Five takeaways from Week 10 of the PWHL season: Toronto remains the best, and the Detroit-Pittsburgh Takeover Weekend was a success

Detroit and Pittsburgh served as hosts for neutral-site games this past week, Minnesota is back in the swing of things and Toronto just keeps on keepin’ on.

Here’s a few takeaways from Week 10 of the PWHL season.

1. Detroit, Pittsburgh put on one heck of a show

It was announced in February that Detroit’s Little Caesar Arena and Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena would serve as hosts for neutral-site games in March. This would continue the trend of NHL venues hosting PWHL games, with Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena for the Battle on Bay Street in February and the New York Islanders’ UBS Arena hosting four PWHL New York games throughout the season. 

I was lucky enough to attend the game in Detroit between Boston and Ottawa, with Boston taking it 2-1 in a shootout. An announced attendance of 13,376, more than the previous U.S. attendance record set in Minnesota last January, showcased to the league and the rest of the hockey world that there’s an appetite for women’s hockey in Michigan. 

What stood out to me the most was seeing hundreds of minor hockey girls teams wear their jerseys and cheer for the players from the stands. My DFO colleague Tyler Kuehl, who I was lucky enough to watch the game with, wrote this in his piece on the game: 

“Even during game stoppages, the crowd was engaged. When Taylor Swift’s ‘You Belong With Me’ came over the loudspeaker during the second period, the patrons decided that the short pause in play was not enough, serenading those on the ice as the action resumed.”

I can honestly say that it was one of the most unique crowds I’ve ever seen at a sporting event, and by far one of the most fun. If this is a preview of what to expect with a PWHL team in Detroit, then get the paperwork started now. 

2. Toronto wins 10 in a row

When there’s only 24 games in a season, some statistics or streaks can seem more impressive or less impressive. What’s irrefutable is when a team has a 10-game winning streak, that’s damn impressive. 

That’s what we have with Toronto, whose last loss came Jan. 23 in Ottawa. Their 2-1 win over Montreal on Sunday in Pittsburgh was their fourth in four games against their rival, a team they could face in the playoffs this May. 

Hannah Miller scored her sixth of the season and Kali Flanagan continues to add some offense from the blue line with her third goal on Sunday. But one player who I feel isn’t getting enough love is captain Blayre Turnbull, whose assist on Flanagan’s goal extended her point streak to six games (one goal, five assists during that span).

Natalie Spooner’s league-leading 12 goals and Kristen Campbell’s improved play in the crease are big reasons for the streak that’s lasted nearly half the season, but the elite two-way play of Turnbull deserves tons of credit. 

3. Wait, is Minnesota back? 

After losing three straight games and dropping in the standings in February, Minnesota has won all four of its games this month, including two dominant performances against Boston and New York this week. Captain Kendall Coyne Schofield had four points in her last two games, including the game-winning goal against Boston last Wednesday. 

In a league of world-class goaltenders that could make all the difference once we reach the playoffs, Minnesota’s lucky to have both Nicole Hensley and Maddie Rooney. Both netminders made a start this week, allowing just one goal on a combined 41 shots between the two games.

Hensley and Rooney have save percentages of .935 and .925, respectively, and the combination of this duo and elite-point producers like Coyne Schofield, Grace Zumwinkle and Kelly Pannek make Minnesota a team I’d want no part of in the postseason.

4. Ottawa is building for the long term 

While I was in Detroit for the game between Boston and Ottawa, I was able to sit down with Ottawa general manager Mike Hirshfeld for a 20-minute chat that I’ll share in a profile sometime next week. 

We discussed a number of topics, but what stood out to me was how Hirshfeld, whose background is in corporate law and insurance, has embraced the task of building a franchise from the ground up. While every team’s goal this season is to win the league’s first championship, Hirshfeld thinks that the moves they’ve made both on and off the ice make Ottawa a desirable destination for next season and beyond. 

Keep an eye out for when I publish the piece. In the meantime, read my DFO colleague Tyler Kuehl’s profile of New York GM Pascal Daoust.

5. IIHF World Championship takes place between April 3 and 14

The PWHL will be taking a near four-week international break for the 2024 IIHF Women’s World Championship, taking place at the Adirondack Bank Center and Utica University Nexus Center in Utica, N.Y. The tournament will include 29 games and feature 10 nations. 

Canada and the U.S. expected to battle it out for the gold medal. The only time in World Championship history that another country competed in the gold medal game was Finland in 2019, who lost to the U.S. 2-1 in a shootout.