2025 PWHL playoffs
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | May 7 – May 26 |
| Teams | 4 |
| Defending champions | PWHL Minnesota |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Minnesota Frost |
| Runners-up | Ottawa Charge |
| Awards | |
| MVP | Gwyneth Philips (Charge) |
The 2025 PWHL playoffs was the playoff tournament of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) for the 2024–25 season. The playoffs began on May 7, 2025, and concluded with the PWHL Finals on May 26, 2025, with the Minnesota Frost winning their second consecutive Walter Cup.[1][2]
The Montreal Victoire were the first team to make the playoffs, when they defeated the Minnesota Frost 4–1 on March 26.[3] The Toronto Sceptres were the second team to qualify when the New York Sirens defeated the Frost on April 27.[4]
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.[5] 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.[6]
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.[7]
Playoff bracket
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 the other semi-final.[1][8]
| Semi-finals | PWHL Finals | |||||||||||
| May 7–14, Coca-Cola Coliseum and Xcel Energy Center | ||||||||||||
| Toronto Sceptres | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3* | ||||||||
| May 20–26 TD Place Arena and Xcel Energy Center | ||||||||||||
| Minnesota Frost | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4* | ||||||||
| Minnesota Frost | 1* | 2* | 2*** | 2* | ||||||||
| May 8–16, Place Bell and TD Place Arena | ||||||||||||
| Ottawa Charge | 2* | 1* | 1*** | 1* | ||||||||
| Montreal Victoire | 2 | 3**** | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| Ottawa Charge | 3 | 2**** | 1 | 2 | ||||||||
- * - Denotes overtime period(s)
Semi-finals
Montreal (1) vs. Ottawa (3)
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.[8]
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.[9]
In game two, Montreal evened the series with a 3–2 marathon victory. The game was won 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.[10]
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 game's 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.[11]
The Charge closed out the series in game four, defeating Montreal 2–1 thanks to goals by Rebecca Leslie and Emily Clark. Leslie scored just two minutes into the game, while Clark scored just 31 seconds into the third. Montreal ruined Gwyneth Philips's chance at a second straight shutout when Maureen Murphy scored with just over five minutes to go in the game.[12]
| 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 | 1–2 | Ottawa Charge | TD Place Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 02:00 – Rebecca Leslie (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Maureen Murphy (2) – 14:58 | Third period | 00:31 – Emily Clark (1) | ||||||
| Ann-Renée Desbiens 21 saves / 23 shots | Goalie stats | Gwyneth Philips 19 saves / 20 shots | ||||||
| Ottawa wins 3–1 | |
Toronto (2) vs. Minnesota (4)
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.[8] In game one, Julia Gosling scored twice in her playoff debut in her 3–2 win, giving Toronto a 1–0 series lead. In game two, Lee Stecklein recorded 3 points in a 5–3 victory for Minnesota to tie the series. Brooke McQuigge and Michela Cava each scored twice as Minnesota took game three by a score of 7–5; the highest scoring game in PWHL history. In game four, Kendall Coyne Schofield scored two goals, and Taylor Heise netted the game-winning goal in overtime to send Minnesota to their second straight Walter Cup Finals.
| 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 | |
Finals
Ottawa (3) vs. Minnesota (4)
| May 20 | Minnesota Frost | 1–2 | OT | Ottawa Charge | TD Place Arena | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 11:34 – Rebecca Leslie (3) | ||||||
| Klára Hymlárová (1) – 05:24 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 02:47 – Emily Clark (2) | ||||||
| Nicole Hensley 17 saves / 19 shots | Goalie stats | Gwyneth Philips 25 saves / 26 shots | ||||||
| May 22 | Minnesota Frost | 2–1 | OT | Ottawa Charge | TD Place Arena | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Britta Curl-Salemme (2) – pp – 19:44 | Third period | 17:25 – Jocelyne Larocque (1) | ||||||
| Britta Curl-Salemme (3) – 16:24 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Maddie Rooney 37 saves / 38 shots | Goalie stats | Gwyneth Philips 22 saves / 24 shots | ||||||
| May 24 | Ottawa Charge | 1–2 | 3OT | Minnesota Frost | Xcel Energy Center | Recap | ||
| Emily Clark (3) – 11:38 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 02:58 – Lee Stecklein (4) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third overtime period | 09:56 – Katy Knoll (2) | ||||||
| Gwyneth Philips 45 saves / 47 shots | Goalie stats | Maddie Rooney 35 saves / 36 shots | ||||||
| May 26 | Ottawa Charge | 1–2 | OT | Minnesota Frost | Xcel Energy Center | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 10:10 – Kelly Pannek (2) | ||||||
| Tereza Vanišová (1) – 10:09 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 12:00 – Liz Schepers (2) | ||||||
| Gwyneth Philips 36 saves / 38 shots | Goalie stats | Maddie Rooney 33 saves / 34 shots | ||||||
| Minnesota wins 3–1 | |
Player statistics
Scoring leaders
At the conclusion of the playoffs
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | +/– | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee Stecklein | Minnesota Frost | 8 | 4 | 4 | 8 | +1 | 2 |
| Sophie Jaques | Minnesota Frost | 8 | 2 | 5 | 7 | +1 | 0 |
| Taylor Heise | Minnesota Frost | 8 | 1 | 6 | 7 | -1 | 2 |
| Claire Thompson | Minnesota Frost | 8 | 0 | 6 | 6 | +2 | 4 |
| Emily Clark | Ottawa Charge | 8 | 3 | 2 | 5 | +3 | 2 |
| Michela Cava | Minnesota Frost | 8 | 3 | 2 | 5 | -3 | 4 |
| Katy Knoll | Minnesota Frost | 8 | 2 | 3 | 5 | +2 | 0 |
| Kelly Pannek | Minnesota Frost | 8 | 2 | 3 | 5 | +1 | 2 |
| Mellissa Channell-Watkins | Minnesota Frost | 8 | 1 | 4 | 5 | +5 | 0 |
| Klára Hymlárová | Minnesota Frost | 8 | 1 | 4 | 5 | +1 | 0 |
Leading goaltenders
At the conclusion of the playoffs
| Player | Team | GP | TOI | W | L | OTL | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gwyneth Philips | Ottawa Charge | 8 | 635:25 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 1 | .952 | 1.23 |
| Ann-Renée Desbiens | Montreal Victoire | 4 | 310:38 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | .943 | 1.55 |
| Maddie Rooney | Minnesota Frost | 5 | 376:32 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | .932 | 1.75 |
| Nicole Hensley | Minnesota Frost | 3 | 197:12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 0 | .906 | 2.43 |
| Carly Jackson | Toronto Sceptres | 1 | 76:00 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | .846 | 3.16 |
Attendance
| Home Team | Home Games | Average Attendance | Total Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ottawa | 4 | 7,421 | 29,683 |
| Toronto | 2 | 7,264 | 14,527 |
| Montreal | 2 | 6,842 | 13,684 |
| Minnesota | 4 | 6,357 | 25,426 |
| League | 12 | 6,943 | 83,320 |
Media
The Ottawa–Montreal semifinal series and the final aired on TSN in English and RDS in French, while the Toronto–Minnesota semifinal series aired on Amazon Prime. The Toronto–Minnesota series was also on the FanDuel Sports Network North and on YouTube in the U.S.[13]
References
- ^ a b c "Montreal Victoire select Ottawa Charge as 1st-round opponent in PWHL playoffs". CBC.
- ^ "Minnesota Frost capture second Walter Cup title". Sportsnet. May 26, 2025. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Ottawa Charge advances to PWHL final after upset of Montreal Victoire at packed TD Place". Ottawa Citizen.
- ^ "PWHL playoff schedule: Bracket, times, TV and streaming for women's hockey games". USA Today.