The PWHL trade deadline is this week—March 13 at 2 p.m. ET followed by the roster freeze on March 14 at 12 p.m. ET. There have been two trades so far this season, and we hope there are a few more coming!
Check out what to watch as we wait for the news to unfold.
Sunday, March 9 at 1 p.m. Eastern
Minnesota Frost vs. Toronto Sceptres
Minnesota is fresh off their second shutout in four games, a 5-0 win against the Ottawa Charge on Friday at the latest Takeover Tour game in Raleigh, NC. Frost goaltender Maddie Rooney stopped all 19 shots, recording her second shutout of the season. Her first was the Frost’s 4-0 win against the first-place Montréal Victoire on Feb. 18, where she stopped 21 shots. Rooney is the first goaltender to record multiple shutouts in each of the league’s first two seasons.
In the game against Ottawa, Frost forwards Kendall Coyne Schofield and Michela Cava netted their ninth goals of the season and both sit tied for the team lead. Schofield, the Frost captain, recorded her career-high 11th assist in her fifth multi-point game of the season. Despite these flashes of offense, Minnesota has only won four of their last 10 games, although a few losses have gone past regulation, banking them some “loser points” along the way. They sit in fourth place in the standings with 33 points, one point behind the Boston Fleet.
And now it’s time to face Toronto in the penultimate meeting between these two teams in the regular season. The season series is tied 2-2, and their last matchup was a 2-1 Toronto win on Feb. 23.
The Sceptres are still hot. Temperature-related pun not intended. They’re on a five-game winning streak on home ice. They’ve won seven of their last 10 games, plus two shootout losses for extra points. Their power play is league-leading (by a lot) at 33.3%. Defender Renata Fast leads the league in assists (15); forward Hannah Miller is third in league goals (10) and leads all scoring with 23 points (10G, 13A). There’s more: forward Daryl Watts is fourth in league scoring with 20 points (6G, 14A).
A Toronto regulation win widens the gap between the top two teams and everyone else. It puts them three points closer to first and four points ahead of third. A Frost regulation win pushes Minnesota into second place, one point ahead of the Sceptres.
Watch: TSN, FanDuel Sports Network, PWHL YouTube
Wednesday, March 12 at 7 p.m. Eastern
Montréal Victoire vs. New York Sirens
The Sirens.
Their last game was their sixth and, thankfully, their final loss of the season to the Boston Fleet. The long national (my house) nightmare is over and the Sirens can now be marked safe from their apparent nemesis for the rest of the season. The loss was New York’s record ninth straight loss, despite a season-high 40 shots on goal.
Unfortunately, it’s now time to face the first-place Montréal Victoire once again. The Sirens are down 2-1 in the season series, their only win coming all the way back on Dec. 4. Since then, New York’s offense has been… limited. They’re fifth in goals for so far this season. But is the defense working? No. They’ve got the most goals against.
One of my main criticisms of the Sirens has been the lack of depth scoring. This remains true, but as I was researching this write-up I decided to do some math to check the matchup against Montréal. Yes, 46.9% of the Sirens’ goals come from three players (F Sarah Fillier, F Alex Carpenter, F Jessie Eldridge). But also yes, 47.4% of the Victoire’s goals come from three of their players (F Marie-Philip Poulin, F Laura Stacey, F Abby Boreen)! The rest of New York’s goals are split among 14 players, while the rest of Montréal’s goals are split among 12 players.
New York’s top player, rookie forward Sarah Fillier, is second in league points with a team-leading 22 (8G, 14A). Montréal’s top player leads the league in goals with 13, leads her team in points with 18, and is also Captain Clutch Marie-Philip Poulin.
There’s also the matter of special teams: New York’s second-place penalty kill (84.2%) against Montréal’s fifth-place power play (14.5%). Plus, the Sirens also have a second-place power play (18.9%).
Is there more to this matchup than first-place Victoire versus last-place Sirens? Yes. Am I also desperately looking for hope somewhere in the depths of the Sirens’ record-setting losing streak? Yeah.
Then there’s the goaltending of it all. Montréal netminder Ann-Renée Desbiens still leads the league in everything—wins (12), save percentage (0.938), and GAA (1.71). Another fun fact: Desbiens also became the first goaltender in PWHL history to record two minor penalties in a single game. She’s the only goaltender with any penalty minutes this season (6). Sure, taking penalties is bad.
But, honestly? That’s badass.
Watch: TSN, RDS, MSGSN2, PWHL YouTube
Saturday, March 15 at 2 p.m. Eastern
Boston Fleet vs Ottawa Charge
Boston is playing Montréal in front of a very hot crowd at Agganis Arena as I write this on March 8. A few days ago they completed the season sweep against the New York Sirens. Boston forward Hilary Knight recorded her first career hat-trick and four-point performance and became the first Boston player to achieve both feats. The Fleet captain has climbed into third in PWHL scoring with 21 points (11G, 10A) in 21 games.
Fleet goaltender Aerin Frankel remains elite. She holds second place in all goalie stats: wins (11), save percentage (0.932), and GAA (1.95).
Ottawa is… struggling. They’re in fifth place—just out of the playoff picture right now. They’ve also had a somewhat spread out schedule the last few weeks, with games four or more days apart since Feb. 22. Following their 5-0 shutout loss to Minnesota on March 7, the Charge have allowed four or more goals in back-to-back games for the second time this season. The first time the Charge reached this mark was in a pair of losses to Montréal and Toronto on Jan. 29 and Feb. 1, respectively.
The Charge play Minnesota again on March 11 ahead of this matchup hosting the Fleet, and the outcome of that game can really help or hurt their place in the standings. They need to grab as many points as possible over their next few games, or they won’t be able to crawl into fourth place and sneak into the playoffs.
Watch: CBC, NESN, PWHL YouTube
