All-time attendance record headlines historic three-game Saturday that attracted 34,347 fans
NEW YORK AND TORONTO (April 23, 2024) – Here’s a look at highlights from the last week of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) season, plus a look ahead to this week’s action.
ALL-TIME ATTENDANCE RECORD OF 21,105, HISTORIC SINGLE-DAY TOTAL OF 34,347
A sold-out crowd of 21,105 for the PWHL’s Duel at the Top presented by Rogers became the largest attendance ever recorded for a women’s hockey game worldwide. The game Saturday between Montréal and Toronto at the Bell Centre also launched the busiest day of the season with all six teams in action. The historic day, that also featured games between New York and Boston, and Ottawa and Minnesota, attracted a total attendance of 34,347. New York hosted a game at Prudential Center, the league’s seventh NHL venue, and welcomed its largest home crowd of the season: 5,132. A crowd of 8,110 packed The Arena at TD Place, marking the sixth time in 10 home games that Ottawa has exceeded 8,000 fans. The league’s total attendance through 62 games is 345,534 – an average of 5,573 per game.
FAMOUS FACES AT ‘THE ROCK’
Several special guests were in attendance for New York’s Prudential Center debut on Saturday. Sports icon and PWHL Advisory Board member Billie Jean King was accompanied by Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani female education activist and the youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate in history, who was attending her first women’s ice hockey game. The ceremonial puck-drop was performed by Ali Krieger, a two-time World Cup winner with the U.S. Women’s National Team and a 2023 NWSL Champion with Gotham FC.
CHASING THE CHAMPIONSHIP
Toronto (10-4-0-7) leads the league standings with 38 points and became the first team to officially clinch one of the league’s four playoff spots with their win over Montréal on Saturday.
Montréal (8-3-5-5) and Minnesota (8-4-3-6) are tied with 35 points and have the potential to punch their playoff tickets on Wednesday. Montréal can clinch with a win in regulation against New York, or if Ottawa beats Boston in regulation. Montréal can also clinch with an overtime/shootout win if Boston does not beat Ottawa in regulation, or with an overtime/shootout loss combined with a Boston loss of any kind. Even though Minnesota does not play on Wednesday, they can clinch a playoff berth if Boston loses to Ottawa in regulation.
Ottawa (8-0-6-6) holds fourth place with 30 points and four games remaining, while Boston (6-4-2-9) is in fifth place with 28 points and three games remaining. One point or more for Ottawa in their game against Boston on Wednesday would give Ottawa the potential to clinch a playoff spot as early as Saturday and subsequently put Boston at risk of playoff elimination.
New York (3-4-3-10) is in sixth place with 20 points and four games remaining. They can stay alive in the playoff race is with a win over Montréal in regulation on Wednesday combined with a Boston win over Ottawa. If eliminated from playoff contention, New York’s game on Sunday would be the first to count towards earning ‘Draft Order Points’ for the opportunity to select first overall in the 2024 PWHL Draft. See full standings here.
CENTRALIZED VIDEO REVIEW
During last week’s games, the league transitioned to utilizing centralized video review at Dome Productions headquarters in Toronto. For the duration of the regular-season and PWHL Playoffs, a league appointed Video Review Judge will make the final call on all situations based on league, official, and coach-initiated reviews. A dedicated technical team at Dome Productions will manage all feeds for the Video Review Judge and calls will be communicated to officials in-venue.
BOSTON, NEW YORK, OTTAWA MAKE SPECIAL APPEARANCES
Last week a trio of PWHL teams were special guests at unique events in their communities. Members of PWHL New York attended the NWSL home opener for Gotham FC and then watched history unfold live at the WNBA Draft. On Tuesday, PWHL Boston attended the Boston Red Sox game and were recognized on the field where captain Hilary Knight threw out the ceremonial first pitch. On Wednesday, members of PWHL Ottawa visited the Canadian Senate where they were hosted by Canadian Senator Kim Pate and welcomed with an introductory speech ahead of the formal sitting.
HEFFORD AND NURSE MAKE MACLEAN’S POWER LIST
Jayna Hefford, PWHL Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations, and PWHL Toronto forward Sarah Nurse, have been recognized by Maclean’s as two of the 100 Most Powerful Canadians for 2024. The annual ‘Power List’ celebrates the individuals shaping the course of Canada whose contributions matter deeply to the nation. Hefford and Nurse are listed at No. 3 and No. 8 in the sports category in recognition of their tremendous impacts in women’s hockey and the launch of the PWHL.
AURARD, BAKER, SCHAFZAHL REPRESENT COUNTRIES
A trio of PWHL players are competing in the IIHF Women’s World Championship DIA tournament in Klagenfurt, Austria. New York forward Chloé Aurard is representing France, New York defender Taylor Baker is representing Hungary, and Boston forward Theresa Schafzahl is representing Austria. The tournament also includes Korea, Netherlands, and Norway all vying for promotion to the top division in 2025 that will be awarded to the group’s top two finalists.
TWO STREAKS AND A SERIES SWEEP
The hottest team in the PWHL is Ottawa with a season-high three straight wins, all in regulation, extended by a 4-0 victory over Minnesota on Saturday. The team has points in six straight games dating back to Mar. 5 and have collected 14 of a possible 18 points in that span. Boston has also won two straight games in regulation since returning from the break which equals their best stretch of the season. Toronto’s 3-2 win over Montréal on Saturday secured the league’s first and only season sweep with victories in all five head-to-head meetings and a 13-2 overall advantage in points. Toronto also finished 9-6 leaders in points over Boston, Montréal finished 10-5 leaders in points over Minnesota, New York finished 9-6 leaders in points over Boston, and Minnesota finished 10-5 leaders in points over Ottawa following last week’s results. See all results here.
AMBROSE RECORDS FIRST FOUR-POINT GAME
Montréal’s Erin Ambrose became the first player in PWHL history to record a four-point performance with four assists in Thursday’s 4-3 victory over Minnesota. Two of her helpers were primary and three were produced on the powerplay. Before Ambrose, six other players had recorded three-assist efforts including Minnesota defender Sophie Jaques during the same Thursday night game. New York defender Ella Shelton (Jan. 14) was the first PWHL player to record three assists in a single game, followed by Boston forward Alina Müller (Jan. 17), Toronto forward Emma Maltais (Feb. 14), Montréal forward Marie-Philip Poulin (Feb. 24), and Ottawa forward Kateřina Mrázová (Mar. 10).
JENNER SCORES HAT TRICK
Ottawa captain Brianne Jenner became the seventh player in the PWHL to record a hat trick this season when she tallied a trio in her team’s 4-0 victory over Minnesota on Saturday. It was Ottawa’s second hat trick of the season and came in back-to-back games following Daryl Watts against Toronto on Mar. 23. Jenner and Watts are tied for the team lead with eight goals each. The other five hat tricks scored in the league this season belong to Montréal’s Claire Dalton (Feb. 24) and Marie-Philip Poulin (Jan. 10), Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle (Jan. 6), New York’s Jade Downie-Landry (Jan. 20), and Toronto’s Natalie Spooner (Feb. 14).
POULIN AND SPOONER LEAD SCORING RACE
There’s a tie atop the PWHL scoring race between Montréal’s Marie-Philip Poulin and Toronto’s Natalie Spooner with 21 points apiece. Poulin leads the league with 1.17 points-per-game and is the only player with an average over 1.0. Spooner leads the league with 15 goals in 21 games and Poulin is in a three-way tie with New York’s Alex Carpenter and Toronto’s Emma Maltais for the league-lead with 12 assists. Carpenter ranks third overall with 20 points in 20 games including a league-high nine powerplay points. Ottawa’s Brianne Jenner is fourth in scoring with 18 points in 20 games, powered by three straight multi-point performances. Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle (10G 7A), Toronto’s Sarah Nurse (7G 10A), and Ottawa’s Kateřina Mrázová (6G 11A) are tied for fifth in scoring with 17 points. Montréal’s Erin Ambrose (4G 11A) leads all defenders with 15 points. See all points leaders here.
SECOND SHUTOUT FOR MASCHMEYER
Ottawa’s Emerance Maschmeyer became the third goaltender to record multiple shutouts this season when she stopped a season-high 35 shots in Saturday’s 4-0 win over Minnesota. It was her second shutout in three starts and third straight victory to give her eight wins on the season which ranks second overall. Minnesota’s Maddie Rooney also has two shutouts, and Toronto’s Kristen Campbell leads the league with three blanks and earned her league-high 13th win of the campaign on Saturday against Montréal. Boston’s Aerin Frankel won both starts last week and is tied with Minnesota’s Nicole Hensley for third in the league with seven wins. Frankel improved her goals-against-average to 1.94 which ranks second, and her save percentage to .931 which ranks third. Montréal’s Elaine Chuli picked up her sixth win of the season on Thursday and continues to lead the league with a 1.61 GAA and .949 SV%. New York’s Corinne Schroeder also has six wins and ranks second with a .936 SV%. See goaltender stats here.
FIRST PWHL GOALS
Three players scored their first career PWHL goals this past week, bringing the league’s total to 92 different goal scorers. The latest to record milestone markers includes veteran defender Emily Brown (BOS), forward Nicole Kosta (BOS), and first-year pro Brooke Bryant (MIN). Bryant, a 2023 graduate of Minnesota State University, scored in her 18th career game on Thursday which also counted as the forward’s first professional point. Brown opened the scoring in Boston’s 2-1 win over Toronto on Thursday, and Kosta scored Boston’s first goal in Saturday’s 2-1 win over New York as part of a two-point performance.
THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE
Only 10 games remain in the inaugural regular-season schedule and five of them will be played over the next five days. This week’s action begins Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. ET with two games, including Montréal’s final home game against New York at Verdun Auditorium, and Ottawa hosting Boston at The Arena at TD Place. Ottawa will play their final home game of the season on Saturday afternoon when they host Montréal at 12:30 p.m. ET, followed by Minnesota’s final home game at Xcel Energy Center at 2:00 p.m. ET when they take on Boston in their final road game. Then on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. ET, Toronto will play their final road game in New York at UBS Arena.
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
7:00 p.m. ET – New York at Montréal (Verdun Auditorium)
Linear TV: MSG/MSGHD
Streaming: TSN+, Women’s Sports Network, YouTube
French: RDS
7:00 p.m. ET – Boston at Ottawa (The Arena at TD Place)
Linear TV: TSN3/5, NESN+
Streaming: YouTube
Saturday, April 27, 2024
12:30 p.m. ET – Montréal at Ottawa (The Arena at TD Place)
Linear TV: Sportsnet Pittsburgh
Streaming: CBC Gem, YouTube
French: RDS
2:00 p.m. ET – Boston at Minnesota (Xcel Energy Center)
Linear TV: Bally Sports North/Detroit/San Diego/Southern California/Sun/Wisconsin, NESN+, Sportsnet Pittsburgh Plus
Streaming: Women’s Sports Network, YouTube
Sunday, April 28, 2024
1:00 p.m. ET – Toronto at New York (UBS Arena)
Linear TV: MSG/MSGHD/MSG2, CBC
Streaming: YouTube
Visit thepwhl.com to purchase tickets and merchandise, and subscribe to the PWHL e-newsletter to receive the latest league updates. Follow the league on all social media platforms @thepwhlofficial plus all six team accounts @pwhl_boston, @pwhl_minnesota, @pwhl_montreal, @pwhl_newyork, @pwhl_ottawa, and @pwhl_toronto.
