The PWHL is back from the international break! Here are our picks for games to pay attention to this week.
Tuesday, December 17 at 7 p.m. Eastern
Boston Fleet vs Ottawa Charge
Fleet Captain Hilary Knight owns one of the seven (!!!) 3-game point streaks in the league right now. Will she extend that versus the Charge defense? Ottawa goalie Emerance Maschmeyer has a 0.927% save percentage (third best in the league, just behind Boston's Aerin Frankel at 0.937%), so it should be a fun matchup.
At the beginning of the break Ottawa made a couple of roster moves, placing forward Alexa Vasko on long-term injured reserve after the game against Montreal on December 6th. They signed Taylor House to fill that spot; House spent the 2023-2024 season playing for MoDo Hockey in Sweden, where she was second on the team in goals scored and sixth on the team in points.
Charge GM Mike Hirshfeld said of House, " We were impressed by the energy and compete level [she] demonstrated in training camp. She made it difficult for us to make a decision when we picked out the original 23 players to fill our roster."
Tuesday is the Fleet's mental health awareness night, and the game will have representatives from Connors Climb, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Dream Big Girls Hockey, JEA and Second Class Petty Officer Association and Community Teamwork in attendance.
Whether all games are available on YouTube is still a question mark, but New England viewers can watch on NESN+, Canadian viewers on Amazon Prime.
Wednesday, December 18 at 7 p.m. Eastern
New York Sirens vs Toronto Sceptres
No matter what, this game would have made our What to Watch because VP writers Sam will be in attendance! But there are so many other reasons to pay attention to this game, namely two of the three stars of the week from right before the break: rookie Sarah Fillier (first star) and Alex Carpenter (third star).
Fillier has opened the season showing off why she was the first pick in the draft. She currently leads the leagues in points (6 in 3 games played), followed closely by three of her teammates. The Sirens also have four players on 3-game points streaks, so the Toronto defense will have their hands full.
The Sceptres have lost their last two games; they'll be well-rested and surely hungry for a win, and Renata Fast will be looking to extend her own 3-game points streak. We'll see if Toronto can hold off New York's hot scoring!
New York area viewers can watch on MSG, Canadian viewers on TSN4.
Thursday, December 19 at 7 p.m. Central
Minnesota Frost vs Ottawa Charge
Look at Ottawa getting two games in the week after the break! This will be game two of a five game road trip, their longest stretch away from home all season. Does that mean they'll be tired, or will they be rejuvenated while the Frost are shaking off the ... uh, frost? Minnesota home crowds have been historically hot, even in the chill of Midwestern winter, and that's a hard environment to play in.
Minnesota also has a player on a 3-game points streak (yes, there are currently 7 players tied for longest points streak; the 2024 regular season streak record was 6 games), and they also had the second star of the week before the break in Michela Cava. They've had a good start, Ottawa's has been a bit slower, and this is the first time they're meeting this season, so it'll be nice to get a glimpse at how they match up.
It's mental health awareness night at the Xcel Energy Center, supporting Sophie's Squad, a non-profit co-founded by Gabbie Hughes of the Ottawa Charge. Hughes won the Hockey Humanitarian Award in 2023 for her work with the organization, which "provides education and awareness to improve the mental health of athletes." It's cool to see that work continuing at an away game, and we hope to see more of it with other teams in the PWHL throughout the season.
