The 2023–24 PWHL season was the first season of operation of the

Professional Women's Hockey League The Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL; , LPHF) is a women's professional ice hockey league in North America. The league comprises eight teams, four each from the United States and Canada. The teams play a Season (sports), regular season ...

, and began play on January 1, 2024. Six teams competed during the inaugural season, located in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, New York/Bridgeport,

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, and

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

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

PWHL Toronto The Toronto Sceptres are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto that competes in the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). They are one of the six charter franchises of the league. The team plays its home games at Coca-Cola Coliseu ...

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

PWHL Minnesota The Minnesota Frost are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, that competes in the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). They are one of the six charter franchises of the league. The team plays its home games at Xc ...

won the inaugural

Walter Cup The Walter Cup () 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 press release the name of th ...

, defeating

PWHL Boston The Boston Fleet are a professional ice hockey team based in the Greater Boston area that competes in the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). They are one of the six charter franchises of the league. The team plays its home games at Tso ...

in a 5-game series for the title.

League business

The PWHL was announced in August 2023 after the

Mark Walter Mark Richard Walter (born January 1, 1960) 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. Outside invest ...

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 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 Women's Ho ...

, and then subsequently purchased and folded the rival

Premier Hockey Federation The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) was a women's professional ice hockey league in the United States and Canada that operated from March 2015 until June 2023. The league was established in 2015 as the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), com ...

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 executive, coach, and retired player, most recently serving as general manager of PWHL Minnesota in the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). Darwitz was a member of t ...

for Minnesota,

Pascal Daoust Pascal Daoust is a Canadian ice hockey executive, the first and current general manager of the New York Sirens of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). Career Daoust received a bachelor's degree in physical education from the Universi ...

for New York,

Gina Kingsbury Gina Kingsbury (born November 26, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and current general manager for the Toronto Sceptres of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). Playing career Besides hockey, Kingsbury participa ...

for Toronto,

Daniele Sauvageau Daniele is an Italian male given name, the cognate of the English name Daniel. Danièle is also a French female given name, an alternative spelling of Danielle. The name "Daniel" originates from the Hebrew Bible and is associated with the prophe ...

for Montreal, and

Michael Hirshfeld Michael Hirshfeld is a Canadian ice hockey executive. He currently holds the position of General Manager for the Ottawa Charge of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). Hirshfeld has also served as the executive director of the NHL Coache ...

for Ottawa. On September 5, Emily Clark,

Brianne Jenner Brianne Alexandra Jenner (born May 4, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player and Captain (ice hockey), captain for the Ottawa Charge of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) and a member of Canada women's national ice hockey ...

, and

Emerance Maschmeyer Emerance Maschmeyer-Lacasse (born October 5, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender for PWHL Vancouver of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She previously played for the Ottawa Charge of the PWHL. She is also a membe ...

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 Taylor Heise (born March 17, 2000) is an American professional ice hockey forward for the Minnesota Frost of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She played college ice hockey at Minnesota where she won the Patty Kazmaier Award in 2022. ...

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 journalism department of ''The New York Times''. It provides national and local coverage in 47 North American cities as well as the United Kingdom. ''The Athletic'' also covers national stories ...

, 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 the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most populous city in New York, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 census. It is located on the Mohawk River in the Mohawk Valley at the foot of the Adiro ...

, 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 Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations for the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). Hefford got her start in the sport of ringette but soon moved ...

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 The 2024 IIHF Women's World Championship was the 23rd edition of the IIHF World Women's Championship, an international ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), contested in Utica, New York, United State ...

, 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 This is a list of subsidiaries of the American media company Advance Publications Inc. Local media groups The following subsidiaries are owned through Advance Local Advance Media New York *'' The Post-Standard'' (Syracuse, New York) **Syracuse. ...

'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 (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

Coaching changes

On December 27, 2023, one week before

's inaugural game, the team announced that head coach

Charlie Burggraf Charlie may refer to: Film and television * ''Charlie'' (2015 Malayalam film), an Indian Malayalam-language film * ''Charlie'' (2015 Kannada film), an Indian Kannada-language film * ''Charlie'' (TV series), a 2015 political drama series based ...

had decided to step away from the team, citing family reasons. Burggraf had been named the team's first coach on September 15, 2023, and coached the team to a perfect 3–0 record in the preseason. Ken Klee was then named Burggraf's replacement.

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 2024 Women's World Ice Hockey Championships was the 26th such event hosted by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Teams participated at several levels of competition based on their 2023 results. The competition served as qualifications f ...

. 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, and the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico. * Eastern Standard Time (EST) is five hours behi ...

.'' , - , 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 ...

, , - , 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 within in Elmont, New York, on Long Island. The venue is situated directly adjacent to the eastern limits of the borough of Queens in New York City. Opened in 2021, it is the home of the New York ...

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 Place Bell is a multi-purpose arena in Laval, Quebec, Canada. The complex includes a 10,062-seat main arena, which is the home of the Laval Rocket of the American Hockey League (AHL), and two smaller community ice rinks, one of which has Olympi ...

, , - , 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 @

, , - , 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 (SBA), formerly known as Air Canada Centre (ACC), is a multi-purposed arena located on Bay Street in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the home of the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and t ...

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 ( ) or 3M Arena 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 b ...

, , - , 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. Opening 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 t ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, , - , 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, Pennsylvania, 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 Leagu ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, , - , 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 (French: ''Centre Bell)'', 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), ...

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

Prudential Center Prudential Center is a multipurpose indoor arena in the central business district of Newark, New Jersey, United States. Opened in 2007, it is the home of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL), the New York Sirens of the Pro ...

, , - , 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 (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 spo ...

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

. 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

^† - suspension covered at least one 2024 postseason game

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 scored twice, Natalie Spooner 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 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 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,

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 (born May 24, 1999) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender for the Boston Fleet of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) and member of the United States women's national ice hockey team. She was one of the best go ...

made 53 saves, and

Susanna Tapani Susanna Jenni "Suski" Tapani (born 2 March 1993) is a Finnish multi-sport athlete who competes in ice hockey, ringette, and in-line hockey. She plays professional ice hockey for the Boston Fleet of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) a ...

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 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, just 62 seconds 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 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 post a shutout and

Sophie Jaques Sophie Jaques (born October 16, 2000) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defender for the PWHL Vancouver of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She previously played for the Minnesota Frost where she won two Walter Cups. She was s ...

score two goals. Minnesota secured another 3-goal win in game three, with

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,

Alina Müller Alina Müller (born 12 March 1998) is a Swiss ice hockey forward for the Boston Fleet of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) and a member of the Switzerland women's national ice hockey team. She played college ice hockey at Northeaster ...

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 Elizabeth Schepers (born February 13, 1999) is an American professional ice hockey forward for the Boston Fleet of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She previously played for the Minnesota Frost of the PWHL and Minnesota Whitecaps of ...

' 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; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(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 station ...

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 showcases 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 division, bu ...

. 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 broadcaster for ESPN/ABC, and formerly Sportsnet. Born in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Campbell grew up in Brampton, Ontario, playing for the Brampton ...

and

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a 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 Conference. The club w ...

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 Wi ...

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

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

players and current PWHL advisory board members

Billie Jean King Billie Jean King (née Moffitt; born November 22, 1943), also known as BJK, is an American former World number 1 ranked female tennis players, world No. 1 tennis player. King won 39 Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam titles: 12 in singles, 16 in w ...

and

Ilana Kloss Ilana Sheryl Kloss (born 22 March 1956) is a South African former professional tennis player, tennis coach, and administrator. She was the World's No. 1 ranked doubles player in 1976, and World No. 19 in singles in 1979. She won the Wimbledon j ...

. 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, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...

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 medallist, 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 (appro ...

player

Jonquel Jones Jonquel Orthea Jones (born January 5, 1994) is a Bahamian professional basketball player for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted with the sixth overall pick in the 2016 WNBA draft. Since Ma ...

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

League business

Coaching changes

Regular season

Standings

Schedule

Statistics

Scoring leaders

Leading goaltenders

Attendance

Supplemental discipline

Suspensions

Fines

PWHL Playoffs

Semi-finals

Toronto (1) vs. Minnesota (4)

Montreal (2) vs. Boston (3)

PWHL Finals

Boston (3) vs. Minnesota (4)

Statistics

Scoring leaders

Leading goaltenders

Attendance

All-Star Showcase

Game summary

Awards and honors

Three Stars of the Week

SupraStars of the Month

2023–24 PWHL Awards

All-Star teams

Transactions

Draft

Free agency

Trades

Contract Terminations

Retirement

References

Recaps

External links