Here are our games to watch in the first week of the second season of the PWHL. (Spoiler alert: a lot of them are home openers)
Saturday, November 30th, 1 P.M. Eastern
Boston Fleet at Toronto Sceptres (home opener)
Of course Toronto gets the season opener at home! The first game to kick off the second season of the PWHL, the first time we’ll get to see the new jerseys in game play, the first time we’ll get to see if officiating is more consistent and actually follows the new/adjusted rules. The Fleet have five PWHL rookies on their roster (though one—Hadley Hartmetz—is starting the season on long term injured reserve [LTIR]) and the Sceptres have eight, so there should be lots of new faces on the ice. And not just new faces, but a new primary home arena for the Toronto team, so the crowd vibes should be HIGH!
The Sceptres are starting the season with 2024 MVP Natalie Spooner on LTIR, as well. When she got injured at the end of last season, they got a little exposed with a lack of scoring depth. There is plenty of offensive talent on the roster once again this season, but there has to be a mindset and approach where every player is contributing and they’re not relying on the hot hand.
One player they’ll be looking to for playmaking and goal-scoring is free agent signing Daryl Watts. She’ll be fun to watch in this first game with her new team because she’ll be looking to show out. That may come at the expense of Boston goalie Aerin Frankel. The two have beef dating back to 2021, when Watts was with Wisconsin and Frankel was with Northeastern and the two teams met in the National Championship game. There was some trash talking before the game and then Watts scored the game-winner from behind the net by banking the puck off a defender and into the net. The two had words for each other through the media before the two teams met up in the 2022 NCAA Tournament, a game that Northeastern won. Last season, Watts tried to score from behind the net against Boston, so it’s definitely worth watching to see the next installment between these two.
Saturday, November 30th, 5 P.M. Eastern
Ottawa Charge at Montréal Victoire (home opener)
Not to make this all about the jerseys, but will Liz be correct in saying the Victoire logo patch is too big and will look awkward in motion on the ice? Seriously though, it will be awesome to see what the energy is like in the bigger building for the first game of the year with the solidified team identity. We expect the fans to show up and show out. (Rookie count: Ottawa 7, Montréal 6)
Last season Montréal struggled with depth on defense and, despite finishing second in regular season standings, lost to Boston in the semifinals. Top draft pick Cayla Barnes was injured in November’s Rivalry Series and was expected to possibly miss the beginning of the season, but she was on the ice in a non-contact jersey Friday. She and Swedish national team captain Anna Kjellbin are expected to shore up the defense.
Ottawa had six losses in overtime and finished second-to-last in the standings. Coach Carla MacLeod said the team has to embrace the physicality of the PWHL game to be successful and the Charge bolstered their lineup with big players used to using their bodies to fight for space on the ice. Danielle Serdachny will likely be the biggest impact player. She’s adaptable and can be both a top-line scorer and fall back into a more supportive role, dishing pucks.
This game will be the PWHL debut for both Kjellbin and her fiancée Ronja Savolainen - but they’ll be on opposite sides of the puck. Savolainen talked about the dynamic with the Ottawa Citizen this week and the quotes are pure gold.
“I don’t care who’s in front of me … if it’s going to be her, I’m going to hit her. We can take it up after the game… On the ice, she’s my enemy. That’s how it goes.”
Sunday, December 1st, 6 P.M. Eastern
New York Sirens at Minnesota Frost (home opener)
This game is worth it for the banner raising alone, in our opinion (and yes we confirmed that will be part of the broadcast). We also expect this crowd to be electric; the state of hockey always is, and with a rally towel giveaway and LED bracelets that sync to the on ice action, XCel Energy Center is going to feel/look like the Eras tour! (Rookie count: Frost 10, Sirens 8)
Both of these teams had front office and coaching staff turnover, though under different circumstances. But it feels a bit like both are starting anew with a bunch of new players and likely a new approach.
Part of what made Minnesota so successful in the first season was the contributions they received from players down the depth chart. That could be necessary again as the rookies acclimate and Taylor Heise nurses an injury that had her missing the Rivalry Series and in a knee brace in recent social media pictures.
Maybe the most interesting offseason additions for the Frost are to the staff, as they have contracted several scouts, including former national team player Dani (Cameranesi) Brodzinski and head scout for the US Women's National Team program Haley Skarupa.
After a lackluster season where New York failed to come close to reaching their potential, much less a sum greater than the parts they parted ways with coach Howie Draper and brought in former Colgate head coach Greg Fargo. Draper really seemed to misunderstand the differences between the collegiate and pro game and struggled with how to manage his players and his team. All signs point to that dynamic having improved and the Sirens return a very good core group to which they have added what was widely regarded as the best class from this year’s draft, including Sarah Fillier. The team has an international flair with several players used to playing in the more physical Svenska damhockeyligan (Swedish women's pro league [SDHL])
Tuesday, December 3rd, 7 P.M. Eastern
Toronto Sceptres at Ottawa Charge (home opener)
Yet another home opener! Most teams are getting their chance to return to their home crowds in this first week and that’s important for drumming up excitement and keeping the momentum from last season. It’s been more than 200 days since the Charge played a PWHL game and they have so much they want to prove - and improve - this season. They have an opportunity to really set the tone, claim some home ice advantage and prove that this year is different with this game.
Ottawa won the season series last year, 3-2. While the Charge played a number of overtime games, none of them were against Toronto. Four of the five games were lopsided, with the winning team scoring five goals and winning by at least two scores.
Note: The PWHL announced Saturday morning that this game will not be available on YouTube and then deleted the post. It is unclear if this game will be available in the US.
Wednesday, December 4th, 7 P.M. Eastern
Minnesota Frost at Boston Fleet (home opener)
Boston’s home opener, the first meeting of these two teams since Minnesota beat Boston in the finals last season … and it’s on a Wednesday.
As a viewer, that’s not a huge deal, but as a hometown fan that’s less than ideal, especially with what we heard from fans about how difficult it is to get to the Tsongas Center in Lowell. However, even with those barriers, Boston fans will surely be ready to show up and be loud and try to give the Fleet an advantage as they play for a little revenge.
It will be interesting to see early on how the teams handle the pacing of this season’s schedule. Boston will have the advantage of having returned home and the adrenaline of their home opener, but both teams will have traveled cross country and with two or three days in between games. This season's schedule is going to test everyone and the players talked about being tired at the end of last season, so they need to start strong here.
Minnesota’s Sophie Jaques was drafted by Boston in 2023, but did not thrive with that team. The trade that sent her to the Frost and Susanna Tapani to the Fleet seems like it has worked out for all parties but you can be Jaques will play a little extra hard to prove herself in this game.
(Photo: PWHL/Heather Pollock)
