NHL6d ago
PWHL Moves to Six-Team Conferences and New Playoff Round
Expansion to 12 clubs brings a 180-game schedule, Eastern and Western alignments, and a best-of-five quarterfinal for the league’s fourth season.
By OddsListing wire desk
· 2 min read
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Larger League, Longer Season
The Professional Women’s Hockey League enters its fourth season with four new franchises in Detroit, Las Vegas, San Jose and Hamilton, Ontario, doubling the circuit from the six teams that launched in 2024. The growth produces a 180-game regular-season slate running from Dec. 5 to April 18, up from 120 games a year ago. Every club will play 30 contests. Six teams open the season on Dec. 5 and the other six follow the next day.
Two Conferences of Six
For the first time the PWHL splits into Eastern and Western Conferences. Boston, New York, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Hamilton form the East. Detroit, Minnesota, Las Vegas, San Jose, Seattle and Vancouver make up the West. Each team will play 18 games inside its conference and visit every market at least once.
Expanded Postseason and Calendar Notes
The top four teams in each conference reach the playoffs. A new best-of-five quarterfinal round precedes the familiar best-of-five semifinals and Walter Cup Finals. As before, the first-place club in each conference will choose its opening opponent from the third- and fourth-place finishers. The popular Takeover Tour expands from 16 to 24 neutral-site games, with sites still to be named. An All-Star competition is locked for March 7 in Toronto as a four-team 3-on-3 event inside an eight-day break. The calendar leans heavily on weekends, with 49 games on Saturdays and 39 on Sundays; Wednesdays host 31 games. Because the women’s world championship is now permanently set in November, the league no longer needs the three-week midseason pause used in earlier non-Olympic years.
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