Three periods
A game is three 20-minute periods of 5-on-5 hockey, with intermissions in between. The team that scores more goals wins.
Canada / United States · 2026–27
PWHL, explained.
Twelve clubs. A 3-2-1-0 table. One Walter Cup. Here’s the quick guide.
The PWHL is the top women's professional league in North America. It opens 2026–27 with 12 clubs — the original eight plus expansion in Detroit, Hamilton, Las Vegas, and San Jose.
A short history
The league launched on January 1, 2024, after earlier professional women's circuits folded. The championship trophy is the Walter Cup.
The first three seasons were an eight-team, single-table league. Training camps for 2026–27 open November 18, after the IIHF Women's World Championship.
The 2026–27 regular-season length and playoff field have not been published in full. Through 2025–26 the league used a four-team, two-round Walter Cup bracket.
Current teams
Open a club for that desk’s news and scores.
PWHL
Boston FleetBOSOfficial siteSchedule
Minnesota FrostMINOfficial siteSchedule
Montreal VictoireMTLOfficial siteSchedule
New York SirensNYOfficial siteSchedule
Ottawa ChargeOTTOfficial siteSchedule
Seattle TorrentSEAOfficial siteScheduleToronto SceptresTOROfficial siteSchedule
Vancouver GoldeneyesVANOfficial siteSchedule
How the league works
Same 5-on-5 hockey, with a points system that pays extra for winning in 60 minutes.
Standings points
A regulation win is worth three points. An overtime or shootout win is two. An overtime or shootout loss is one. A regulation loss is zero.
Gold Plan
Once a team is mathematically out of the playoffs, points it earns the rest of the way become Draft Order Points — so eliminated clubs still have something to play for.
Power play
A penalty puts the other team a skater up. That extra-man advantage is the power play; the shorthanded side is on the penalty kill.
Offside and icing
A player cannot enter the offensive zone ahead of the puck (offside). Icing is shooting the puck the length of the ice from behind centre; play stops and the faceoff comes back.
The original eight
Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost, Montréal Victoire, New York Sirens, Ottawa Charge, Seattle Torrent, Toronto Sceptres, and Vancouver Goldeneyes.
Expansion, 2026–27
Detroit, Hamilton, Las Vegas, and San Jose join. Club desks for those four land once the league publishes names and marks.
How the playoffs work
The published Walter Cup format through 2025–26. The 12-team 2026–27 bracket is still to come from the league.
Who got in
The top four teams in the regular-season table qualified, seeded 1 through 4 by points.
The No. 1 pick
The first-place club chose its semifinal opponent from the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds. The remaining two played the other semi.
Best-of-five
Semifinals and the Walter Cup Final were best-of-five. Playoff overtime is 5-on-5 until someone scores — no shootout.
Format notes checked against official league pages. Use those links if a date, field size, or playoff grid changes.