The Provincial Women's Hockey League (or PWHL) is a

Junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

women's

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

league in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada that was founded in 2004. It is considered to be the highest level of

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

women's amateur ice hockey in Ontario, and is sanctioned by

Hockey Canada Hockey Canada (which merged with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in 1994) is the national governing body of ice hockey and ice sledge hockey in Canada. It is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation and controls the majority ...

and the

Ontario Women's Hockey Association The Ontario Women's Hockey Association (OWHA) is the governing body of women's ice hockey in the Province of Ontario, Canada. The OWHA is a member of the Ontario Hockey Federation (OHF), the Ontario branch of Hockey Canada. The Association was form ...

. The PWHL provides alumni to the

Canadian Interuniversity Sport U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is the Can ...

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

, the Professional

National Women's Hockey League 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 ...

, as well as the

Canada women's national ice hockey team The Canadian women's national ice hockey team is the ice hockey team representing Canada in women's hockey. The team is overseen by Hockey Canada, a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation and participates in international competitions ...

History

The PWHL was founded in 2004 by the

. The PWHL is the women's equivalent to men's

junior hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

, but is classified by the OWHA as Intermediate AA officially as the OWHA does not have an official "junior" classification system. Despite this, the teams of the PWHL market themselves as women's junior hockey. One of the league's most notable alumni is

Meghan Agosta Meghan Christina Agosta (born February 12, 1987) is a Canadian women's ice hockey forward, who last played for the Montreal Stars of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. Agosta plays for the Canada women's national ice hockey team and is a gold ...

who played for the Windsor Wildcats. She went on to play professional with the

Montreal Stars Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...

of the

Canadian Women's Hockey League The Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL; french: Ligue canadienne de hockey féminin ‒ LCHF) was a women's ice hockey league. Established in 2007 as a Canadian women's senior league in the Greater Toronto Area, Montreal, and Ottawa, the league ...

and is a member of two Olympic championship teams. In the early years of the league, when PWHL teams had to compete for OWHA provincials they would do so with representatives of the

Ottawa District The Ottawa District was a historic district in Upper Canada which existed until 1849. It was created in 1816 by splitting the counties of Prescott and Russell from the Eastern District. The district town was L'Orignal. In 1838 Gloucester towns ...

. The PWHL franchises proved much more competitive than their Ottawa counterparts and after two seasons Ottawa applied to and joined the PWHL. By the 2009 league playoffs, the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

beat the league powerhouse

Toronto Jr. Aeros The Toronto Jr. Aeros are a junior ice hockey, Junior women's ice hockey team based in Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Aeros are members of the Provincial Women's Hockey League of the Ontario Women's Hockey Association. The Aeros are five ...

to win its first league championship. The most dominant franchise in league history is the

. The Aeros have won five league championships, including the first three consecutively, two Silver Medal finishes and a single Bronze medal finish in league playdowns. The Aeros have also won five regular season championships. Additionally, the Aeros have won three Golds at provincials, as well as two silvers and a bronze. The Aeros have also twice accomplished the PWHL's "triple crown" winning the regular season title, playoff championship, and provincial championship all in one year in both 2005 and 2006. In 2019-2020, the Etobicoke Dolphins finished the regular season in first place. Eight teams advanced to the quarter-final round of the playoffs: Etobicoke, Cambridge, Burlington, Kingston, Stoney Creek, Oakville, Toronto and Ottawa. Due to the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic, the remainder of the playoffs were cancelled.

Teams

Defunct franchises

* Chatham Outlaws (2004-2006) *

Hamilton Hawks Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

(2004-2011) * Markham-Stouffville Stars (2004-2009)

Alumni Cup Playoff Champions

The winner of the final four is awarded the Alumni Cup.

Provincials

The OWHA runs a second run of playoffs that determines Provincial champion. These are not operated by the PWHL, but have all PWHL teams participating.

National team and professional alumni

The following PWHL alumni have represented Canada in international tournaments and in Professional leagues. *

(Windsor Wildcats), 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 Winter Games *

Courtney Birchard Courtney Birchard (born July 14, 1989) competes for the Canadian national women's ice hockey team. She made her debut for Team Canada in the 2010 Four Nations Cup. She was drafted 6th overall by the Brampton Thunder in the 2011 CWHL Draft. Bircha ...

(Toronto Jr. Aeros) * Mellissa Channell (Burlington Jr. Barracudas) *

Mallory Deluce Mallory Deluce (born April 13, 1989) is a Canadian ice hockey forward for the Wisconsin Badgers women's ice hockey program. She was drafted 11th overall by Toronto CWHL in the 2011 CWHL Draft. She was named to the Canadian National Wome ...

(Bluewater Jr. Hawks) *

Laura Fortino Laura Michele Fortino (born January 30, 1991) is a Canadian ice hockey player for Markham Thunder. On October 3, 2011, she was named to the Team Canada roster that participated in the 2011 4 Nations Cup. Of note, she was the first overall selec ...

(Stoney Creek Jr. Sabres) 2014, 2018 Winter Games * Brittany Haverstock (Stoney Creek Jr. Sabres) *

Haley Irwin Haley Lyn Irwin (born June 6, 1988) is a Canadian ice hockey player. She was a member of the 2009–10 Hockey Canada national women's team and played for the Calgary Inferno and Montreal Stars of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) and pla ...

(Toronto Jr. Aeros) 2010, 2014, 2018 Winter Games *

Laura McIntosh Laura may refer to: People * Laura (given name) * Laura, the British code name for the World War I Belgian spy Marthe Cnockaert Places Australia * Laura, Queensland, a town on the Cape York Peninsula * Laura, South Australia * Laura Bay, a bay ...

(Mississauga Jr. Chiefs) Canada Under-22/Development Team * Stefanie McKeough (Ottawa Senators) * Isabel Menard (Ottawa Senators) * Jamie Miller (Toronto Jr. Aeros) * Carolyne Prevost (London Jr. Devilettes),

Canada women's national under-18 ice hockey team The Canadian women's national under-18 ice hockey team is the national under-18 ice hockey team for women in Canada. The team represents Canada at the International Ice Hockey Federation's IIHF World Women's U18 Championships. World Women's U18 ...

* Ashley Riggs (Durham West Jr. Lightning) *

Jillian Saulnier Jillian Pauline Saulnier (born March 7, 1992) grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. She was the first female ice hockey player to represent Nova Scotia at the IIHF Women’s World Championship in 2015. She is a two-timOlympianfoTeam Canada w ...

(Toronto Jr. Aeros) 2018 Winter Games * Britni Smith (Markham-Stouffville Stars) *

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 ...

(Durham West Jr. Lightning) 2014, 2018 Winter Games *

Jennifer Wakefield Jennifer Dorothy June "Jenn" Wakefield (born June 15, 1989) is a Canadian ice hockey player and coach, currently playing in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) with MoDo Hockey Dam. She has served as an assistant coach to the Netherlands' ...

(Durham West Jr. Lightning) 2010, 2014 Winter Games *

Tara Watchorn Tara Leigh-Anne Watchorn (born May 30, 1990) is a Canadian women's ice hockey player who has competed for the Canadian national women's ice hockey team. She made her debut for Team Canada in the 2010 Four Nations Cup and played for Canada most ...

(Durham West Jr. Lightning) 2014 Winter Games * Catherine White (Mississauga Jr. Chiefs) * Jessica Wong (Stoney Creek Jr. Sabres) * Celine Frappier (Southwest Wildcats/Toronto Jr. Aeros)

Awards

Regular Season champions

Scoring champion

Goaltending Award

Coach of the Year

Christie Rose Scholarship

For ten years, the PWHL awarded a scholarship in memory of former PWHL player Christie Rose. She was an 18-year-old young woman who died on June 24, 2008, as a result of her injuries suffered in a car accident. The scholarship is awarded on an annual basis to recognize a young woman who shares the same qualities and characteristics as Christie. The scholarship program was ended after it awarded its tenth recipient.

Recipients

References

External links

Provincial Women's Hockey League Website

Ontario Womens Hockey Association Website
{{Womens Hockey 4 Ice hockey leagues in Ontario Amateur ice hockey