnesota, acknowledging the tough road they face to return to the championship ice, has already set their eyes on Game 2.
"It's going to be a hard-fought series," said Frost head coach Ken Klee after the Frost's Game 1 loss. "We didn't get one tonight…[so now] we're looking forward to Friday."
How to watch the 2025 PWHL Playoffs this weekend
Toronto and Minnesota are back in action for Game 2 of their series at 7 PM ET on Friday, before traveling to St. Paul for Game 3 at 6 PM ET on Sunday.
Sunday will also see Montréal’s attempt to even their series with Ottawa, with the puck dropping on their Game 2 matchup at 2 PM ET.
All games will stream live on the PWHL YouTube channel.
The 2025 PWHL playoffs are officially set, with the Ottawa Charge and Minnesota Frost punching their postseason tickets in Saturday's final regular-season games to join the first-place Montréal Victoire and second-place Toronto Sceptres in the second-year league's playoff bracket.
While third-place Ottawa secured their postseason spot with a 2-1 overtime victory over Toronto on Saturday, the reigning champion Minnesota Frost staged an improbable late-season surge to claim the fourth and final playoff berth.
Needing two wins in addition to two losses from either the Charge or the Boston Fleet for a chance to defend their 2024 title, Minnesota found another gear in the season's final week.
The Frost first defeated Ottawa 3-0 last Wednesday before handing a crumbling Fleet side an 8-1 Saturday thrashing, leapfrogging Boston to narrowly advance to the playoffs following an up-and-down regular season.
Minnesota's massive momentum grab directly affected this week's 2025 PWHL semifinals pairings.
As first-place finishers, the Victoire had the opportunity to choose their first-round opponent between the third- and fourth-place finishers — with Montréal opting out of facing the Frost to instead open the playoffs against the Charge.
"This group is hungry, and we're excited for the playoffs," said Victoire captain and the 2024/25 PWHL season's top goal scorer Marie-Philip Poulin. "We're pretty excited to start the playoffs at home, in front of our fans."
Also snagging home-ice advantage is second-place Toronto, who must now overcome Minnesota in their best-of-five semifinal series to earn a spot in the 2025 Walter Cup championship series.
How to watch the 2025 PWHL Playoffs
The puck drops on the 2025 PWHL Playoffs on Wednesday, when No. 2-seed Toronto and No. 4-seed Minnesota will meet on the ice at 7 PM ET.
Top-seeded Montréal's semifinal series against No. 3-seed Ottawa will begin at 7 PM ET on Thursday.
All games will stream live on the PWHL YouTube channel.
The PWHL Player Safety Committee issued fines to two star players on Tuesday, after reviewing penalties that occurred during Saturday’s matchup between the Montréal Victoire and the New York Sirens.
Victoire forward Marie-Philip Poulin was charged a $500 fine for roughing in the second period. The Committee found that she "exhibited no attempt at playing the puck as she hit her opponent in retaliatory fashion."
Forward Dara Greig also caught a fine for a second-period penalty. There, the PWHL issued a $250 penalty charge for boarding after determining that Greig's check came "from behind and caused her opponent to impact the boards dangerously."
The league-leading Victoire went on to beat the Sirens 6-2.
Poulin pays back-to-back PWHL fines
This week’s ruling marked Greig’s first-ever PWHL fine. However, Victoire captain Poulin has now tallied two, with her first coming less than two weeks ago. That was when she incurred a $250 fine after a major penalty for charging during Montréal's 2-1 win over the Sirens on February 2nd.
In that incident, Poulin avoided an immediate "game misconduct" determination by on-ice referees. As outlined by PWHL rules, it was ruled that the charge did not cause injury to the head or face of her opponent.
Unlike Poulin's first fine, both her second and Greig's initial offense came from incidents that constituted minor penalties during competition.
PWHL monitors player safety in growing pro women's league
Operating under a new set of rules governing both gameplay and disciplinary action, the second-year women’s pro ice hockey league is still navigating how to handle penalties and when to impose fines.
Charting the league's disciplinary course is especially complex in a sport where body checking and other forms of physicality are hallmarks of the game.
When those tactics are deployed strategically, they can intensify the PWHL's already tough competition. However, that's only as long as the league's safety guardrails are clear enough to ensure player protection.
Behind a string of stellar performances, PWHL standouts Marie-Philip Poulin (Montréal), Corinne Schroeder (New York), and Sidney Morin (Boston) emerged as Monday's Stars of the Week.
After scoring two goals — including the superhero-style game-winner — in Wednesday's sold-out Takeover Tour win, Victoire captain Poulin registered an assist in front a record-breaking Denver crowd on Sunday to claim a three-point week.
Saturday belonged to Fleet defender Morin, who recorded a career-high five shots and notched both goals in Boston's 2-1 overtime win over Ottawa, doubling her single-goal scoring record last season.
The puck stops with Sirens goalie Corinne Schroeder
Sirens goaltender Schroeder made PWHL history on Sunday, becoming the first-ever goalie to record back-to-back regular-season shutouts.
New York's 1-0 victory over Toronto also made a mark, becoming the PWHL's first-ever scoreless game in regulation before New York's Jessie Eldridge found the back of the net in overtime.
Schroeder, who tops the league in average goals against (1.86) while sharing the lead in wins (5) and save percentage (0.935), hasn't conceded a goal in over 156 minutes of play.
"I think Schroeder has been our number one goalie for a long time," said Sirens coach Greg Fargo after the game. "She's been demonstrating the level of her play since day one, but there's a calmness to her game and a competitiveness that we really like right now."
How to watch PWHL games this week
While teams jockey for points one-third of the way through the PWHL's second season, individual athletes are separating themselves from the pack by tearing up the stat sheet.
The PWHL's stars are back on the ice in midweek action. First, the Toronto Sceptres visit the Ottawa Charge on Tuesday at 7 PM ET.
Then, Schroeder will try to add a third shutout to her record-setting goaltending streak when the New York Sirens host the league-leading Minnesota Frost at 7 PM ET on Wednesday.
Both games will stream live on YouTube.
This weekend saw the PWHL's second season hit the ground running with new rules, overtime upsets, and a bevy of goals punctuating opening-day wins for Toronto, Montreal, and New York.
With an elongated 2024/25 schedule including a Takeover Tour hitting nine non-market cities, the second-year league aims to harness and build on last season's momentum while eyeing 2025/26 expansion.
New PWHL 'No Escape' rule means more goals
Part of capitalizing on last year's success is an effort to increase excitement via more goals on this season's ice. To do so, the league debuted its "No Escape Rule" over the weekend, which bars players from being subbed off in the first penalty-kill face-off.
By keeping defensive specialists on the bench during early power-play moments, the PWHL is addressing the fact that defense ruled the day last season.
Though too early to properly assess, the weekend's trio of opening matchups served six power-play goals on 19 attempts, fully doubling last season’s efficiency rate.
Sceptres start second PWHL season with Boston beatdown
Toronto and Boston kicked off 2024/25 play, with Fleet captain Hilary Knight registering the league's first goal of the season three minutes into the Saturday afternoon game. Unfortunately, that would be Boston's only tally, as last season's regular-season champs took control to best the Fleet 3-1.
The Sceptres did so without the league's leading scorer, 2023/24 Billie Jean King MVP winner Natalie Spooner, who is still working back from knee surgery following her postseason injury last May.
In her stead, Sarah Nurse notched Toronto's equalizer, with Emma Maltais sending in the eventual game-winner late in the first period. Hannah Miller's power-play goal in the game's waning minutes cushioned the Sceptres' offense-heavy victory.
Overtime takes center ice to open PWHL season
The weekend's other two games needed additional time to decide a winner, with Saturday night's tilt culminating in Montreal captain Marie-Philip Poulin registering the game-winner in a shootout victory over the Ottawa Charge.
Still locked in a 3-3 tie following a scoreless overtime, Poulin's fifth-round penalty goal broke the stalemate to give the Victoire its first-ever shootout win in franchise history.
"To get that first win, it feels good to be at home, getting to have that shootout win," the 33-year-old star known as "Captain Clutch" noted after the game. "We just gotta keep going and don't take it for granted."
Notably, Ottawa goalie Emerance Maschmeyer made a massive season-opening statement in the loss, saving 42 of the 45 shots she faced to put the league's offensive lines on notice.
The biggest upset of the weekend went to New York, who defeated inaugural champions Minnesota 4-3 in overtime on Sunday. After conceding a bullet from Frost forward and 2023/24 Rookie of the Year Grace Zumwinkle 21 seconds into the game — the fastest goal in PWHL history — the Sirens kept answering to end regulation in a 3-3 tie.
With their own blink-or-you'll-miss-it moment, New York clinched the win 19 seconds into overtime, when rookie Sarah Fillier, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 PWHL Draft, found veteran star Alex Carpenter, who buried the game-winning goal.
How to watch the PWHL this week
The PWHL will be all over the ice this week prior to their mid-December international break for the Euro Hockey Tour.
In the three midweek bouts, Toronto will take aim at hosts Ottawa at 7 PM ET on Tuesday, with live coverage on the PWHL's YouTube channel.
The puck will also drop on both of Wednesday's matchups at 7 PM ET, when Minnesota will visit Boston as each battles for a season-first win while overtime victors New York and Montreal face-off to remain undefeated. Both games will stream live on YouTube, with additional regional coverage for their respective matchups on NESN in Boston and MSG Network in New York.