6 takeaways from Week 5 of the PWHL: Takeover Tour success, offsides review, shocking Sceptres

There was a lot of talk about the PWHL from coast to coast this past week. Fans turned out in droves to see the best players in the world, though fans of a certain team are being disappointed by some results.

Here were some of the bigger takeaways from the week that was across the league.

Taking over the West

The first wave of the Takeover Tour has been nothing short of a success.

While the Montreal Victoire might not have been the biggest fans of the “Western” road trip due to the travel, they’ve had the blessing of playing in front of big crowds in the opening three games of the tour.

After kicking things off with an exciting game in Seattle, ultimately losing to the Boston Fleet, the Victoire headed north for a marquee matchup with the rival Toronto Sceptres at Rogers Arena in Vancouver. Over 19,000 jammed inside the home of the Vancouver Canucks to see the Canadian rivals clash, with Montreal pulling out a 4-2 victory.

Then, the Victoire finished the trifecta on Sunday afternoon in front of a boisterous crowd in Denver against the Minnesota Frost. The reigning Walter Cup champions squeaked out a 4-2 win in a battle between the best teams in the league, pushing them into first place.

Yet, the exciting battle wasn’t even the highlight of the day. 14,013 showed up to Ball Arena to watch the two teams play, setting a new American pro women’s hockey attendance record. It surpassed the previous record set during the Takeover Weekend last season, when Boston beat Ottawa at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit in front of 13,736 fans.

There are still six more games in the Takeover Tour, with large crowds expected next Sunday in Quebec City next Sunday and Edmonton next month. While there is skepticism about the turnout in Buffalo, Raleigh and St. Louis, the first few games of the tour might inspire folks to flock to arenas across the U.S.

What is offsides?

Prior to the exciting game in Denver on Sunday, there was a lot of chatter about what happened in the earlier game of the day.

The Sceptres and New York Sirens were locked in a heated battle in New Jersey, with Kristen Campbell and Corinne Schroeder going save for save. The game ended up going into overtime scoreless. The way things were heading, it looked like a shootout might be in order to determine a winner.

However, that was not the case.

With less than two minutes to go in the extra frame, Sarah Fillier launched the puck down the ice, with Jessie Eldridge picking the puck up inside the Toronto zone and scoring the game-winner.

However, upon a second glance, it was pretty obvious that Eldridge was way offside before the puck entered the zone.

Unfortunately, the video review on potential offsides calls aren’t allowed in the PWHL, leaving many to wonder what the league can do differently to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

This goal is clearly comparable to the infamous Matt Duchene goal that led to the NHL adopting the coach’s challenge, permitting teams to review plays that might’ve been offsides before a goal was scored.

With so much video review involved in the women’s game already with goaltender interference and potential major penalties, it will be interesting to see what the league does, if anything, to avoid another instance like what we saw on Sunday from happening again.

Toronto is in trouble

The best team from last year’s regular season continues to disappoint.

The Sceptres entered the season as a playoff favorite, even without reigning MVP Natalie Spooner. However, things have not gone well for the team from The Six. Through nine games, the Sceptres have won just two games, both of which coming against the Fleet. Along with sitting last in the PWHL standings, Toronto is the only team with a single-digit point total (8) and have the worst goal differential in the league (-7).

I mentioned in DFO’s Power Rankings last week that there are no excuses for the Sceptres to be this bad. Sure, they are playing in tight games, with all but one of the team’s contests ending with a difference of more than two goals. However, Toronto doesn’t have the killer instinct that made them a formidable opponent during the inaugural season.

Even with talented offensive weapons Sarah Nurse, Emma Maltais and Daryl Watts, the Sceptres struggle to score, finding the back of the net just three times over the past three contests.

To make matters worse, the trade that many believe the Sceptres “won” hasn’t paid off. Hayley Scamurra is pointless through three games, coming away with a -3 rating, while Savannah Harmon isn’t quite comfortable in her new digs, registering a -1 while also being held pointless this season.

The season isn’t a lost cause (yet) for Toronto. However, the team needs to either start picking its game up or find players that will, or else it will be a long four months.

Ottawa is making a case for the playoffs

While one team in Ontario is frustrating to watch, the other is becoming an intriguing team to follow.

The Charge was a team that many were unsure of heading into this season. Even with all of the moves general manager Mike Hirshfeld made, Ottawa seemed like a fringe playoff team at best. Yet, they have shown some grit to pick up points in each of their last four games.

Along with a statement win over the Sceptres on New Year’s Eve, Ottawa went into New Jersey last Tuesday and took the play to the New York Sirens, coming away with a 3-2 win. They might not have beaten the Fleet on Saturday, losing 2-1 in overtime, but how the team battled and the fact that Gwyneth Philips played admirably in just her second start of the season, the Charge can look on their first full week of 2025 with fondness.

Early returns on the trade with Toronto are benefitting the Charge. Victoria Bach and Jocelyn Larocque are both contributing both on the scoresheet and in the team’s morale. Bach scored on Saturday in the loss to Boston, giving her two points in three games with Ottawa. Larocque picked up an assist on her former Sceptre teammate’s goal and has slowly been receiving more and more minutes with the Charge.

Currently, the Charge sits tied for third in the PWHL with the Sirens. If they can continue to get solid goaltending, and find a way to create more scoring chances, they won’t be the ones missing out on the playoffs.

Bilka is becoming a big-time player

While the Fleet are still trying to scratch their way into the top four of the PWHL, one player who is doing her best to make that a reality is Hannah Bilka.

Boston’s first-round pick from this past year’s PWHL Draft has been receiving opportunities to prove herself this year, and has been on the team’s top line with Susanna Tapani and captain Hilary Knight. The trio has been able to create some quality scoring chances, with Bilka using her ability as a versatile player to seemingly always be involved.

After her two-point performance in the win over Montreal in Seattle, Bilka added her third goal of the season last Wednesday against the Frost, which unfortunately ended up being the team’s only goal in a 2-1 overtime loss.

Bilka also had a goal called back on her on Saturday against Ottawa. Nevertheless, Bilka’s confidence is continuing to rise, and with Courtney Kessel continuing to give her the bulk of the minutes, the former Ohio State product will start piling on the points.

Sirens vs. Frost? Yes, please…

If you told me before the season that a game between the Sirens and Frost would be a must-watch event, I would you hope you’d be right. However, given how both teams played in year one, I wouldn’t expect the matchup to feature the PWHL’s highest-scoring teams.

Yet, that is what we’re going to be treated to on Wednesday night in New Jersey.

The Frost took first place with their win over the Victoire on Sunday and, with that, gave the defending champions 32 goals through 10 games. Rookie Britta Curl-Salemme is a big contributor for Minnesota, sitting tied with New York’s Alex Carpenter for the most goals in the league (5).

On the other side, Carpenter has formed a dynamic duo with first-overall pick Sarah Fillier. The two national team combatants have combined for 20 points through nine games, sitting tied with Frost defender Claire Thompson for the league lead in scoring with 10 points apiece.

While we know the Sirens’ Corinne Schroeder and Frost netminder Maddie Rooney can make big saves, they might be in tough on Wednesday.

It’s also worth mentioning this will be the first time these two teams have met since New York waxed Minnesota 5-0 in St. Paul nine days ago, so you know the Frost will be looking for revenge.

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