PWHL sets primary home venue attendance records in New York and Toronto
Minnesota’s Taylor Heise named PWHL Player of the Week presented by SharkNinja
NEW YORK AND TORONTO (March 9, 2026) – The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) added to its record-breaking 2025-26 season in the league’s first full week of games during Women’s Empowerment Month, setting new primary home venue attendance benchmarks in Toronto on Tuesday and in New York on Sunday’s International Women’s Day. The momentum continues this week with the return of the PWHL Takeover Tour™ in Denver as part of a seven-game schedule.
PRIMARY HOME VENUE ATTENDANCE RECORDS IN NEW YORK AND TORONTO
The New York Sirens celebrated International Women’s Day with the largest home crowd in team history with 8,264 fans at Prudential Center, more than double their season average. Also on Sunday, the Toronto Sceptres had their second sold-out crowd of the week at Coca-Cola Coliseum with 8,604 fans, just days after setting a new attendance record of 8,671 fans at their primary home venue on Tuesday in the team’s first home game post-Olympics. PWHL attendance through 71 games of the 2025-26 season is 616,795, an average of 8,687 fans per game.
CELEBRATING INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY WITH MENTORSHIP AND THE 23-HOUR PLAY
Kyndryl, the founding partner of the PWHL Mentorship Program, marked International Women’s Day by hosting young girls participating in the Toronto PWHL Mentorship Program with an event designed to celebrate mentorship, foster leadership, and inspire the next generation of women in sport by connecting young girls with role models both on and off the ice. The day featured a leadership breakfast and panel discussion before a game-day experience, highlighted by an exclusive meet-and-greet with athlete mentors. Developed in partnership with Strong Girls United (SGU) and made possible with support from Kyndryl, the PWHL Mentorship Program, launched in December, engages 120 youth athletes (grades 8–9) across all eight PWHL teams.
As Daylight Savings stole an hour from International Women’s Day, the PWHL’s 23-Hour Play showed that when women get less, the answer is to give women’s sports more. Toronto’s Natalie Spooner, Minnesota’s Vanessa Upson, and New York’s Anne Cherkowski dropped their jersey numbers from 24 to 23 for Sunday’s games as a symbolic call to action that girls and women should never fall short in their access to funding, resources, and opportunity. Click here for more.
IN HEFFORD’S OWN WORDS
“As women’s hockey basks in the glory of another successful Olympics, I can’t help but look back at my own career and how much things have changed.” Those are the words of Jayna Hefford, PWHL Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations and Canadian National Women’s Team legend, who wrote a special International Women’s Day piece for hockeycanada.ca about the momentum coming out of the Olympics, and where the league — and the women’s game — are going next. Click here to read.
HEISE TAKES OVER SCORING LEAD
Minnesota’s Taylor Heise stands alone atop the PWHL scoring race with 19 points in 17 games and has been named PWHL Player of the Week presented by SharkNinja. The 25-year-old Olympic gold medalist from Lake City, MN, scored a goal and two assists in the Frost’s 3-2 overtime win against the Sceptres on Sunday, her second three-point performance in two games played in Toronto this season. Heise leads the league with 15 assists and has recorded 13 of her 19 points in her last eight games dating back to Jan. 4. Three players are tied for second with 17 points, including Ottawa’s Rebecca Leslie (10G, 7A) and Brianne Jenner (9G, 8A) and Minnesota’s Britta Curl-Salemme (7G, 10A). New York’s Casey O’Brien (5G, 9A) leads all rookies with 14 points, and Boston’s Megan Keller (5G, 7A) leads all defenders with 12 points. Click here for PWHL leaders.
PWHL TAKEOVER TOUR™ CONTINUES IN DENVER
The first PWHL Takeover Tour™ game of the league’s second half will take place Sunday when New York and Minnesota battle at Denver’s Ball Arena, presented by Woody Creek Distillers. It’s the 11th of 16 Takeover Tour™ stops overall and second in the Mile High City this season in what will be a special homecoming for Frost goaltender Nicole Hensley and rookie Peyton Anderson, the league’s only two Colorado natives. The Sirens will hold an open practice at Family Sports Center on Saturday, with an autograph session for the first 50 fans to follow. Members of the Frost will also join local youth on the ice for a Community Clinic. Minnesota won the first-ever PWHL game in Denver, defeating Montréal 4-2 on Jan. 12, 2025, before a crowd of 14,018, which at the time set a U.S. professional women’s hockey attendance record. See the full Takeover Tour™ schedule and all public events here.
BOSTON AND MONTRÉAL TIED ATOP THE STANDINGS
There is a tie for first place in the PWHL standings between Boston (9-3-2-2) and Montréal (9-4-0-5), both with 35 points and both with winning streaks tied for the longest in team history. The Fleet have won five straight games and have played two fewer games overall than the Victoire, who are winners of six straight. Minnesota (7-3-3-4) has points in seven of their last eight games and sit in third place with 30 points, followed by New York (8-0-3-8) in fourth place with 27 points after the Sirens snapped a five-game losing streak with Sunday’s win over the Charge. Ottawa (5-5-1-8) picked up three points in two games last week and currently rank in fifth place with 26 points, just ahead of Toronto (6-1-5-8), whose four-game point streak post-Olympics have them in sixth place with 25 points. Vancouver (5-1-2-9) returns to action this week with 19 points in seventh place, followed by Seattle (4-1-2-9) with 16 points in eighth. Click here to see the full PWHL standings.
FLEET ON RECORD-SETTING RUN
Boston is the first team in PWHL history to win five consecutive games by one-goal margins and have played in a league-record nine straight one-goal decisions. They have gone 3-3-2-1 in such games since Dec. 27 after opening the season with seven straight games decided by multiple goals (6-0-0-1). Boston shared the previous record of eight straight one-goal games, first set at the end of the inaugural regular season and later matched by Montréal earlier this season. The Fleet’s 1-0 victory on Thursday was also their 10th straight win over the Sirens, the longest winning streak by one team against another in PWHL history, giving them their second five-game winning streak of the season, another PWHL first. Click here to see all PWHL results.
FRANKEL FIRST TO SIX CAREER SHUTOUTS
Aerin Frankel became the first PWHL goaltender to reach six career shutouts with her 23-save performance for Boston on Thursday, also tying the single-season record of four. That record is shared by Ann-Renée Desbiens, who has four shutouts this season for Montréal, and Seattle’s Corinne Schroeder who posted four shutouts last season with New York. Both are tied with five career shutouts. Frankel and Desbiens each have 11 wins in 15 starts this season and have allowed one or fewer goals against in 10 of their games. Desbiens’ 1.06 goals-against average and .958 save percentage are just narrowly ahead of Frankel’s 1.30 and .948 marks. Click here to see this season’s goaltending leaders.
FOUR FIRST-TIME MOMENTS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
Tuesday’s shootout between Montréal and Toronto was the first in PWHL history to feature seven goals, beating the previous record of five. Seattle’s Alex Carpenter scored the first penalty shot in PWHL history, ending a streak of seven scoreless attempts since the league’s inaugural season. Wednesday in Ottawa also featured Torrent forward Julia Gosling becoming the first skater in regular-season history to record 10 shots on goal. Thursday’s 1-0 final between Boston and New York was not the first game by that score, but Fleet rookie Ella Huber is the lone player in five such instances to score an unassisted goal and be the only player credited with a single point in a PWHL game.
ELDRIDGE SURPASSES 50 CAREER POINTS
Seattle’s Jessie Eldridge scored two power-play goals on Wednesday to reach and surpass the half-century club for career points, becoming the ninth player in PWHL history to hit the milestone, all of whom have done so this season. She’s the hottest player in the PWHL with points in five straight games (5G, 4A) and now sits with 51 points (23G, 28A) in 70 career games. The Torrent now have three players with 50 or more career points with alternate captain Carpenter (25G, 30A) and captain Hilary Knight (24G, 26A), the most of any PWHL team. Click here to see PWHL all-time leaders.
KNIGHT CELEBRATES USA HOCKEY MILESTONE
USA Hockey announced Friday that the organization has welcomed its 100,000th registrant in girls’ and women’s hockey for the 2025-26 season, marking a milestone never before reached. Knight, who captained the U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team to gold in Milan, made a surprise visit to meet 13-year-old Joanna Gilligan of the Utah Mammoth’s new all-girls league, who was officially declared the 100,000th female registrant. Click here for more.
FIELD SET FOR NATIONAL COLLEGIATE WOMEN’S ICE HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP
The NCAA Women’s Ice Hockey Committee announced Sunday the field of 11 teams that will compete in the 25th National Collegiate Women’s Ice Hockey Championship, a group that largely represents the next wave of PWHL talent. Five conferences were awarded automatic bids for the 2026 tournament, and the remaining six teams were selected at-large. The automatic qualifiers are Penn State (Atlantic Hockey America), Quinnipiac (ECAC Hockey), UConn (Hockey East), Franklin Pierce (New England Women’s Hockey Alliance) and Ohio State (Western Collegiate Hockey Alliance). The teams selected at-large are Minnesota, Minnesota Duluth, Northeastern, Princeton, Wisconsin and Yale. Regional semifinals will be played on Mar. 12 with the regional finals taking place on Mar. 14. Click here for more.
TOP 10 FINALISTS NAMED FOR PATTY KAZMAIER MEMORIAL AWARD
The 10 finalists for the 2026 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award were announced Thursday by the USA Hockey Foundation. First presented in 1998, the annual award for the top player in NCAA Division I Women’s Ice Hockey, has been won by 12 players now competing in the PWHL. This year’s finalists are goaltender Tia Chan (Connecticut), defender Caroline Harvey (Wisconsin), and forwards Joy Dunne (Ohio State), Lacey Eden (Wisconsin), Laila Edwards (Wisconsin), Tessa Janecke (Penn State), Kahlen Lamarche (Quinnipiac), Abbey Murphy (Minnesota), Kirsten Simms (Wisconsin), and Issy Wunder (Princeton). The top three finalists are expected to be announced on Wednesday, with the winner being revealed on Mar. 21 as the highlight of Saturday at the NCAA Women’s Frozen Four on the campus of Penn State University. Click here for more.
THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE
The PWHL schedule resumes on Tuesday night with Vancouver’s First Nations Celebration Unity Game at 10 p.m. ET when the team hosts Boston at Pacific Coliseum. The Fleet are right back in action on Wednesday in Seattle to take on the Torrent at Climate Pledge Arena at 10 p.m. ET where the first 6,000 fans in attendance will receive a Cayla Barnes Bobblehead, while quantities last. On Friday, it’s Minnesota’s first home game since the Olympic break as they welcome the Torrent and celebrate all Olympians at 8 p.m. ET at Grand Casino Arena. The Goldeneyes will play their second home game of the week on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. ET when the Charge make their second visit to Pacific Coliseum. The week wraps up with three afternoon games on Sunday, including Montréal’s Indigenous Peoples Celebration Unity Game at 1 p.m. ET at Place Bell against Boston, Toronto’s Kids and Youth Hockey Day at 1 p.m. ET at Coca-Cola Coliseum against Seattle, and the PWHL Takeover Tour™ at Denver’s Ball Arena between New York and Minnesota at 4 p.m. ET. Full broadcast details are below and available online here.
Tuesday, March 10 – 10 PM ET
Boston Fleet at Vancouver Goldeneyes (Pacific Coliseum)
- Canada: Prime Video
- U.S. (In-Market): NESN, NESN+
- U.S. (Out of Market): SNP+ (Pittsburgh)
Wednesday, March 11 – 10 PM ET
Boston Fleet at Seattle Torrent (Climate Pledge Arena)
- Canada: TSN
- U.S. (In-Market): FOX 13+, NESN
- U.S. (Out of Market): Last Frontier Sports & Entertainment Network (Alaska), SNP (Pittsburgh), FanDuel Detroit, Florida, Midwest, Ohio Extra, South, Southwest & West
Friday, March 13 – 8 PM ET
Seattle Torrent at Minnesota Frost (Grand Casino Arena)
- Canada: TSN
- U.S. (In-Market): FanDuel Sports Network North, FOX 9+, KONG
- U.S. (Out of Market): FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin, NESN+ (Boston), SNP (Pittsburgh)
Saturday, March 14 – 3 PM ET
Ottawa Charge at Vancouver Goldeneyes (Pacific Coliseum)
- Canada: CBC and CBC Gem
- U.S. (Out of Market): FanDuel Sports Network (Detroit, Midwest, North Extra, Ohio, Southeast, Southwest, SoCal, Wisconsin Extra), FOX 10 Xtra Phoenix
Sunday, March 15 – 1 PM ET
Boston Fleet at Montréal Victoire (Place Bell)
- Canada: Sportsnet 360, RDS
- U.S. (In-Market): NESN+, TV 38
- U.S. (Out of Market): SNP+ (Pittsburgh)
Sunday, March 15 – 1 PM ET
Seattle Torrent at Toronto Sceptres (Coca-Cola Coliseum)
- Canada: TSN
- U.S. (In-Market): FOX 13+
- U.S. (Out of Market): Last Frontier Sports & Entertainment Network (Alaska), Matrix Midwest (St. Louis)
Sunday, March 15 – 4 PM ET – PWHL Takeover Tour
New York Sirens vs. Minnesota Frost (Ball Arena – Denver, CO)
- Canada: Sportsnet
- U.S. (In-Market): KTVD 20 Denver, FanDuel Sports Network North, FOX 9+, MSGSN
- U.S. (Out of Market): FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin Extra, FOX 11+ Los Angeles, Matrix Midwest (St. Louis), NESN+ (Boston), SNP+ (Pittsburgh)
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.