Pulse of the PWHL: The Postseason is Here!
For the second straight year, the chase for Professional Women’s Hockey league playoff berths went right to the wire. And once again, the drama provided by the final week of the regular season was spectacular.
In the end, the second edition of the Walter Cup Playoffs will feature the league’s four best teams, according to the standings at least, competing in best-of-five semifinal series that begin Wednesday night at 7 p.m. EDT.
By rule, the regular-season champion Montreal Victoire were permitted to choose their opening-round opponent Sunday, and their choice was the third-place Ottawa Charge, setting up the league’s first all-Canadian postseason matchup. The other best-of-five semifinal features the second-place Toronto Sceptres taking on the fourth-place and defending-champion Minnesota Frost.
The Toronto-Minnesota showdown is a rematch of one of last year’s semifinals, a thrilling five-game series that turned when high-scoring Sceptres forward Natalie Spooner, who led the league with 27 points in 24 games, suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Minnesota had fought its way into the postseason as the fourth seed and dropped the first two contests of the series before Spooner went down. The soon-to-be-named Frost went on to win the next three games against the regular-season champs to advance to the Walter Cup Finals. They would become the first team to capture the Walter Cup with a 3-0 road win against Boston in Game 5 of the Finals.
The Final Countdown
While last year’s final week of PWHL play certainly produced plenty of drama, this year’s second regular season literally came down to the last day of the season with the final two playoff berths still up for grabs.
Ottawa’s Katerina Markova scored 2:52 into overtime as the Charge earned a 2-1 victory on the road against Toronto to secure third place for her team. It was just the second-ever OT victory for Ottawa, and its first on the road.
Meanwhile, at the Tsongas Center outside of Boston, the defending champions from Minnesota stormed past the host Fleet, scoring three first-period goals and rolling to an 8-1 playoff-clinching win.
Britta Curl-Salemme and Sophie Jacques each contributed two of the eight Frost goals, while Grace Zumwinkle and Liz Schepers dished out three and two assists, respectively. Minnesota’s eight goals tied the league record for tallies in a game and produced the largest margin of victory in league history. It marked the fifth time in the 2024-25 campaign that a team had scored six or more goals, with the Frost putting off the feet twice.
And the Survey Says
A final look at the 2024-25 PWHL regular-season standings:
- Montreal Victoire - 12W 7OTW 3OTL 53 PTS
- Toronto Sceptres - 12W 3OTW 6OTL 48 PTS
- Ottawa Charge - 12W, 2OTW 4OTL 44 PTS
- Minnesota Frost - 10W 5OTW 4OTL 44 PTS
- Boston Fleet - 9W 6OTW 5OTL 10L 44 PTS
- New York Sirens - 8W 4OTW 5OTL 13L 37 PTS
Review/Preview
Taking a look back at the how the teams playing in the semifinals fared against each other during the regular season, Montreal posted a 3-1-0-2 record against Ottawa, while Minnesota was 2-2-1-1 against Toronto. Here is the semifinal schedule:
PWHL Semifinals Schedule
Montreal Victoire (#1) vs. Ottawa Charge (#3)
Thursday, May 8, 2025
Game 1: Ottawa at Montréal (Place Bell) at 7 p.m. EDT
Sunday, May 11, 2025
Game 2: Ottawa at Montréal (Place Bell) at 2 p.m. EDT
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
Game 3: Montréal at Ottawa (TD Place) at 7 p.m. EDT
Friday, May 16, 2025
Game 4: Montréal at Ottawa (TD Place) at 7 p.m. EDT*
Sunday, May 18, 2025
Game 5: Ottawa at Montréal (Place Bell) at 7 p.m. ETD*
*If necessary
Toronto Sceptres (#2) vs. Minnesota Frost (#4)
Wednesday, May 7, 2025
Game 1: Minnesota at Toronto (Coca-Cola Coliseum) at 7 p.m. EDT
Friday, May 9, 2025
Game 2: Minnesota at Toronto (Coca-Cola Coliseum) at 7 p.m. EDT
Sunday, May 11, 2025
Game 3: Toronto at Minnesota (Xcel Energy Center) at 6 p.m. EDT
Wednesday, May 14, 2025
Game 4: Toronto at Minnesota (Xcel Energy Center) at 7 p.m. EDT*
Saturday, May 17, 2025
Game 5: Minnesota at Toronto (Coca-Cola Coliseum) at TBD*
*If necessary
Leaderboards Don’t Lie
It stands to reason that many of the PWHL’s regular-season statistical leaders will be participating in this year’s semifinals.
Toronto’s Daryl Watts ranked second in points with 27, two behind New York’s Sarah Fillier and Boston captain Hilary Knight, while Montreal’s Marie-Philip Poulin and Minnesota’s Kendall Coyne Schofield were next in line with 26 and 24 points, respectively.
Poulin led all players in goals with 19, four more than Knight, while Ottawa’s Tereza Vanisova also potted 15. Watts ranked fifth in goals with 12.
Toronto forward Renata Fast tied Fillier for the league lead in assists with 16. They were followed by Sophie Jaques of Minnesota and Watts, each of whom handed out 15 helpers.
Montreal goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens led the league in wins with 15, save percentage (.932) and goals-against average (1.86) to capture the unofficial goaltending triple crown. Toronto’s Kristen Campbell was fourth in wins with nine and goals-against average (2.25). Ottawa’s Gwyneth Phillips ranked fifth in victories with eight, fourth in save percentage (.919) and third in GAA (2.11). Ottawa’s Emerance Maschmeyer was fifth in save percentage (.913), while Minnesota’s Maddie Rooney ranked second in GAA at 2.07.
How to Watch the PWHL Playoffs
In Canada, coverage of the PWHL Semifinals will be shared by TSN/RDS and Prime Video. Montreal vs. Ottawa can be viewed on TSN and RDS, while the Toronto-Minnesota series will be available on Prime Video.
TSN and RDS will provide exclusive Canadian coverage of the PWHL Finals.
United States viewers will be able to watch the games via the teams’ local and regional broadcast partners (check your service proivder's listings) and on the PWHL YouTube channel.
Women’s Hockey Goes West
As if the excitement of the PWHL’s push for the playoffs wasn’t enough, the league recently announced that it will expand west for the 2025-26 season by adding franchises in Vancouver and Seattle. With the addition of the leaague's seventh and eighth teams, the PWHL’s regular season also will increase to 30 games.
Vancouver was presented as the league’s seventh franchise April 23. The Pacific Coliseum will serve as the team’s home venue, and the players will be dressed in Pacific Blue- and cream-colored uniforms. More than 19,000 fans were on hand when the PWHL came to Rogers Arena Jan. 8 for one of its Takeover Tour games.
“This is a significant milestone for the PWHL and for the growth of women’s hockey,” Jayna Hefford, PWHL Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations, said in in making the announcement. “Expansion creates new opportunities for more elite athletes to continue their professional careers at the highest level. It’s fitting that this next chapter features Vancouver—a city with a rich history in women’s hockey.
Seattle was added as a PWHL host city a week later on April 30. The team’s colors will be emerald green and blue, and Climate Pledge Arena will serve as the home arena. A crowd of 12,608 turned out at that venue to view a PWHL Takeover Tour game Jan. 5.
“There is so much passion from women’s and girls’ hockey organizations in Seattle, and our players thrived on that energy during their Takeover Tour visit,” Hefford said. “Women’s teams from Seattle and Vancouver played against each other as early as 1921 and, given the proximity of our two newest cities – Vancouver is barely 140 miles away – I cannot wait for the first game in what I’m sure will be one of our fiercest rivalries.
