PWHL attendance to surpass 1 million fans in 2025-26 regular season
Montréal’s Ann-Renée Desbiens named PWHL Player of the Week presented by SharkNinja
NEW YORK AND TORONTO (April 13, 2026) – The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) will reach a new attendance milestone this week by surpassing 1 million fans in a single regular season for the first time in the league’s three-year history. The milestone will come just days after Saturday’s sold-out crowd of 17,850 for the league’s first-ever game at Boston’s TD Garden and the completion of the 16-game PWHL Takeover Tour™ this past week in Edmonton. Only 15 games remain in the 2025-26 regular season with five teams still in contention for the fourth and final berth in the PWHL Walter Cup Playoffs.
1 MILLION FANS WITHIN REACH
PWHL attendance through 105 games of the 2025-26 regular season stands at 976,219, just 23,781 away from reaching the 1 million milestone. This season’s average attendance is 9,297 fans per game, nearly a 29% increase over the average attendance across all 102 games played in 2024-25, including playoffs. The crowd of 17,850 at TD Garden set a new attendance record for a Boston Fleet home game, ranks second all-time in U.S. arena attendance for a women’s hockey game, is the fourth largest attendance of the 2025-26 season, and ninth largest in PWHL history.
HISTORY AT THE GARDEN
Boston’s TD Garden was the 35th venue to host a PWHL game all-time and 21st with a current NHL team. In three seasons, the PWHL has hosted sold-out games in nine NHL venues, including Boston, Edmonton, Montréal, New York, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, Washington, D.C., and Winnipeg. Saturday’s game, presented by Bentley University, was part of Hockey Day in Boston with a Bruins-Fleet doubleheader at TD Garden, and support was shown both ways as members of the Bruins wore Fleet jerseys for their walk-ins, and Fleet players wore Bruins jerseys for their Boston sports-themed arrivals. Hockey Hall of Famer and Bruins legend Zdeno Chara, performed the ceremonial puck drop with Fleet captain Megan Keller and Victoire rookie Skylar Irving, a native of Kingston, MA, who won two Women’s Beanpot titles at TD Garden with Northeastern. The game was also a highlight of the PWHL’s Fantasy Camp in Boston with a Pregame Panel for participants that capped two days of training led by Fleet staff and experiences alongside legends and former pros like Kacey Bellamy, Tessa Bonhomme, Emma Buckles, Jillian Dempsey, Meghan Duggan, Courtney Kennedy, and Gigi Marvin. On the ice, the visiting Victoire emerged with a 1-0 win in the first of two games in seven days between the league’s top two teams, posting the 26th shutout of the PWHL season. Click here to see all PWHL results.
TAKEOVER TOUR REACHES NEARLY 200,000 FANS
Edmonton’s Rogers Place hosted the final game of the 2025-26 PWHL Takeover Tour™ last Tuesday with a crowd of 10,794, bringing the 16-game total attendance to 199,631, an average of 12,477 fans per game across 11 different neutral site markets this season. With the crowd of 16,150 on Apr. 1 at Calgary’s Scotiabank Saddledome, Alberta’s four-game PWHL attendance in two seasons totaled 54,726, the most in any province or state outside the league’s primary markets. Boston’s 5-1 win over Vancouver on Tuesday was the largest margin of victory in Takeover Tour games this season, with only four of the 16 games decided by multiple goals. Click here for more about the PWHL Takeover Tour™.
TAKEOVER TOUR LEADERS
Montréal led the way with nine points in five Takeover Tour games (.600), but Minnesota posted the highest points percentage (.667) by earning six points in three games. Toronto (.556) and Boston (.444) also played in three Takeover Tour games and earned five and four points, respectively. Vancouver (.467) and New York (.400) both played five Takeover Tour games and earned seven and six points, respectively. Ottawa (.500) and Seattle (.417) each played four Takeover Tour games with six and five points, respectively. Offensively, Sirens rookie Casey O’Brien scored the most Takeover Tour goals with four, and defender Jaime Bourbonnais contributed the most Takeover Tour assists and points with six. Ann-Renée Desbiens of the Victoire led all goaltenders with three Takeover Tour wins and one shutout. A total of 96 players found the scoresheet in Takeover Tour games, including 46 different goal scorers, and 12 goaltenders appeared between the pipes with 10 of them earning wins.
DOMINANT DESBIENS
Desbiens extended the Victoire’s winning streak to six games with a pair of victories last week, including one shutout for a 0.50 goals-against average and .978 save percentage and has been named PWHL Player of the Week presented by SharkNinja. The 32-year-old from Clermont, QC, made 24 saves in a 4-1 win over Seattle last Tuesday, then stopped all 20 shots faced in the 1-0 victory over Boston at TD Garden on Saturday. The shutout was her seventh of the season and the win was her 17th, tied with Boston’s Aerin Frankel for the league lead and a share of single-season records in both categories. Desbiens has won five straight starts for the second time this season and has surrendered only two goals in that stretch. Her 1.08 GAA and .956 SV% so far this season are better than the 1.86 and .932 marks she posted when awarded 2025 PWHL Goaltender of the Year honors. Click here to see this season’s goaltending leaders.
VICTOIRE RETAIN FIRST PLACE
Montréal (16-4-2-5) became the first team in PWHL history to win 20 games in a single regular season and have set a new benchmark for points with 58. Boston (14-5-2-5) had their five-game winning streak snapped by the Victoire but remain in second place with 54 points and a game in hand. Minnesota (13-3-4-6) has won 16 games for the first time in team history, and their two-game streak has them in third place with 49 points. Montréal could clinch the league’s top spot as early as Friday with a regulation win against Boston, however that scenario will only be in play if the Frost beat the Fleet in overtime or a shootout on Wednesday. The fourth and final playoff spot is still up for grabs but currently held by Ottawa (7-7-1-12) with 36 points and three games remaining following Saturday’s regulation win over the Sceptres. All four other teams have four games to play with Toronto (9-1-5-11) in fifth with 34 points, New York (8-2-3-13) in sixth with 31 points, Vancouver (7-1-4-14) in seventh with 27 points, and Seattle (7-1-3-15) in eighth with 26 points. Click here to see the full PWHL standings.
ELIMINATION SCENARIOS
Up to three teams could be eliminated from playoff contention this week, and at least one elimination will occur on Tuesday when Seattle visits Vancouver. The Torrent need a regulation win to keep their playoff hopes alive and the Goldeneyes need a win to stay in the playoff race. Both teams would be eliminated Tuesday if Seattle beats Vancouver in overtime or a shootout. New York needs at least two points in their next two games against Toronto and Ottawa to stay alive, pending the outcome of Sunday’s game between Toronto and Minnesota. When a team is officially eliminated from playoff contention, points in their remaining games are considered ‘draft order points’, and the non-playoff team with the most draft order points will earn the first overall pick in the 2026 PWHL Entry Draft. Click here for the playoff tiebreaker procedure.
MONTRÉAL’S RECORD STREAK
The Victoire’s record point streak has reached 15 games since Jan. 21 (11-2-2-0) which represents half of their 30-game schedule. Seven of those games have been played at Place Bell (6-0-1-0) and eight of them away from home (5-2-1-0). During this stretch they have defeated all seven other teams in regulation at least once, have 10 wins by multiple goals, six shutouts, and have outscored the opposition 44-15. Sixteen different players have at least one goal during the streak and 22 different players have at least one point, including both goaltenders. They have scored nine power-play goals in seven of the 15 games for a conversion rate of 23.1%, while only conceding two goals when short-handed for a penalty kill success rate of 95.2%. Nine of the 15 games during the streak have also been played without captain Marie-Philip Poulin, the league’s all-time leading scorer.
SHE SHOOTS SHE SCORES
Fans tuning in to recent PWHL broadcasts may have seen the league’s latest hype video that features the song, She Shoots She Scores, written and performed by Frost defender Jincy Roese. The track is inspired by her hockey journey, experience in the PWHL, and what the league and women’s hockey mean to the players. The song, recorded remotely from her New York apartment with a Los Angeles-based producer, features more than 600 vocal tracks layered to create the final sound. Roese’s vocals should already be familiar to PWHL fans after she famously performed the Canadian anthem last season in Ottawa as a member of the Charge.
PANNEK TIES SINGLE-SEASON POINTS RECORD
Minnesota’s Kelly Pannek is one point away from becoming the first PWHL player to record 30 points in a single season. The Frost alternate captain’s 29 points (14G, 15A) in 26 games has tied last season’s co-scoring leaders Hilary Knight (15G, 14A) and Sarah Fillier (13G, 16A), who both hit 29 points in 30 games. Taylor Heise has scored in four straight games and ranks second with 27 points, one ahead of teammate Britta Curl-Salemme’s 26 points, with both Frost forwards tying the league’s single-season assist record of 16. The trio headlines the PWHL’s scoring race that features 10 different players with at least 20 points and 10 who have reached double digits in goals. Click here for PWHL leaders.
STACEY STAYS HOT ON BOBBLEHEAD NIGHT
Montréal’s Laura Stacey is currently riding the league’s longest active point streak at five games (2G, 4A) and has climbed into a tie for fourth in league scoring with 21 points (7G, 14A) in 27 games. The Victoire alternate captain has 14 points (5G, 9A) during the team’s current 15-game point streak, firing 57 shots on goal in that stretch, putting her one shy of the single-season record of 112 shots on goal she set in 2024-25. Her game-winning goal last Tuesday against Seattle made her just the second player in PWHL history, following Toronto captain Blayre Turnbull, to score a goal in the same game as her bobblehead giveaway. This season, PWHL teams won 10 of the 15 games that accompanied the league’s first-ever bobblehead giveaways, including a win by Frankel and a shutout by Desbiens the same games they were honored.
ROQUE AND ZUMWINKLE RECORD 50 CAREER POINTS
The PWHL’s half-century club for career points welcomed two new players last week in Montréal’s Abby Roque (19G, 31A) and Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle (27G, 23A). Roque picked up an assist for her 50th career point in her 79th game last Tuesday, which includes 20 points (7G, 13A) as a member of the Victoire. Zumwinkle met the milestone with two assists in her 72nd career game on Saturday, with her third straight multi-point performance bringing her season point total to 21 (12G, 9A). A total of 13 players have recorded their 50th career points this season, and seven more players are all within five of the mark. Click here for all-time PWHL leaders.
PHILIPS SETS SHUTOUT SAVES RECORD
Ottawa’s Gwyneth Philips turned aside all 42 shots faced in a 2-0 win over Toronto on Saturday for her 13th win and second shutout of the season. The 42 saves are the most in a shutout victory in PWHL history, surpassing the 41 stopped by Frankel back on Feb. 25, 2024, and the 39 by Montréal’s Sandra Abstreiter against the Charge on Apr. 3. Her 42 saves are also tied for the most in a game this season along with New York’s Kayle Osborne (Jan. 2 in a 4-3 win over Montréal) and Vancouver’s Emerance Maschmeyer (Jan. 17 in a 2-1 overtime loss to Toronto). Elaine Chuli holds the single-game record with 45 saves with Montréal during the inaugural season (Jan. 24, 2024 in a 2-1 win over Minnesota). Philips is the first goaltender in PWHL history to make 25 starts in a season and her record 698 saves are 139 more than the next highest netminder.
FIRST CAREER GOAL FOR HABISCH
Jada Habisch became the first rookie in Seattle history to score a PWHL goal last Wednesday, with the opening tally in a 5-3 Torrent victory over the Charge. The milestone marker came in her seventh career game and just her second shot on goal since being selected by Seattle in the fourth round of the 2025 PWHL Draft. The University of Connecticut graduate is one of 126 different goal scorers across the PWHL this season, including 27 rookies. Click here for PWHL rookie leaders.
IIHF DIA WOMEN’S WORLDS ARE UNDERWAY
The 2026 IIHF Division I – Group A Women’s World Championship is underway in Budapest, Hungary, and the PWHL is represented by Olympians Kristin Della Rovere (Toronto) and Nadia Mattivi (Montréal) on Team Italy. Della Rovere has a goal and three assists and Mattivi has three assists through Italy’s opening two victories over Norway and Slovakia. They’ll play France on Wednesday, Hungary on Friday, and complete the round robin against China on Saturday. The top finisher among the six competing teams will be promoted into the top division for the 2027 Women’s Worlds. Click here for more.
SCHEDULE UPDATES
Start times for three of the four games on Saturday, Apr. 25, the final day of the regular season, have been confirmed. Boston will host New York at 12 p.m. ET, Vancouver will host Minnesota at 7 p.m. ET, and Seattle will host Montréal at 10 p.m. ET. The start time for Ottawa and Toronto at TD Place is still to be determined.
THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE
The PWHL playoff race continues Tuesday night with an all-expansion matchup between Seattle and Vancouver at Pacific Coliseum where the first 6,000 fans will receive an exclusive Barbie™ x Goldeneyes Belt Bag. Wednesday features two games at 7 p.m. ET with Boston hosting Minnesota as the Fleet celebrate Community Heroes at the Tsongas Center, and New York hosts Toronto for the Sirens Pride Celebration Unity Game presented by e.l.f. Cosmetics at Prudential Center. The Victoire Pride Celebration Unity Game will take place Friday night at 7 p.m. ET when they host the Fleet at Place Bell, then it’s the Charge Pride Celebration Unity Game presented by e.l.f. Cosmetics on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET at TD Place. Seattle and Vancouver battle again on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET, this time at Climate Pledge Arena for the Torrent’s Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Celebration Unity Game. The week wraps up Sunday with Minnesota hosting Toronto at 1:30 p.m. ET for Frost Fan Appreciation. Full broadcast details are below and available online here.
Tuesday, April 14 – 10 PM ET
Seattle Torrent at Vancouver Goldeneyes (Pacific Coliseum)
- Canada: Prime Video
- U.S. (In-Market): FOX 13+
- U.S. (Out of Market): Last Frontier Sports & Entertainment Network (Alaska), Scripps Sports
Wednesday, April 15 – 7 PM ET
Minnesota Frost at Boston Fleet (Tsongas Center)
- Canada: TSN+
- U.S. (In-Market): NESN, TV 38, FanDuel Sports Network North, FOX 9+
- U.S. (Out of Market): FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin Extra, SNP+ (Pittsburgh), Scripps Sports
Wednesday, April 15 – 7 PM ET
Toronto Sceptres at New York Sirens (Prudential Center)
- Canada: TSN
- U.S. (In-Market): MSG
- 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), Palmetto Sports & Entertainment Network, Peachtree Sports Network, Rock Entertainment Sports Network, Tennessee Valley Sports Network
Friday, April 17 – 7 PM ET
Boston Fleet at Montréal Victoire (Place Bell)
- Canada: TSN and RDS
- U.S. (In-Market): NESN
- U.S. (Out of Market): SNP+ (Pittsburgh)
Saturday, April 18 – 2 PM ET
New York Sirens at Ottawa Charge (TD Place)
- Canada: CBC and CBC Gem
- U.S. (In-Market): MSG, My9
- U.S. (Out of Market): FanDuel Sports Network (North, Southwest), FOX 11+ Los Angeles
Saturday, April 18 – 5 PM ET
Vancouver Goldeneyes at Seattle Torrent (Climate Pledge Arena)
- Canada: TSN
- U.S. (In-Market): KONG
Sunday, April 19 – 1:30 PM ET
Toronto Sceptres at Minnesota Frost (Grand Casino Arena)
- Canada: TSN
- U.S. (In-Market): FanDuel Sports Network North, FOX 9+
- U.S. (Out of Market): FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin Extra, FOX 10 Xtra Phoenix, Scripps Sports
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.