Professional Women's Hockey League Weekly Notebook

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PWHL Professional Women's Hockey League

Professional Women's Hockey League Weekly Notebook

May 20, 2025 - Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) News Release


NEW YORK AND TORONTO - A closer look at highlights from around the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) as the final chase for a Walter Cup championship begins.

CHASING THE CHAMPIONSHIP

The stage is set for the 2025 PWHL Finals, presented by Scotiabank, with the Ottawa Charge officially set to become the first-ever Canadian team to play for a Walter Cup, against the defending Walter Cup champion Minnesota Frost. Both teams secured their playoff berths with wins on the final day of the regular season, finishing with 44 points each. Then, they both advanced to the finals as playoff underdogs with Game 4 victories on home ice, as the fourth-place Frost eliminated the second-place Toronto Sceptres, and the third-place Charge eliminated the first-place Montréal Victoire. The season series between Minnesota and Ottawa was split evenly with three regulation wins apiece. The Charge notably won the highest scoring game during the regular season with an 8-3 victory over the Frost, while three other games were decided by shutouts, including one each by Minnesota's Maddie Rooney and Nicole Hensley, and one by Ottawa rookie Gwyneth Philips. Click here to see the full playoff schedule and scores.

OTTAWA RAISES FLAG FOR CHARGE

Canada's capital city is electric for the nation's first-ever PWHL Finals. On Tuesday afternoon, Charge players Emerance Maschmeyer and Jincy Roese raised the team's flag at City Hall in a ceremony alongside City of Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe. The 'Kick off the PWHL Finals in Ottawa' event follows the city's installation of a 'Charge Avenue' road sign at the intersection of Bank Street and Exhibition Way earlier this month to celebrate the team's first playoff appearance.

SURGE IN PLAYOFF SCORING

Teams have combined to score 46 goals through eight games of the PWHL Playoffs (5.75 goals per game), surpassing the 44 goals scored across all 13 games of the inaugural postseason (3.38 goals per game) and up from the league's 5.02 goals per game average during the regular season. Playoff power plays have also seen a surge in production with 10 goals on 33 opportunities (30.3%). That's a major increase compared to just five goals on 63 chances with the player advantage in last year's playoffs (7.9%) and the regular season average of 18.14%. Defenders have been key contributors to playoff scoring with a combined 12 goals and 38 points through eight games, up from four goals and 33 points in 13 games last postseason. The added offense has continued to fuel the league's competitive balance with six of the eight playoff games decided by one-goal margins, including two in overtime.

TOP FROST FACTORS

Minnesota's forward trio of reigning Playoff MVP Taylor Heise (1G, 6A), Michela Cava (3G, 2A) and captain Kendall Coyne Schofield (2G, 2A) have been significant factors to the team's success with a combined six goals and 16 points in their last three games while firing 27 shots on goal. They are among eight Frost skaters with four or more points so far in the playoffs, along with defenders Lee Stecklein (3G, 3A), Sophie Jaques (2G, 4A), Mellissa Channell-Watkins (1G, 3A) and forward Kelly Pannek (1G, 3A). The only other player with a point per game average in the playoffs is Toronto's Emma Maltais (1G, 3A). Click here to see playoff stats.

LEADING THE CHARGE

Philips enters the PWHL Finals leading all goaltenders in playoff wins (3), shutouts (1), goals-against-average (1.14) and save percentage (.956). The rookie netminder headlines a group of first-year Charge players who have made notable impacts so far in the playoffs, alongside fellow rookie Mannon McMahon, who scored the winning goal in Game 3, and Ottawa native Rebecca Leslie, who scored the opening goal in the semifinal series-clinching victory in Game 4, a highlight in her first season with her hometown team. Captain Brianne Jenner (2G, 1A) and forward Emily Clark (1G, 2A), who rank first and second in all-time points for the Charge, have also topped the charts in team playoff scoring with three points each.

CHAMPIONSHIP STREAKS

The Frost have returned 16 members of their inaugural season squad that hoisted the Walter Cup last May. The win marked four straight professional championships for Cava, following an Isobel Cup in 2023 with the PHF's Toronto Six, and overseas titles with the KRS Vanke Rays in Russia's ZhHL in 2022 and Luleå in Sweden's SDHL in 2021. For the Charge, first-year defender Ronja Savolainen joined the PWHL following a streak of six straight SDHL titles with Luleå, and rookie defender Stephanie Markowski won a 2024 NCAA National Championship with Ohio State before turning pro.

WALTER CUP AND WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

For the first time in PWHL history there will be at least one player winning a Walter Cup the same season as a gold medal victory at the IIHF Women's World Championship. Last month, Team USA captured gold in Czechia with 16 PWHL players on the roster, including seven players competing in this series: Ottawa's Philips and Minnesota's Coyne Schofield, Heise, Pannek, Stecklein, Britta Curl-Salemme and Grace Zumwinkle.

OFFICIATING TEAM SELECTED FOR FINALS

A team of six referees and six linespersons will officiate the PWHL Finals. Among the referees, two were also selected for the league's inaugural final (David Elford and Jack Hennigan) and four will make their finals debut (Alexandra Clarke, Marie-Ève Couture, Sydney Harris, Tatu Kunto). On the lines, three return for a second straight final (Antoine Bujold-Roux, Laura Gutauskas, Greg Offerman) and three will make their Finals debut (Patrick Dapuzzo, Dustin McCrank, Sophie Thomson). Of note, referee Élizabeth Mantha was selected for her first PWHL Finals but is unable to officiate due to commitments with the Police Academy as she embarks on a new full-time career.

FINALS SCHEDULE

As many as five games will be played over nine days in the PWHL Finals, presented by Scotiabank, where the second Walter Cup champion in league history will be crowned. For additional coverage of the PWHL Finals, tune into the Jocks in Jills podcast immediately following every game, streaming on the PWHL's YouTube channel throughout the series.

Tuesday, May 20, 2025

Game 1: Minnesota at Ottawa (TD Place) at 7 p.m. ET

TSN 3/4/5, RDS, FanDuel Sports Network North, MSG/MSGHD

Thursday, May 22, 2025

Game 2: Minnesota at Ottawa (TD Place) at 7 p.m. ET

TSN 5, RDS 2, FanDuel Sports Network North, MSG Networks

Saturday, May 24, 2025

Game 3: Ottawa at Minnesota (Xcel Energy Center) at 5 p.m. ET

TSN 1, RDS, FanDuel Sports Network North, MSG Networks

Monday, May 26, 2025

Game 4: Ottawa at Minnesota (Xcel Energy Center) at 5 p.m. ET*

TSN 3, RDS 2, FanDuel Sports Network North, MSG Networks

Wednesday, May 28, 2025

Game 5: Minnesota at Ottawa (TD Place) at 7 p.m. ET*

TSN 3, RDS 2, FanDuel Sports Network North, MSG Networks

*If necessary

In addition to exclusive broadcast coverage listed above, games will be available to fans in the United States through the league's local and regional broadcast partners, including FanDuel, on various stations distributed in partnership with Gray Media, Scripps Sports and the Sinclair Broadcast Group, and globally on YouTube outside of Canada, Czechia and Slovakia. Internationally, games will be distributed by NOVA Prime in Czechia and Slovakia.



Professional Women's Hockey League Stories from May 20, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


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