Welcome back to The Ice Garden’s weekly power rankings! Check back every Friday for a new installment and remember: if you think your team is ranked too low, it’s definitely, totally, 100% because we hate them.
There’s no such thing as midseason doldrums in the PWHL. This week featured a season sweep, a losing streak hitting nine games, and the league’s best team returning to Earth a little bit. The trade deadline is looming this Thursday, so get ready for another wacky week around the league.
It’s my last college spring break next week, and I can safely say I’m most looking forward to hanging out with my dog, Finnegan (sorry Mom and Dad). I’ve been wanting to do a dog theme for a while, but it’s harder than it looks. However, it finally came together this week, so I present: PWHL teams as dog breeds.
#1. Montréal Victoire (10-5-1-5, 41 points)
Last Week’s Ranking: 1 (-)
This Week’s Results:
- Sat, March 1 vs BOS- 3-2 OTW
- Tue, March 4 vs MIN- 2-1 SOW
- Thu, March 6 @ TOR- 4-1 L
Upcoming Schedule:
- Sat, March 8 @ BOS- 2 p.m. ET, Agganis Arena, Boston, MA (CBC, Radio-Canada, NESN, PWHL Youtube Channel, thepwhl.com)
- Wed, March 12 @ NYS- 7 p.m. ET, Prudential Center, Newark, NJ (TSN, RDS, MSGSN2, PWHL Youtube Channel, thepwhl.com)
Breed: German Shepherd
German Shepherds are great dogs, but they’re not ones you’re going to mess with if you don’t know them. They look intimidating and there’s a reason they’re used in police work. However, looks and reputations can sometimes be deceiving, as they can also be big babies. Right now, the Victoire are viewed as the scariest team in the PWHL, but recent results show some soft spots in that intimidating visage.
After a long stretch of mostly sunshine and rainbows, things have gotten a little dicier for the Victoire recently. It’s been six games since they’ve scored a goal without someone from their top line of Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey, or Jennifer Gardiner on the ice (and just one goal that none of them have a point on). They’re struggling to find any combination in the rest of the forward corps that produces long-term, although head coach Kori Cheverie has been trying. She has two more chances to find something ahead of the trade deadline this week, but a move for some depth scoring might be in the cards. They can’t rely on the top line and Ann-Renée Desbiens being a brick wall forever.
#2 (tied). Boston Fleet (7-5-3-6, 34 points)
Last Week’s Ranking: 2 (-)
This Week’s Results:
- Sat, March 1 @ MTL- 3-2 OTL
- Wed, March 5 vs NYS- 5-2 W
Upcoming Schedule:
- Sat, March 8 vs MTL- 2 p.m. ET, Agganis Arena, Boston, MA (NESN, CBC, Radio-Canada, PWHL Youtube Channel, thepwhl.com)
Breed: Golden Retriever
Left photo: My childhood dog, Hunter. Right: A puppy photo of my current dog, Finnegan, on my hockey bag.
I’m heavily biased toward Golden Retrievers because that’s the only kind of dog I’ve ever had, so they get two pictures. There’s a reason they’re one of the most popular breeds, as they’re fluffy, adorable, and overall incredible family dogs. They’re also supposed to be smart, but there isn’t much going on between Finn’s ears, and my childhood dog, Hunter, was no brainiac either. Similarly, the Fleet have many qualities of a really good team. They have an otherworldly netminder, a good-to-great top-six, and they’re physical and usually solid defensively. However, they also like to do really dumb things sometimes, such as get outshot 40-20 by the worst team in the league.
The Fleet didn’t always play their best hockey this week, but they walked away with another four points, so that’s something. However, they’ve gotten away with subpar offense recently, largely thanks to Aerin Frankel and playing struggling teams. That’s not going to happen as much now, with just four games remaining against the bottom three teams. Plus, three of those are against Ottawa, who has been heating up. So, the Fleet need to find a way to start generating more quality offense as their schedule strengthens, or they’re going to find themselves in trouble. Luckily for them, seven of their last nine games are home (although one of those “home” games is in St. Louis), so there will be ample time to practice after a tough road schedule for much of this season.
#2 (tied). Toronto Sceptres (9-2-4-7, 35 points)
Last Week’s Ranking: 2 (+1)
This Week’s Results:
- Thu, March 6 vs MTL- 4-1 W
Upcoming Schedule:
- Sun, March 9 vs MIN- 1 p.m. ET, Coca-Cola Coliseum, Toronto, ON (TSN, FanDuel Sports Network North, PWHL Youtube Channel, thepwhl.com)
Breed: Labrador Retriever
It’s only right that the two teams tied this week get similar dogs. Labrador Retrievers tend to be more active than Goldens, and the Sceptres are typically a higher-octane team than the Fleet (although Toronto is heavily reliant on their power play). Plus, the Sceptres have been a smidge less complete of a team this season, and since Labs aren’t fluffy like Goldens, they lose points in my totally unbiased book. I rest my case.
Last week, I mentioned some problems the Sceptres were facing, and said how they responded after a week off would be telling. They came out and secured a strong regulation win over the best team in the league, so I’d say they responded well. Two of their four goals still came via the power play, so the even-strength scoring still needs work. However, Natalie Spooner got her first two goals in her sixth game back from injury (both on the power play), so that’s a huge boost if she gets going. Overall, the Sceptres did what they needed to do in their one game this week, so they earned a small promotion.
#4. Minnesota Frost (6-4-4-7, 30 points)
Last Week’s Ranking: 4 (-)
This Week’s Results:
- Tue, March 4 @ MTL- 2-1 SOL
Upcoming Schedule:
- Fri, March 7 vs OTT- 6 p.m. CT, Lenovo Center, Raleigh, NC (FanDuel Sports Network North, TSN, PWHL Youtube Channel, thepwhl.com)
- Sun, March 9 @ TOR- 12 p.m. CT, Coca-Cola Coliseum, Toronto, ON (FanDuel Sports Network North, TSN, PWHL Youtube Channel, thepwhl.com)
- Tue, March 11 @ OTT- 6 p.m. CT, TD Place, Ottawa, ON (FanDuel Sports Network North, Amazon Prime, PWHL Youtube Channel, thepwhl.com)
Breed: American Pitbull
Pitbulls have a reputation for being an aggressive breed. However, the reality is that most of them are giant babies, and that reputation is grossly unfair (hello bad owners). Anyway, that about sums up the Frost too: scary start, but they’ve been hapless recently.
We’re less than a week from the trade deadline, and with just one win in six games since the international break, it’s clear the Frost need a shake up. They have a busy week ahead with three games in four days, which should help them determine what needs to change. However, they cannot afford to leave many points on the table, especially against the Charge, who are nipping at their heels in the standings. It’s time for this group to dig deep and find a way to pull themselves out of this funk, or they might not like where they are in the standings next week.
#5. Ottawa Charge (7-1-4-8, 27 points)
Last Week’s Ranking: 5 (-)
This Week’s Results:
- No games this week
Upcoming Schedule:
- Fri, March 7 @ MIN- 7 p.m. ET, Lenovo Center, Raleigh, NC (TSN, FanDuel Sports Network North, PWHL Youtube Channel, thepwhl.com)
- Tue, March 11 vs MIN- 7 p.m. ET, TD Place, Ottawa, ON (Amazon Prime, FanDuel Sports Network North, PWHL Youtube Channel, thepwhl.com)
Breed: Chihuahua
Much like many chihuahuas, the Charge are little balls of hate and lead the league in penalties this season with 70. However, they can also be really good dogs, and the Charge have shown flashes of being a good hockey team this season. The question is: which side will come out more in the final ten games?
The Charge were off this week, so there’s not much to say. They’ve been heating up recently with points in five straight (although only two wins), so this break could go one of two ways. Either they’ll emerge from it better and finally be able to start closing out more games, or they’ll lose all the momentum they had. They have two huge games this week against Minnesota, who holds the final playoff spot. The Charge sit four points back with a game in hand, so securing regulation wins will be important for both squads.
#6. New York Sirens (4-3-4-10, 22 points)
Last Week’s Ranking: 6 (-)
This Week’s Results:
- Wed, March 5 @ BOS- 5-2 L
Upcoming Schedule:
- Wed, March 12 vs MTL- 7 p.m. ET, Prudential Center, Newark, NJ (MSGSN2, TSN, RDS, PWHL Youtube Channel, thepwhl.com)
Breed: Siberian Husky
Full volume hockey, eh? I’m just going to let this video speak for itself, because it works on several levels.
There are few words for this Sirens team right now. They’ve been playing better, but it still isn’t enough. The lack of confidence within the team is obvious right now, and it’s hard to say how they can pull themselves out of this nine-game losing streak. Their reward for finally being free of Boston is playing league-leading Montréal this week, so things aren’t getting easier from here. The Gold Plan is calling.