This week is packed! Here are a few games to focus on if you've got limited time– it was tough to choose just three.
Sunday, January 26 at 2 p.m. Central
Boston Fleet vs Minnesota Frost
Boston has yet to beat Minnesota this season. That’s gotta feel like a Groundhog’s Day-esque time loop for the Fleet, re-living the 2024 PWHL Playoff Finals where they lost Game 5 to the Frost in a shutout. We love re-match energy, and Boston could use some wins.
They’ll come into this matchup off a 4-1 win against the Toronto Sceptres, with a notable 35 saves from goaltender Aerin Frankel—her second-highest this season. She was also named to the U.S. Women’s National Team roster ahead of the upcoming leg of the Rivalry Series. Forwards Hannah Bilka and captain Hilary Knight, along with defender Sydney Bard were also named to the U.S. roster. Canadian forward Jamie Lee Rattray was named to her national team roster as well.
Minnesota lost to the Ottawa Charge in a shutout on Jan. 21 (on Goalie Appreciation Night at the Xcel Energy Center), their third loss in what’s now long enough to be called a losing streak. Coincidentally, that game also broke Ottawa’s three-game losing streak. One door closes… you get the idea.
Minnesota has eight players total on the U.S. and Canada National Team rosters. I’m sure the Frost are eager to play a team that hasn’t been able to solve them all season, which should make for a competitive game to start the week off.
Watch: TSN, NESN, FanDuel Sports Network, PWHL YouTube
Thursday, January 30 at 7 p.m. Eastern
Toronto Sceptres vs Montréal Victoire
This is the second game of the first proper homestand (are two games enough for a homestand?) for Montréal since their whirlwind of appearances on the PWHL Takeover Tour, which brought the team to Seattle, Vancouver and Denver, then back to Place Bell in Montréal for one game against the Frost, then off to Québec City and then finally, blissfully, back home. We assume.
This is also the second night of back-to-back games for Montréal, and the first back-to-back for any team this season. They’re facing a desperate group in the Toronto Sceptres, who will play a game on Jan. 28 before heading to Montreal to meet the Victoire. That could be a win, loosening the pressure a little for the last-place Sceptres. It wouldn’t pull them out of last place, though, so they have a lot of ground to make up.
Montréal has nine players on the latest U.S. and Canada National Team rosters—tied with Toronto for the most for any PWHL team—including forward and captain Marie-Philip Poulin and star goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens who is tied for a league-leading six wins on the season.
Sceptres forward Jesse Compher—named to the U.S. National Team roster after being left off for the November leg of the series—recently recorded her sixth point of the season, moving her past her point total for the entire 2024 regular season. At the time of writing this, Toronto has outshot their opponents in six consecutive games, despite only picking up two wins. Things look good on paper. When will that translate on the ice?
Watch: TSN, RDS, PWHL YouTube
Friday, January 31 at 7 p.m. Eastern
New York Sirens vs Boston Fleet
On Jan. 21, Boston traded forward Taylor Girard to the Sirens in exchange for forward Jill Saulnier. So sorry to the woman I always see at Sirens games with a PWHL New York #44 Saulnier jersey—that’s gotta hurt, friend.
This is the first meeting between the Sirens and the Fleet since. In her Boston debut, Saulnier recorded 6:25 time on ice with a plus-1 rating. At the time of writing, New York has not yet played since the trade, and Girard had not yet tallied a point this season with Boston. Here’s hoping the new scenery gives her a spark, and frankly vice versa. We’ve talked before about the lack of depth scoring from the Sirens—maybe this will help?
They’re about to face Toronto on Jan. 25 at Scotiabank Arena (a departure from Toronto’s primary home venue Coca-Cola Coliseum) and will face Ottawa on Jan. 27—both away games. In fact, New York won’t be home again until Feb. 2 (yeah, FEBRUARY) to play Montreal, after which the league will take an international break until Feb. 10 to accommodate the upcoming Rivalry Series.
The Sirens have seven players on the rosters for the Rivalry Series, including predictably and notably forward Alex Carpenter, defender Ella Shelton and goaltender Corrinne Schroeder.
Watch: TSN, MSG, NESN, PWHL YouTube
And by the way, you can catch the Rivalry Series games on Feb. 6 and Feb. 8 live on TSN in Canada and the NHL Network in the U.S.
