Happy Friday, all! Melissa Burgess from The Ice Garden here, ready for the final weekend of the PWHL regular season. It all comes down to this — with plenty at stake.
All eight teams are in action on Saturday, with the final playoff spot still to be determined. The Ottawa Charge, who currently hold the spot, face off against the fifth-place Toronto Sceptres. The Sceptres must win in regulation to make the playoffs; with any other result, the Charge are in.
Higher up the standings, the Minnesota Frost are locked into third place, but that’s about all we know for certain.
Beyond that, the Montréal Victoire and Boston Fleet are fighting for the first overall spot, with both teams facing Gold Plan-activated teams in their final regular season matchup. The Victoire hold a one-point lead over the Fleet. So what do the clinching scenarios look like here?
If Montréal beats Seattle in regulation, they clinch first overall. Alternately, if Boston loses in regulation to New York, that also clinches it for the Victoire. Beyond those results, it gets a little more complicated. The good news for Victoire fans is that they’ll know exactly what needs to happen in Saturday night’s game, as the Fleet play earlier at noon. As Lydia said in her X post below, the Fleet will need to accrue at least two more points than Montréal in order to take the top spot.
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With regards to the Gold Plan and the first overall draft pick, there’s also still something to play for. Though the Sirens can’t get the first pick (they’re locked into third among the current teams), the Torrent and Goldeneyes are still vying for it. The Torrent have the upper hand with four Gold Plan points acquired so far, but the Goldeneyes are only one point back.
What it all means is that on the final day of the PWHL’s regular season, six of eight teams genuinely have something to play for. And, even though the Frost can’t move up or down, they’ll still be competitive and looking to finish the regular season on a high note against a Vancouver team battling for Gold Plan points. Similarly, the Sirens can play spoiler and not help the Fleet get closer to the top seed and home ice.
It all makes for what should be an incredibly entertaining day full of hockey to cap off the regular season. Here’s the schedule (all times ET)
- New York at Boston, 12 p.m.
- Toronto at Ottawa, 2 p.m.
- Minnesota at Vancouver, 7 p.m.
- Montréal at Seattle, 10 p.m.
All four games are available for viewing on the league’s YouTube channel, with TSN and CBC picking up coverage in Canada as well as regional networks like MSG and FanDuel Sports Network.
Mondays: Soccer
By: Annie Peterson, @AnnieMPeterson, AP Women’s Soccer
Tuesdays: Tennis
By: Joey Dillon, @JoeyDillon, Freelance Tennis Writer
Wednesdays: Basketball
By: Howard Megdal, @HowardMegdal, The IX Sports
Thursdays: Golf
By: Marin Dremock, @MDremock, The IX Sports
Fridays: Hockey
By: @TheIceGarden, The Ice Garden
Saturdays: Gymnastics
By: Jessica Taylor Price, @jesstaylorprice, Freelance Writer