The Professional Women’s Hockey League is establishing Eastern and Western conferences this season and increasing the number of playoff teams from four to eight.
The 12-team league – which will have four expansion clubs on the ice this season – will begin play Dec. 5 when Seattle faces Vancouver, while expansion teams Hamilton and San Jose square off against Montreal and Minnesota, respectively. The season ends April 18.
The PWHL says Eastern Conference teams will include the Boston Fleet, PWHL Hamilton, the Montreal Victoire, the New York Sirens, the Ottawa Charge and the Toronto Sceptres.
Western Conference clubs include PWHL Detroit, PWHL Las Vegas, the Minnesota Frost, PWHL San Jose, the Seattle Torrent and the Vancouver Goldeneyes.
The league says each team will play 30 regular-season games, including 18 within its conference and 12 interconference games.
All teams will observe a one-week break around the debut of PWHL All-Star on March 7, 2027, to be played at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena.
The top four teams in each conference will qualify for the playoffs. Best-of-three first-round series will be followed by best-of-five conference finals and then a best-of-five league final for the Walter Cup. The league will continue and expand a playoff tradition, awarding the first-place team in each conference the opportunity to select its first-round opponent, choosing between the third or fourth-place team within their respective conference.
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