The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) will play 72 games in its inaugural regular season, with the first game on New Year’s day and the last one scheduled for May 5.
The full schedule, released on Thursday, includes 24 games for each of the league’s six teams. Each team will play head-to-head at least four times, including twice at home and twice on the road.
The league will break for international play in February, which includes three Rivalry Series games between Canada and the United States, and in April when the Women’s World Championship will be held.
It’s here. <br><br>Introducing the schedule for our inaugural season! 🎉<br>📰 <a href=”https://t.co/nSPo4ASskh”>https://t.co/nSPo4ASskh</a> <a href=”https://t.co/fpw2Qt0s6O”>pic.twitter.com/fpw2Qt0s6O</a>
—@thepwhlofficial
Notably, games will be played throughout the week, a departure from previous women’s hockey leagues, where games were often held on weekends because many players worked second jobs.
“Our inaugural season schedule features games being played at exceptional venues, at a variety of times, across all seven days of the week — offering multiple options for our fans,” PWHL advisory board member Stan Kasten said in a statement.
Key dates and playoffs
The season will kick off on Jan. 1, with Toronto and New York playing the first-ever PWHL game at Mattamy Athletic Centre at 12:30 p.m. ET.
Ottawa will play its first game a day later, hosting Montreal at TD Place at 7 p.m. ET. Montreal is set to hold its home opener on Jan. 13 at 3:30 pm ET at Verdun Auditorium.
Each team will play 12 games at home and 12 on the road, but not all home games will happen in the team’s primary venue.
Montreal will play seven of its 12 home games at its primary rink, Verdun Auditorium, and another four games at Place Bell, the 10,000-seat arena in Laval that is home to the American Hockey League’s Laval Rocket.
The league announced New York’s primary venue as Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport, Conn., but the team is only scheduled to play five games there. New York will also play four games at UBS Arena in Belmont, N.Y., home to the NHL’s New York Islanders.
Six games throughout the league have a venue listed as to be determined. Kasten has hinted teams could play “neutral site” games in NHL arenas or in cities without NHL teams.
PWHL players are set to take part in a 3-on-3 showcase during NHL All-Star weekend in Toronto in February. That weekend will also include a PWHL game between Toronto and Minnesota at Mattamy Athletic Centre at 12 p.m. ET on Feb. 3.
Playoffs will begin the week of May 6.
Season tickets will go on sale the week of Dec. 4, though fans who placed season ticket deposits with the league were granted early access. Single-game and group tickets will be available “in the coming weeks.”
Players, who’ve been in training camp for the last two weeks, will head to Utica, N.Y., for a pre-season evaluation camp next week. All six teams will compete in scrimmages, giving coaches and general managers one final chance to evaluate players before Dec. 11, the deadline for teams to set their final rosters.