2025 PWHL playoffs
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | May 7 – |
| Teams | 4 |
| Defending champions | PWHL Minnesota |
The 2025 PWHL playoffs is the playoff tournament of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) for the 2024–25 season. The playoffs began on May 7, 2025, and will conclude with the PWHL Finals, with the winning team receiving the Walter Cup.
It is the second edition of the PWHL playoffs, with the league beginning in 2024.[1]
The Montreal Victoire were the first team to make the playoffs, when they defeated the Minnesota Frost 4–1 on March 26.[2] The Toronto Sceptres were the second team to qualify when the New York Sirens defeated the Frost on April 27.[3]
It was the first time the Ottawa Charge made the playoffs.[1] As a result, the City of Ottawa renamed a section of Bank Street "Charge Avenue" in honour of the team.[4] The team qualified for the playoffs in their last game of the season, when Kateřina Mrázová scored in overtime for the Charge, who beat the Toronto Sceptres 2–1. The team needed a win of any kind to qualify.[5]
The Minnesota Frost also clinched a playoff spot in their last game, after defeating the Boston Fleet 8–1, eliminating the Fleet in the process.[6]
Playoff bracket
[edit]By virtue of finishing first overall, the Montreal Victoire were able to select their first-round opponent between the fourth-place Minnesota Frost and the third-place Ottawa Charge. On May 4, Montreal announced their choice to play Ottawa, leaving the second-place Toronto Sceptres to play Minnesota in other semi-final.[1][7]
| Semi-finals | PWHL Finals | |||||||||||||
| May 7–14, Coca-Cola Coliseum and Xcel Energy Center | ||||||||||||||
| Toronto Sceptres | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3* | — | |||||||||
| Dates and locations TBD | ||||||||||||||
| Minnesota Frost | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4* | — | |||||||||
| Minnesota Frost | ||||||||||||||
| May 8–?, Place Bell and TD Place Arena | ||||||||||||||
| TBD | ||||||||||||||
| Montreal Victoire | 2 | 3**** | 0 | |||||||||||
| Ottawa Charge | 3 | 2**** | 1 | |||||||||||
- * - Denotes overtime period(s)
Semi-finals
[edit]Montreal (1) vs. Ottawa (3)
[edit]Montreal finished first overall in the league, earning 53 points. Ottawa finished in 3rd place with 44 points. Montreal held a 3–1–0–2 record against Ottawa in the regular season, including winning all 3 games in Montreal's home arena, one in overtime.[7]
In game one, Ottawa upset Montreal 3–2 thanks to goals by Brianne Jenner, Ashton Bell and Shiann Darkangelo. With the loss, Montreal extended their four game playoff winless streak, which includes three straight losses to PWHL Boston in the 2024 playoffs. For Ottawa, it was their fourth win in their previous five games.[8]
In game two, Montreal evened the series with a 3–2 marathon victory. The game was won in at 15:33 in fourth overtime period, and took a total of 5 1/2 hours, setting a PWHL record for longest overtime in league history. With Montreal up 2–0, Ottawa rallied late in the third to tie the game up thanks to goals by Aneta Tejralová at 4:34 and Brianne Jenner with 41 seconds left in regulation. After almost four additional periods of overtime, Montreal's Catherine Dubois scored the winning goal to tie the series. The win was Montreal's first playoff victory in franchise history.[9]
Game three would be Ottawa's first home playoff game in franchise history. The game was scoreless until the 8:42 mark of the third period when Ottawa's Mannon McMahon scored the games only goal, giving the Charge the victory, and a 2–1 series lead. Gwyneth Philips recorded the shutout, saving all 26 of Montreal's shots.[10]
| May 8 | Ottawa Charge | 3–2 | Montreal Victoire | Place Bell | Recap | |||
| Brianne Jenner (1) – pp – 04:54 | First period | 12:13 – pp – Maureen Murphy (1) | ||||||
| Ashton Bell (1) – 05:07 | Second period | 07:12 – pp – Marie-Philip Poulin (1) | ||||||
| Shiann Darkangelo (1) – 09:17 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Gwyneth Philips 31 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Ann-Renée Desbiens 24 saves / 27 shots | ||||||
| May 11 | Ottawa Charge | 2–3 | 4OT | Montreal Victoire | Place Bell | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | 02:25 – Kristin O'Neill (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 08:35 – Laura Stacey (1) | ||||||
| Aneta Tejralová (1) – 15:26 Brianne Jenner (2) – 19:18 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Fourth overtime period | 15:33 – Catherine Dubois (1) | ||||||
| Gwyneth Philips 53 saves / 56 shots | Goalie stats | Ann-Renée Desbiens 63 saves / 65 shots | ||||||
| May 13 | Montreal Victoire | 0–1 | Ottawa Charge | TD Place Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 08:42 – Mannon McMahon (1) | ||||||
| Ann-Renée Desbiens 24 saves / 25 shots | Goalie stats | Gwyneth Philips 26 saves / 26 shots | ||||||
| May 16 | Montreal Victoire | 7:00 p.m. | Ottawa Charge | TD Place Arena | ||||
| May 18* | Ottawa Charge | 7:00 p.m. | Montreal Victoire | Place Bell | ||||
| Ottawa leads 2–1 | |
* = If necessary
Toronto (2) vs. Minnesota (4)
[edit]Toronto finished in second place in the league, earning 48 points in the standings. Minnesota finished in 4th place with 44 points. Minnesota finished behind Ottawa due to their lower number of regulation wins. Toronto lost the season series to Minnesota, holding a 1–1–2–2 record.[7]
| May 7 | Minnesota Frost | 2–3 | Toronto Sceptres | Coca-Cola Coliseum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 11:59 – Blayre Turnbull (1) | ||||||
| Britta Curl-Salemme (1) – pp – 13:56 | Second period | 07:47 – Julia Gosling (1) 09:42 – pp – Julia Gosling (2) | ||||||
| Katy Knoll (1) – 2:33 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Nicole Hensley 34 saves / 37 shots | Goalie stats | Kristen Campbell 24 saves / 26 shots | ||||||
| May 9 | Minnesota Frost | 5–3 | Toronto Sceptres | Coca-Cola Coliseum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 07:11 – Hayley Scamurra (1) | ||||||
| Lee Stecklein (1) – 04:41 Michela Cava (1) – 10:57 Lee Stecklein (2) – pp – 12:59 |
Second period | 16:56 – pp – Savannah Harmon (1) 17:23 – Allie Munroe (1) | ||||||
| Sophie Jaques (1) – 13:47 Mellissa Channell-Watkins (1) – pp – 18:49 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Maddie Rooney 27 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Kristen Campbell 20 saves / 25 shots | ||||||
| May 11 | Toronto Sceptres | 5–7 | Minnesota Frost | Xcel Energy Center | Recap | |||
| Daryl Watts (1) – 14:58 | First period | 02:33 – Liz Schepers (1) 06:56 – Brooke McQuigge (1) 07:48 – Lee Stecklein (3) | ||||||
| Maggie Connors (1) – 02:28 Kali Flanagan (1) – 17:57 |
Second period | 08:20 – pp – Brooke McQuigge (2) 17:35 – Sophie Jaques (2) | ||||||
| Anna Kjellbin (1) – 05:47 Blayre Turnbull (2) – 12:04 |
Third period | 07:20 – Michela Cava (2) 09:21 – pp – Michela Cava (3) | ||||||
| Kristen Campbell 17 saves / 24 shots | Goalie stats | Maddie Rooney 18 saves / 23 shots | ||||||
| May 14 | Toronto Sceptres | 3–4 | OT | Minnesota Frost | Xcel Energy Center | Recap | ||
| Julia Gosling (3) – 05:28 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Hannah Miller (1) – 10:33 | Second period | 10:47 – Kendall Coyne Schofield (1) 18:48 – Kelly Pannek (1) | ||||||
| Emma Maltais (1) – 00:58 | Third period | 08:33 – Kendall Coyne Schofield (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 16:00 – Taylor Heise (1) | ||||||
| Carly Jackson 22 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Nicole Hensley 26 saves / 29 shots | ||||||
| Minnesota wins 3–1 | |
Player statistics
[edit]Scoring leaders
[edit]As of games played May 14
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | +/– | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taylor Heise | Minnesota | 4 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 2 |
| Lee Stecklein | Minnesota | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | +1 | 0 |
| Sophie Jaques | Minnesota | 4 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Michela Cava | Minnesota | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | -1 | 0 |
| Kendall Coyne Schofield | Minnesota | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | +1 | 0 |
| Mellissa Channell-Watkins | Minnesota | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | +3 | 0 |
| Kelly Pannek | Minnesota | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | +2 | 0 |
| Emma Maltais | Toronto | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Julia Gosling | Toronto | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | +2 | 0 |
| Brianne Jenner | Ottawa | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | +1 | 2 |
Leading goaltenders
[edit]As of games played May 14
| Player | Team | GP | TOI | W | L | OTL | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gwyneth Philips | Ottawa | 3 | 245:33 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | .957 | 1.18 |
| Ann-Renée Desbiens | Montreal | 3 | 252:17 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | .949 | 1.43 |
| Nicole Hensley | Minnesota | 2 | 134:25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | .909 | 2.68 |
| Carly Jackson | Toronto | 1 | 76:00 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | .846 | 3.16 |
| Maddie Rooney | Minnesota | 2 | 120:00 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | .849 | 4.00 |
Attendance
[edit]| Home Team | Home Games | Average Attendance | Total Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ottawa | 1 | 7,282 | 7,282 |
| Toronto | 2 | 7,264 | 14,527 |
| Montreal | 2 | 6,842 | 13,684 |
| Minnesota | 2 | 3,152 | 6,304 |
| League | 7 | 5,971 | 41,797 |
Media
[edit]In the semifinals, the Ottawa–Montreal series will air on TSN in English and RDS in French, and the Toronto–Minnesota series will be on Amazon Prime. The Toronto–Minnesota series will be on the FanDuel Sports Network North and on YouTube in the U.S.[11]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Montreal Victoire select Ottawa Charge as 1st-round opponent in PWHL playoffs". CBC.
- ^ "Victoire clinch PWHL playoff spot led by Laura Stacey's 4-point night". CBC.
- ^ "Toronto Sceptres clinch PWHL playoff berth after New York win over Minnesota". Sportsnet.
- ^ "'Charge Avenue': Ottawa Renames Bank Street to Celebrate Charge's Playoff Run". The Hockey News.
- ^ "Charge punch first playoff ticket with OT win over Sceptres in season finale". Sportsnet.
- ^ "A pair of goals by Curl-Salemme secures Frost a PWHL playoff spot, Fleet eliminated". CBC.
- ^ a b c "PWHL Announces Playoff Matchups and Schedule". ThePWHL.com. Professional Women's Hockey League. May 4, 2025. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
Montréal selected Ottawa as its semifinal opponent, Toronto to play Minnesota
- ^ "Ottawa Charge beat Montreal Victoire in Game 1 of PWHL semifinal series". Sportsnet.
- ^ "Ottawa Charge falls to Montreal Victoire in PWHL 5 1/2-hour marathon". Ottawa Citizen.
- ^ "Philips Earns Shutout As Ottawa Charge Takes Series Lead". The Hockey News.
- ^ "PWHL playoff schedule: Bracket, times, TV and streaming for women's hockey games". USA Today.