2nd PWHL season set to begin Nov. 30 with expanded schedule
Toronto Sceptres will host the Boston Fleet in the first of 90 regular-season games across the league
Goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer hasn't forgotten how her Ottawa team's season ended in the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) last May.
The team was in contention for a playoff spot up until the last game of the season, but just barely missed the cut.
With a new season comes a fresh start, and for all six PWHL teams, brand new team names and logos. Maschmeyer now plays for the Ottawa Charge, and she'll get a chance to avenge her team's early finish to last season when the second PWHL season begins on Nov. 30.
Missing the playoffs last year has only added more fuel to her fire.
"We've already been meeting as a team and kind of talking about what to bring forward from last season, and what to move away from and where we can grow," Maschmeyer said in an interview with CBC Sports. "That's pretty exciting that we're already able to do that, whereas last year, we touched ground in Ottawa and it was just brand new. So you're building off of nothing, just individual characters."
Every PWHL team will play 30 games, up from 24 in the first season, for a total of 90 regular-season games across the league. Each team will play head to head six times.
It all begins at 2 p.m. ET on Nov. 30 inside Coca-Cola Coliseum, where the Toronto Sceptres will host the first regular-season game in the team's new home arena against the Boston Fleet.
A couple of hours later, the Montréal Victoire and Maschmeyer's Ottawa Charge will face off inside Place Bell, which will be the Victoire's primary home this season.
Then reigning Walter Cup champion, the Minnesota Frost, will begin its quest to defend their title on Dec. 1 at 6 p.m. ET at home at Xcel Energy Center against the New York Sirens.
"Our teams and players are so eager to bring their new identities to life, and the schedule announcement elevates that sense of anticipation," PWHL senior vice president of hockey operations, Jayna Hefford, said in a release. "We have more games, new uniforms, a talented rookie class and so much more for the PWHL community to look forward to. For our players and our fans, the season ahead will be intense, competitive and fun."
New Bauer jerseys are expected to be unveiled later this month or in early November, featuring the new names and logos introduced in September.
"I'm just excited for the fans to get their own nickname for the Charge and just the identity that comes with it," Maschmeyer said. "I think that now we have an opportunity to make history as Ottawa Charge. We're just really excited to have that opportunity this season."
Walter Cup final rematch set for Dec. 4
Six months ago, Minnesota captured the first Walter Cup championship inside Boston's home rink, the Tsongas Center, in a deciding Game 5. A rematch of that final is set for Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. inside that same rink.
The regular season will conclude on May 3. In between there will be three breaks for international play, including the Canada-U.S. Rivalry series, from Dec. 9-16 and Feb. 3-10.
A final international break is set for April 3-25 for the Women's World Championship in the Czech Republic, the last major international tournament ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Other schedule highlights include an all-Canadian New Year's Eve game between the Toronto Sceptres and Ottawa Charge at Coca-Cola Coliseum, and games set in the U.S. to mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Presidents' Day.
Both Toronto and Montréal will play more games in larger rinks this season after selling out home games throughout last season. The Ottawa Charge will return to TD Place, which can seat more than 8,000 fans.
WATCH | Introducing the Montréal Victoire, PWHL Montréal's new team name:
The New York Sirens will have a new home base this season at Prudential Center, home to the NHL's New Jersey Devils. New York split last year's home games between three arenas, including two games at Prudential Center. The team's first game in New Jersey was New York's best-attended game all season, drawing more than 5,100 fans.
Several games have "TBA" listed as the venue. The league is expected to announce more "neutral site" games this season inside NHL arenas.
The PWHL is also expected to release more details on how and where to watch PWHL games in the coming weeks.
Training camps to open Nov. 12
Nearly 400,000 people attended PWHL games in the first regular season, including a record-breaking 21,105 inside the Bell Centre to watch Toronto defeat Montréal — the biggest crowd to ever watch a women's hockey game.
In addition to an expanded schedule and new names and logos, season two will feature even more competition for PWHL roster spots. Teams released training camp rosters last week, and some teams, like Ottawa, have only a couple of roster spots up for grabs. Teams can have 23 players on contract and as many as three reserve players.
WATCH | PWHL 1st-overall pick Sarah Fillier on joining the New York Sirens:
Last-place New York will go into training camp with a new head coach, Greg Fargo, and lots of competition for that team's remaining seven contracts. One of those spots is expected to go to first-overall pick Sarah Fillier, who remains unsigned by New York.
Minnesota also saw changes in the off-season. Melissa Caruso was hired from the American Hockey League as general manager to replace Natalie Darwitz, who departed at the end of last season.
Training camps open across the league on Nov. 12. All six teams will head to either Toronto or Montréal for pre-season mini camps later in November, which will include scrimmages between teams. Rosters must be finalized by Nov. 27, ahead of the first game of the regular season.
There will be new faces on Ottawa's roster including top draft picks Danielle Serdachny and Ronja Savolainen, who both signed three-year contracts over the summer. Maschmeyer also has new goalie partners in draftee Gwyneth Philips and free-agent signing Logan Angers.
She expects the new additions will add more energy to the locker room.
"We have the core of our group still together," Maschmeyer said. "Now we kind of get to bring in new individuals and show them the ropes, but also learn from them as well. We have fresh eyes. That's always a good thing to get some new perspectives in the locker room."
PWHL home openers:
Toronto Sceptres – Nov. 30, 2024, 2:00 p.m. ET vs. Boston Fleet at Coca-Cola Coliseum.
Montréal Victoire – Nov. 30, 2024, 5:00 p.m. ET vs. Ottawa Charge at Place Bell.
Minnesota Frost – Dec. 1, 2024, 6:00 p.m. ET vs. New York Sirens at Xcel Energy Center.
Ottawa Charge – Dec. 3, 2024, 7:00 p.m. ET vs. Toronto Sceptres at TD Place.
Boston Fleet – Dec. 4, 2024, 7:00 p.m. ET vs. Minnesota Frost at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell.
New York Sirens – Dec. 18, 2024, 7:00 p.m. ET vs. Toronto Sceptres at Prudential Center.
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