With 2 new teams, PWHL announces 120-game schedule and opportunities for more neutral site stops

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With the addition of two teams in the Pacific Northwest, the PWHL on Wednesday released an expanded 120-game coast-to-coast schedule, which also includes as many as 20 options for yet-to-be-announced neutral site outings.

The puck drops on the PWHL’s third season with two games on Nov. 21, including Seattle traveling to play Vancouver in a showdown of the league’s two expansion franchises. On the same day, the two-time defending Walter Cup champion Minnesota Frost will open their season hosting Toronto.

Teams will play a 30-game schedule, same as last year, and face their opponents a minimum of four times — two home and two away — over a season ending with four games on April 25. And the schedule features the league’s first Olympic break, a 28-day stretch starting on Jan. 29 with the league’s stars heading to compete at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Games.

Most curious is the PWHL scheduling 20 games with venues and locations yet to be announced.

The league didn’t provide any details on these outings, though officials have already promised to build on last season’s popular neutral site series. The PWHL’s Takeover Tour drew a combined 123,601 fans over nine games split between the U.S. and Canada, including stops in Seattle and Vancouver.

Some of the games listed as “TBA” are also expected to be set aside for teams playing in NHL venues in their home markets, as Toronto and Montreal have done in the past. The PWHL, which surpassed the 1 million attendance mark last year, set an attendance record with a turnout of 21,105 fans at the Bell Centre — the home of the Canadiens — for a game game between Montreal and Toronto in April.

“Season 3 will be truly special with the highly anticipated debut of our first expansion teams and the growth of the PWHL community to the west coast,” executive vice president of hockey operations Jayna Hefford said in a release. “We can’t wait for puck drop to see the impact our new and returning players will make.”

The league has yet to announce whether it will continue with a four-team playoff format.

With expansion, the PWHL schedule has grown from 90 games last year and 72 in its inaugural season.

The Olympic break this season replaces the three-week pause the league previously had for the world championships in April. The IIHF is expected to hold this year’s tournament in late spring or summer.

Seattle’s home-opener is scheduled against Minnesota on Nov. 28.

The Boston Fleet, who open at home against Montreal on Nov. 23, will continue playing a majority of their home games at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, Massachusetts, with four more set at Boston University’s Agganis Arena.

The Ottawa Charge will open at home against New York on Nov. 22. The final home-openers are scheduled for Nov. 29, when New York hosts Vancouver and Toronto hosts Boston.

A lengthy offseason expansion process led to major roster shuffles, with U.S. national team star Hilary Knight signing with Seattle. Vancouver, meantime, signed three Canadian national team players in forward Sarah Nurse and defensemen Claire Thompson and Sophie Jaques.

The New York Sirens made a splash in the draft by using the No. 1 pick on Czech Republic national team player Kristyna Kaltounkova. The Sirens then acquired the No. 3 pick in a trade with Toronto, and drafted Wisconsin center Casey O’Brien, women’s college hockey’s MVP last season.

New York has finished last in the standings in each of the first two seasons.

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AP women’s hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey