The 2023–24 PWHL season was the first season of operation of the Professional Women's Hockey League, and began play on January 1, 2024. Six teams competed during the inaugural season, located in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, and

Minneapolis–Saint Paul Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a metropolitan area in the Upper Midwestern United States centered around the confluence of the Mississippi, Minnesota and St. Croix rivers in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is commonly known as the Twin Cities ...

. The season culminated in a two-round best-of-five playoff including the top four teams to determine the season champion.

PWHL Toronto Toronto is a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are one of the six charter franchises of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). History On August 29, 2023, it was announced that Toronto would be home to ...

topped the regular season standings with 17 wins and 47 points. In the playoffs,

PWHL Minnesota Minnesota are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. They are one of the six charter franchises of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). History It was revealed on August 29, 2023, that one of the PWHL's first s ...

won the inaugural

Walter Cup The Walter Cup (french: La coupe Walter) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) playoff champion. History Origins On April 4, 2024, the Professional Women's Hockey League announced in a pre ...

, defeating

PWHL Boston Boston are a professional ice hockey team based in Lowell, Massachusetts. They are one of the six charter franchises of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). History It was revealed on August 29, 2023, that one of the PWHL's first si ...

in a 5-game series for the title.

League business

* The PWHL was announced in August 2023 after the

Mark Walter Mark Walter is an American businessman and the chief executive officer of Guggenheim Partners, a privately held global financial services firm with more than $325 billion in assets under management and headquarters in Chicago and New York. H ...

Group announced the formation of a new league aligned with the players in the

Professional Women's Hockey Players Association The Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) is a nonprofit 501(c)(6) organization dedicated to advocating for the promotion of professional women's ice hockey. It was founded in May 2019 following the dissolution of the Canadian W ...

, and then subsequently purchased and folded the rival

Premier Hockey Federation The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), formerly the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), is a women's professional ice hockey league located in the United States and Canada. The league was established in 2015 with four league-owned teams and ha ...

in June 2023. On August 29, the locations of the six charter franchises were announced. * On September 1, 2023, a 10-day free agency period began, during which each team was eligible to sign up to three players. On the same day, the league announced the general managers for each team: Danielle Marmer for Boston,

Natalie Darwitz Natalie Rose Darwitz (born October 13, 1983) is an American ice hockey player. Natalie was the Captain of the US Women's National Team for several seasons beginning with the 2007–08 season. She won three World Championships between 2005 and 2 ...

for Minnesota, Pascal Daoust for New York,

Gina Kingsbury Gina Kingsbury (born November 26, 1981) is a Canadian former women's professional ice hockey player. She graduated from St. Lawrence University with a degree in psychology, and ranks second all-time in scoring among St. Lawrence Skating Saints w ...

for Toronto, Daniele Sauvageau for Montreal, and Michael Hirshfeld for Ottawa. On September 5, Emily Clark,

Brianne Jenner Brianne Alexandra Jenner (born May 4, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player and a member of Canada's national women's hockey team, currently affiliated with the Toronto chapter of the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association ...

, and

Emerance Maschmeyer Emerance Maschmeyer (born October 5, 1994) is a Canadian ice hockey goaltender for Team Bauer, playing from the Montréal hub of the PWHPA. She is a member of Canada women's national ice hockey team (Team Canada), with whom she won the 2021 IIHF ...

became the first players signed to PWHL contracts when they signed with Ottawa. * On September 18, 2023, the inaugural PWHL Draft took place. It was a 15-round draft, with the initial order determined by a lottery, and subsequent rounds following a "snake format" in which the team who selected last in the previous round selected first in the next round, and the selection order was reversed. The draft order was announced on September 1, with the lottery won by Minnesota, followed by Toronto, Boston, New York, Ottawa, and Montreal. The league allowed players to apply for "compassionate circumstances" in order to stay in their home markets, with those approved eligible to be drafted only by their home market teams; the list of approved players will not be publicly released. Taylor Heise was picked first overall by Minnesota. * On October 25, 2023, PWHL Holdings, LLC filed potential names for the six teams with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. According to

The Athletic ''The Athletic'' is a subscription-based sports website that provides national and local coverage in 47 North American cities as well as the United Kingdom. ''The Athletic'' also covers national stories from top professional and college sports ...

, the potential names were Boston Wicked, Minnesota Superior, Montreal Echo, New York Sound, Ottawa Alert, and Toronto Torch. PWHL Holdings had previously filed trademarks for the league name and logos. However, the league ultimately opted against naming the teams ahead of the season; for the 2024 season, the teams will be known by their city names, and each wear jerseys featuring a diagonal wordmark of their home city. * Training camps opened on November 15, with final rosters confirmed on December 11. Final rosters include 23 roster players and 3 reserve players. * From December 3 to 7, all six teams congregated for a pre-season evaluation camp in

Utica, New York Utica () is a Administrative divisions of New York, city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The List of cities in New York, tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 ...

, which included scrimmages at the Utica University Nexus Center. PWHL executive

Jayna Hefford Jayna Hefford (born May 14, 1977) is a Canadian retired ice hockey player and current chairperson of the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association. During her career, she won multiple medals at the Winter Olympics and IIHF World Women's C ...

stated that the unified camp enabled the league to experiment and provided an opportunity for team and player education around issues like safety and doping. * On January 15, it was announced that 24 PWHL players would participate in the 2024 NHL All-Star weekend in Toronto, playing a 3-on-3 showcase game on February 1. * The PWHL season paused for the 2024 IIHF Women's World Championship, which ran from April 3–14, and featured 39 PWHL players. * On May 22, 2024, the PWHL was announced as the winner of the

Sports Business Journal American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes The Business Journals, which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States, Hemmings Motor News ...

's 2024 Breakthrough of the Year award. * On May 24, 2024, the league announced that the 2024 PWHL Awards ceremony would be held June 10–11 at the InterContinental Saint Paul Riverfront Hotel in downtown

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...

Coaching changes

Regular season

Standings

Schedule

The regular season schedule was announced on November 30, 2023. The season began on January 1 and ended on May 5, 2024, with each team playing 24 games. The schedule paused in February for an IIHF National Team Break, and in April for the 2024 Women's Ice Hockey World Championships. The playoffs began the week of May 6. ''All times in

Eastern Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small port ...

.'' , - , December 4 , , 1:00 , , Toronto , , 5–2 , , Boston , , , , @ Utica University Nexus Center , , - , December 4 , , 4:15 , , Ottawa , , 4–8 , , Minnesota , , , , @ Utica University Nexus Center , , - , December 4 , , 7:30 , , Montreal , , 0–4 , , New York , , , , @ Utica University Nexus Center , , - , December 5 , , 12:00 , , Minnesota , , 5–4 , , Toronto , , , , @ Utica University Nexus Center , , - , December 5 , , 3:15 , , Boston , , 1–3 , , Montreal , , , , @ Utica University Nexus Center , , - , December 5 , , 7:30 , , Ottawa , , 1–2 , , New York , , SO , , @ Utica University Nexus Center , , - , December 7 , , 9:00 am , , Montreal , , 3–4 , , Minnesota , , , , @ Utica University Nexus Center , , - , December 7 , , 12:15 , , New York , , 6–4 , , Toronto , , , , @ Utica University Nexus Center , , - , December 7 , , 3:30 , , Ottawa , , 1–3 , , Boston , , , , @ Utica University Nexus Center , , - , January 1 , , 12:30 , , New York , , 4–0 , , Toronto , , , , align=left, Corinne Schroeder recorded shutout (1) , , - , January 2 , , 7:00 , , Montreal , , 3–2 , , Ottawa , , OT , , align=left, New attendance record: 8,318 , , - , January 3 , , 7:00 , , Minnesota , , 3–2 , , Boston , , , , align=left, , , - , January 5 , , 7:00 , , Toronto , , 3–2 , , New York , , , , align=left, , , - , January 6 , , 3:30 , , Montreal , , 0–3 , , Minnesota , , , , align=left, Maddie Rooney recorded shutout (1)
Grace Zumwinkle recorded hat-trick (1)
New attendance record: 13,316 , , - , January 8 , , 6:00 , , Ottawa , , – , , Boston , , , , align=left, Game postponed to February 19 due to

inclement weather Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmosphere, the tr ...

, , - , rowspan=2, January 10 , , 7:00 , , Montreal , , 5–2 , , New York , , , , align=left, Played @

UBS Arena UBS Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York directly adjacent to the New York City limits. Opened in 2021, it is the home of the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL), replacing Nassau C ...

Marie-Philip Poulin recorded hat-trick (1) , , - , 8:00 , , Toronto , , 1–3 , , Minnesota , , , , align=left, , , - , rowspan=2, January 13 , , 1:00 , , Ottawa , , 5–1 , , Toronto , , , , align=left, , , - , 3:30 , , Boston , , 3–2 , , Montreal , , OT , , align=left, , , - , January 14 , , 4:00 , , New York , , 3–2 , , Minnesota , , OT , , align=left, , , - , January 16 , , 7:00 , , New York , , 2–3 , , Montreal , , , , align=left, Played @ Place Bell , , - , rowspan=2, January 17 , , 7:00 , , Minnesota , , 3–2 , , Ottawa , , OT , , align=left, , , - , 7:00 , , Boston , , 3–2 , , Toronto , , , , align=left, , , - , rowspan=2, January 20 , , 12:30 , , New York , , 4–1 , , Boston , , , , align=left, Jade Downie-Landry recorded hat-trick (1) , , - , 8:00 , , Toronto , , 4–3 , , Montreal , , SO , , align=left, First regular season shootout. , , - , January 23 , , 7:00 , , Toronto , , 1–3 , , Ottawa , , , , align=left, , , - , rowspan=2, January 24 , , 7:00 , , Boston , , 3–2 , , Ottawa , , , , align=left, , , - , 8:00 , , Montreal , , 2–1 , , Minnesota , , , , align=left, , , - , January 26 , , 7:00 , , New York , , 0–2 , , Toronto , , , , align=left, Kristen Campbell recorded shutout (1) , , - , rowspan=2, January 27 , , 3:30 , , Ottawa , , 1–2 , , Montreal , , OT , , align=left, Played @ Place Bell , , - , 4:00 , , Minnesota , , 3–4 , , Boston , , OT , , align=left, , , - , January 28 , , 1:00 , , Minnesota , , 2–1 , , New York , , OT , , align=left, , , - , February 3 , , 12:00 , , Minnesota , , 1–4 , , Toronto , , , , align=left, , , - , rowspan=2, February 4 , , 1:00 , , New York , , 4–3 , , Ottawa , , OT , , align=left, , , - , 3:30 , , Montreal , , 2–1 , , Boston , , OT , , align=left, , , - , rowspan=2, February 14 , , 7:00 , , Toronto , , 5–3 , , Boston , , , , align=left, Natalie Spooner recorded hat-trick (1) , , - , 8:00 , , Ottawa , , 1–2 , , Minnesota , , , , align=left, , , - , February 16 , , 7:00 , , Montreal , , 0–3 , , Toronto , , , , align=left, Played at

Scotiabank Arena Scotiabank Arena ( French: ''Aréna Scotiabank)'', formerly known as Air Canada Centre (ACC), is a multi-purposed arena located on Bay Street in the South Core district of Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the home of the Toronto Rap ...

New attendance record: 19,285
Kristin Campbell recorded shutout (2) , , - , rowspan=2, February 17 , , 2:00 , , Minnesota , , 2–1 , , Ottawa , , , , align=left, , , -boston , 4:00 , , New York , , 2–1 , , Boston , , OT , , align=left, , , - , February 18 , , 1:00 , , Minnesota , , 1–2 , , Montreal , , , , align=left, Played @ Place Bell , , - , February 19 , , 4:30 , , Ottawa , , 4–2 , , Boston , , , , align=left, Rescheduled from January 8 , , - , rowspan=2, February 21 , , 7:00 , , Ottawa , , 1–3 , , Boston , , , , align=left, , , - , 7:00 , , Montreal , , 2–3 , , New York , , SO , , align=left, Played @ UBS Arena , , - , February 23 , , 7:00 , , New York , , 1–2 , , Toronto , , SO , , align=left, , , - , February 24 , , 2:30 , , Ottawa , , 3–6 , , Montreal , , , , align=left, Claire Dalton recorded hat-trick (1) , , - , February 25 , , 4:00 , , Boston , , 2–0 , , Minnesota , , , , align=left, Aerin Frankel recorded shutout (1) , , - , February 27 , , 8:00 , , Toronto , , 4–3 , , Minnesota , , OT , , align=left, Played @

3M Arena at Mariucci 3M Arena at Mariucci is the home arena for the Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey team of the University of Minnesota. The arena is located on the Minneapolis campus and seats approximately 10,000 fans (9,600 in the main bowl plus club room ...

, , - , February 28 , , 7:00 , , New York , , 2–4 , , Ottawa , , , , align=left, , , - , rowspan=2, March 2 , , 3:30 , , Toronto , , 5–2 , , Ottawa , , , , align=left, , , - , 4:00 , , Boston , , 1–3 , , Montreal , , , , align=left, , , - , March 3 , , 12:30 , , Minnesota , , 2–0 , , New York , , , , align=left, Played @ UBS Arena
Maddie Rooney recorded shutout (2) , , - , March 5 , , 8:00 , , Ottawa , , 3–4 , , Minnesota , , SO , , align=left, , , - , rowspan=2, March 6 , , 7:00 , , Montreal , , 4–3 , , New York , , , , align=left, , , - , 7:00 , , Boston , , 1–3 , , Toronto , , , , align=left, , , - , March 8 , , 7:00 , , Montreal , , 0–3 , , Toronto , , , , align=left, Kristen Campbell recorded shutout (3) , , - , rowspan=2, March 10 , , 3:00 , , New York , , 2–3 , , Boston , , OT , , align=left, , , - , 4:00 , , Ottawa , , 4–2 , , Montreal , , , , align=left, Played @ Place Bell , , - , March 13 , , 8:00 , , Boston , , 0–4 , , Minnesota , , , , align=left, Nicole Hensley recorded shutout (1) , , - , rowspan=2, March 16 , , 3:30 , , New York , , 1–5 , , Minnesota , , , , , , - , 6:00 , , Ottawa , , 1–2 , , Boston , , SO , , align=left, Played @

Little Caesars Arena Little Caesars Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Midtown Detroit. Opened on September 5, 2017, the arena, which cost $862.9 million to construct, replaced Joe Louis Arena and The Palace of Auburn Hills as the home of the Detroit Red Wings of th ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, , - , March 17 , , 12:30 , , Toronto , , 2–1 , , Montreal , , , , align=left, Played @

PPG Paints Arena PPG Paints Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Pittsburgh, that serves as the home of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). It previously was the home of the Pittsburgh Power of the Arena Football League (AFL) from 2 ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, , - , rowspan=2, March 20 , , 7:00 , , Ottawa , , 3–0 , , New York , , , , align=left, Emerance Maschmeyer recorded shutout (1) , , - , 7:00 , , Boston , , 1–2 , , Toronto , , , , align=left, , , - , March 23 , , 1:00 , , Toronto , , 3–5 , , Ottawa , , , , align=left, Daryl Watts recorded hat-trick (1) , , - , March 24 , , 4:00 , , Montreal , , 2–3 , , Minnesota , , SO , , align=left, , , - , March 25 , , 7:00 , , Boston , , 2–3 , , New York , , , , align=left, Played @ UBS Arena , , - , rowspan=2, April 18 , , 7:00 , , Toronto , , 1–2 , , Boston , , , , align=left, , , - , 7:00 , , Minnesota , , 3–4 , , Montreal , , , , align=left, , , - , rowspan=3, April 20 , , 1:00 , , Toronto , , 3–2 , , Montreal , , OT , , align=left, New attendance record: 21,105
Played @

Bell Centre Bell Centre (), formerly known as Molson Centre (), is a multi-purpose arena located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Opened on March 16, 1996, it is the home arena of the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL), replacing the Montr ...

, , - , 3:30 , , Boston , , 2–1 , , New York , , , , align=left, Played @

Prudential Center Prudential Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the central business district of Newark, New Jersey. Opened in 2007, it is the home of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the men's basketball program of Seton Hal ...

, , - , 7:00 , , Minnesota , , 0–4 , , Ottawa , , , , align=left, Emerance Maschmeyer recorded shutout (2)
Brianne Jenner recorded hat-trick (1) , , - , rowspan=2, April 24 , , 7:00 , , Boston , , 2–3 , , Ottawa , , SO , , align=left, , , - , 7:00 , , New York , , 2–5 , , Montreal , , , , align=left, , , - , rowspan=2, April 27 , , 12:30 , , Montreal , , 2–0 , , Ottawa , , , , align=left, Ann-Renée Desbiens recorded shutout (1) , , - , 2:00 , , Boston , , 2–1 , , Minnesota , , , , align=left, , , - , April 28 , , 1:00 , , Toronto , , 6–2 , , New York , , , , align=left, Sarah Nurse recorded hat-trick (1)
Played @ UBS Arena , , - , April 30 , , 7:00 , , Ottawa , , 3–4 , , New York , , , , align=left, New York clinched first pick in the 2024 PWHL draft
Played @ Prudential Center , , - , May 1 , , 7:00 , , Minnesota , , 1–4 , , Toronto , , , , align=left, Toronto clinched first place , , - , rowspan=2, May 4 , , 1:00 , , Minnesota , , 2–5 , , New York , , , , align=left, Played @ UBS Arena , , - , 3:30 , , Montreal , , 3–4 , , Boston , , , , align=left, Boston clinched playoff spot , , - , May 5 , , 7:00, , Ottawa , , 2–5 , , Toronto , , , , align=left, Ottawa eliminated from playoffs
Minnesota clinched playoff spot ,

Statistics

Scoring leaders

The following players led the league in regular season points at the conclusion of the season.

Leading goaltenders

The following goaltenders led the league in regular season

goals against average Goals against average (GAA) also known as "average goals against" or "AGA" is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on s ...

at the conclusion of the season.

Attendance

On February 16, 2024, Toronto hosted its first game at the

against Montreal dubbed by the league as "The Battle on Bay Street." The game set a league and women’s hockey attendance record with a sellout crowd of 19,285, beating the previous record of 18,013 at the

2013 IIHF Women's World Championship The 2013 IIHF Women's World Championships was the 15th world championship sanctioned by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and was the last world championship before the 2014 Winter Olympics. The tournament was hosted in Ottawa, Ontar ...

. On April 20, 2024 Montreal hosted Toronto at the

dubbed as the "Duel at the Top''"'' breaking the previously set record with an attendance of 21,105.

Supplemental discipline

Suspensions

, data-sort-value="1", 1 game , -bgcolor="eeeeee" , , ,

Cross-check In chess, a cross-check is a tactic in which a check is played in response to a check, especially when the original check is blocked by a piece that itself either delivers check or reveals a discovered check from another piece. Sometimes the term ...

to the back of the head of

Catherine Daoust Catherine Daoust is a Canadian ice hockey defender, currently signed with PWHL Montreal of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). Career Daoust won a $1,500 scholarship from the NHL's Montreal Canadiens in 2013. From 2014 to 2018, D ...

.} , data-sort-value="1", 1 game , - , , ,

to the back of the head of

Alina Müller Alina Müller (born 12 March 1998) is a Swiss ice hockey forward for the Northeastern Huskies and the Switzerland women's national ice hockey team. At the age of 15, she became the youngest ice hockey player ever to win an Olympic medal, scoring ...

. , data-sort-value="1", 1 game , -bgcolor="eeeeee" , , ,

, Open-ice hit against

Jamie Lee Rattray Jamie Lee Rattray (born September 30, 1992) is a Canadian women's ice hockey player for the Markham Thunder. Life As a member of the gold medal-winning squad at the 2010 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship, a hockey card of her was featured i ...

. Suspension to be served during Game 1 of Montreal's playoff series against

. , data-sort-value="1", 1 game , - ! colspan="4" style="text-align:right; border:0; background:#fff;" , Total: ! 4 games

Fines

PWHL Playoffs

By virtue of finishing first overall, Toronto was able to choose its first-round opponent between fourth-place Minnesota and third-place Boston. On May 6, Toronto announced their choice to play Minnesota, leaving Montreal to play Boston in the other semi-final. :* – Denotes overtime period(s)

Semi-finals

Toronto (1) vs. Minnesota (4)

Toronto finished first overall in the league, earning 47 points. Minnesota finished in 4th place with 35 points. Toronto won three of four regular season meetings against Minnesota, including both meetings in Toronto and with one win coming in overtime. Minnesota defeated Toronto in five games, winning three straight after losing the first two. In game one,

Blayre Turnbull Blayre Turnbull (born July 15, 1993) is a Canadian ice hockey player for the PWHPA. She made her debut with the Canada women's national ice hockey team at the 2014 4 Nations Cup. Career Turnbull attended Shattuck-St. Mary's, where she was a cl ...

scored twice,

Natalie Spooner Natalie Marie Spooner (born October 17, 1990) is a Canadian ice hockey player for the now defunct Toronto Furies, who played for the Canadian National women's ice hockey team from 2007 to 2008, and rejoined the program in 2010. Spooner was the ...

recorded a goal and an assist, and Kristen Campbell made 26 saves to earn her first career playoff shutout—the first playoff shutout in league history—as Toronto defeated Minnesota 4–0. Game two remained scoreless until Jesse Compher scored with 1:25 left in regulation to give Toronto a 1–0 lead;

Hannah Miller Hannah Miller (born October 29, 1996) is an American figure skater. She is the 2014 Ice Challenge champion, 2014 Lombardia Trophy silver medalist, and 2012 JGP Final silver medalist. Personal life Hannah Miller was born in Chicago, Illinois, ...

added an empty-net goal with 10 seconds remaining to put the game out of reach, with Campbell turning aside 21 Minnesota shots to give Toronto a 2–0 victory. In game three, with Minnesota facing elimination, Maddie Rooney made 18 saves for Minnesota in a 2–0 victory, with

Maggie Flaherty In 1997, the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. S ...

scoring Minnesota's first goal of the series at 2:12 of the second period. Toronto also lost league leading-scorer Spooner to an injury, and she would not return for the rest of the series. In game four, neither team scored in regulation; Claire Butorac scored 4:27 into the second overtime period for Minnesota as Rooney made 19 saves in the win, sending the series to a fifth and deciding game. In game five, Taylor Heise scored twice, including the game winner in the third period, while Rooney stopped 27 shots to secure a 4–1 victory and a spot in the

Finals.

Montreal (2) vs. Boston (3)

Boston finished 3rd place in the league earning 35 points. Montreal finished in 2nd place earning 41 points. Montreal and Boston split their regular season series with two wins each, including one regulation and one overtime win each. Boston defeated Montreal in a three-game sweep, with all three games decided in overtime. In game one,

Aerin Frankel Aerin Frankel is an American ice hockey goaltender as a member of the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) and the United States women's national ice hockey team. She was one of the best goaltenders in women's NCAA history and i ...

made 53 saves, and

Susanna Tapani Susanna "Suski" Tapani (born 2 March 1993) is a Finnish multi-sport elite athlete who competes in ice hockey, ringette, and in-line hockey. She is a member of the Finnish national ice hockey team and Finnish national ringette team. Tapani is ...

scored the game-winning goal in overtime—the first overtime goal in PWHL playoff history—and Boston won the game 2–1. Game two was decided at 8:16 of the third overtime period, with

Taylor Wenczkowski Taylor Wenczkowski (born September 25, 1997) is an American professional ice hockey player for PWHL Boston of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). Playing career As a junior player, Wenczkowski played 72 games over three seasons for ...

netting her first career PWHL goal, securing a 2–1 victory for Boston; Frankel made 56 saves in the contest, breaking her previous save record from Game 1. In game three, with Montreal leading 2–0 lead after two periods, Boston scored twice in the third to send the game into overtime for the third consecutive time. Boston won the game 3–2, with Tapani scoring the game-winning goal, her second of the series, 1:02 into overtime, clinching the series for Boston.

PWHL Finals

Boston (3) vs. Minnesota (4)

Boston won three out of five meetings against Minnesota during the regular season, including one overtime win and two wins on the road at Xcel Energy Center. Minnesota defeated Boston in five games to capture the inaugural Walter Cup championship. Although

Michela Cava Michela Cava (born March 26, 1994) is a Canadian ice hockey centre, currently playing in the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) with PWHL Minnesota. Playing career Along with goaltender Danika Ranger, Cava is one of only two players to ...

opened the scoring for Minnesota in game one,

stopped 30 out of 33 shots as Boston secured a 4–3 victory. Minnesota responded in game two with a 3–0 victory that saw

Nicole Hensley Nicole Hensley (born June 23, 1994) is an American women’s ice hockey player. She is currently a member of the Professional Women's Hockey Players' Association. Playing career USA Hockey Hensley was named one of three goaltenders to compe ...

post a shutout and

Sophie Jaques Sophie Jaques (born October 16, 2000) is a Canadian ice hockey defender for PWHL Minnesota of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She was selected tenth overall by PWHL Boston in the 2023 PWHL Draft. Jaques played college ice hocke ...

score two goals. Minnesota secured another 3-goal win in game three, with Taylor Heise scoring her league-leading fifth playoff goal to open the scoring en route to a 4–1 win. Game four was scoreless into a second overtime period. Minnesota appeared to capture the victory and the series when Jaques shot the puck past Frankel with 2:34 remaining; however, the goal was reviewed and disallowed due to goaltender interference, and 70 seconds after play resumed,

scored for Boston to send the series to a fifth and deciding game. In game five, Hensley secured her second shutout of the series and Liz Schepers' second period goal stood as the winner as Minnesota secured a 3–0 victory and the Walter Cup title. Heise, who led the playoffs in scoring, was voted the most valuable player of the playoffs.

Statistics

Scoring leaders

The following players led the league in playoff points at the conclusion of the Walter Cup.

Leading goaltenders

The following goaltenders led the league in playoffs

at the conclusion of the Walter Cup.

Attendance

All-Star Showcase

On January 15, 2024, the PWHL along with the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) announced the

Canadian Tire Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited is a Canadian retail company which operates in the automotive, hardware, sports, leisure and housewares sectors. Its Canadian operations include: Canadian Tire (including Canadian Tire Petroleum gas stations a ...

PWHL 3-on-3 Showcase, which was hosted by the NHL on February 1, 2024 at

as part of the NHL's

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...

. 24 players from all six PWHL teams competed in one 20-minute game. PWHL Special Advisor

Cassie Campbell-Pascall Cassie Dawin Campbell-Pascall (born November 22, 1973) is a former Canadian ice hockey player and a current broadcaster for Sportsnet and ESPN. Born in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Campbell grew up in Brampton, Ontario, playing for the Brampton Canad ...

and

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

Director of Player Development,

Meghan Duggan Meghan Duggan (born September 3, 1987) is an American former ice hockey forward and director of player development for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League. She played for the United States at the 2010 Winter Olympics and 2014 W ...

served as coaches. The two teams were named in honor of former

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

players and current PWHL advisory board members

Billie Jean King Billie Jean King (née Moffitt; born November 22, 1943) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. King won 39 major titles: 12 in singles, 16 in women's doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles. King was a member of the victorious United States ...

and

Ilana Kloss Ilana Sheryl Kloss (born 22 March 1956) is a former professional tennis player, tennis coach, and commissioner of World TeamTennis from 2001-21. She was the World's No. 1 ranked doubles player in 1976, and World No. 19 in singles in 1979. She w ...

. Each team was also accompanied by celebrity coaches with former

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

Tessa Virtue Tessa Jane McCormick Virtue (born May 17, 1989) is a Canadian retired ice dancer. With ice dance partner Scott Moir, she is the 2010 and 2018 Olympic champion, the 2014 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World champion (2010, 2012, 2017) ...

joining Team King and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player

Jonquel Jones Jonquel Orthea Jones (born January 5, 1994) is a Bahamian-Bosnian professional basketball player for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted with the 6th overall pick in the 2016 WNBA Draft. S ...

joining Team Kloss. New York’s Micah Zandee-Hart was also selected to play but was unable to participate due to injury.

Game summary

Awards and honors

Three Stars of the Week

Additional to each weekly award, points for each star earned were awarded and tallied throughout the regular season and postseason to create a cumulative score.

SupraStars of the Month

On March 8, 2024, the PWHL announced the introduction of the SupraStars of the Month award to recognize three forwards, two defenders, and one goaltender at the conclusion of each month, determined as the players who most excelled on ice throughout the PWHL, and sponsored by AIRSUPRA.

2023–24 PWHL Awards

On April 4, 2024, the PWHL announced that the league's championship trophy would be named the

. Further, on April 25, 2024, the league announced the remainder of the awards that would be handed out this year, including the

MVP Award and the

Playoff MVP Award.

All-Star teams

Transactions

Draft

The 2023 PWHL Draft was held on September 18, 2023. Draft picks are not allowed to be traded until the conclusion of the 2024 season. Players not drafted became free agents able to sign with any team. Players were drafted from a pool of 268 players who declared their eligibility. Overall, 90 players were selected over 15 rounds. Minnesota made Taylor Heise the first player ever drafted into the PWHL.

Free agency

Trades

Contract Terminations

Retirement

References

Recaps

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:2024 PWHL season 1

PWHL The Provincial Women's Hockey League (or PWHL) is a Junior women's ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada that was founded in 2004. It is considered to be the highest level of junior women's amateur ice hockey in Ontario, and is sanctioned by Hockey ...

PWHL seasons