The PWHL is in it’s sophomore year and there is no better time to jump in and become a fan. Writing from the Seattle area, we don’t have a local team but there’s reason to be excited for future expansions. I believe this is such a perfect area to put a new team that can join the Kraken and you all made that come to life when 12,608 fans showed up to the matchup between Boston and Montreal at Climate Pledge on Jan. 5th! Keep showing interest and we may be next!

Just like the National Hockey League, the PWHL launched with an original six and there’s a lot to love about all of them. Consisting of the Montreal Victoire, Boston Fleet, Toronto Sceptres, Minnesota Frost, Ottawa Charge and the New York Sirens, the PWHL is not quite halfway through its 30 game season which runs from November to May, excluding the playoffs. The games run with three 20 minute periods and have almost the same ruleset as the other hockey league, with a few tweaks. Let’s get to the rule changes later and dive into these rosters.

Just 2 nights ago, the Boston Fleet arrived back home from being on the road and took down the Toronto Sceptres 4-1. Alina Muller opened the scoring with her first of the year and ended with a huge 3 point night, assisting on goals from Emily Brown and Shay Maloney. Aerin Frankel in net for Boston stopped 35 or 36. Hilary Knight had a quiet game with just 3 shots and 3 hits but the captain and future hall of famer is easy to be a fan of. The center leads the team in goals and is second in points behind Left Defense Megan Keller (9 points). Hilary won 2 national championships with Wisconsin before beginning her professional and well decorated Olympic career. Yea, she’s got 2 gold medals and has played on 4 US Olympic teams, she’s a beast. Hilary, if you ever read this (she won’t) thank you for everything.

With the loss, Toronto drops into last place currently with 11 points on the year. The Sceptres just won their last game against Ottawa, which was great for them as they have not been good on the road this season. Hannah Miller leads the way with 4 goals and is second on the team with 7 points. First on the team with 8 points, Renata Fast controls the game back from the blueline. The stud defensive player is a two time Olympic medalist for Team Canada and is as exciting to watch as anyone from the D position. Her speed on the breakout is one of Toronto’s best strengths and makes her a very well rounded player at her position.

Toronto matches up against New York tomorrow at home, and I’m looking forward to diving into New York and the rest of the rosters in the coming days. Be sure to come back and check that out, but today let’s finish with rule changes and how to watch.

While most of the rules are based on IIHF and the NHL’s, there’s a few changes that you may not be aware of. First, they use 3-2-1-0 points system. That’s 3 for a win, 2 for an overtime or shootout win, 1 for an overtime or shootout loss and 0 points for a regulation loss. The second big change is called the Jailbreak Goal- if a team is killing a penalty and scores a shorthanded goal, the player in the box can actually “break out” and bring the team back to full strength. Next up is the No Escape Rule which keeps all players on the ice when a penalty is committed. They can’t change until after the following faceoff which gives a big advantage to the team on the power play. I really like both of these unique rules as it will lead to more exciting twists and turns during the games.

How to watch – Tuesday is the big day where the matches are streamed on Prime Video, so be sure to tune into that. Last season the games were also available on YouTube and no word of this being changed has come out. This is great as all of the games are easily available! The time is now to tune in! Thanks for reading.