Top 5 takeaways from Week 4 of the PWHL: Takeover Tour, expansion and suspensions

We’re now into 2025, and the PWHL’s second season has been filled with big performances, lots of scoring, a blockbuster trade and plenty of off-ice chatter.

Here are a few takeaways from Week 4 of the 2024-25 season.

Success in Seattle

The PWHL kicked off its Takeover Tour in Seattle this week as the Boston Fleet defeated the Montreal Victoire 3-2 in a shootout in front of 12,608 fans at Climate Pledge Arena, home of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken. 

“It’s a pretty big honor to come into rinks like this, cities like this, and have 12,000 fans cheering for two teams that don’t even belong to their own city,” Victoire forward Laura Stacey told reporters. “I think it’s amazing to see. It’s a privilege for every single one of us to step on that ice today in front of Seattle. We don’t take it for granted.” 

“It was definitely exciting from start to finish, having a game in these cities that don’t have a team right now,” Victoire head coach Kori Cheverie said. “Having a game that close and the fans are in it the whole time, it was certainly loud, this building is amazing.”

The game had the highest attendance of the 2024-25 season, and was the fifth largest single-game crowd in PWHL history. 

Future of Expansion

With more Takeover Tour games in Vancouver, Denver and Quebec City in the next few weeks, the conversation around PWHL expansion continues to evolve. The league confirmed to CBC in November it had received more than 25 proposals for expansion. There’s no doubt attendance figures factor heavily into the league’s decision for whether a market is viable, but merchandise revenue is also a major factor.

When I attended the neutral-site game between Boston and Ottawa in Detroit last season, nearly 14,000 fans were in attendance, and PWHL gear was flying off the shelves, with fans lined up by the dozens. Amy Scheer, PWHL senior vice president, says the league “100 percent underestimated” the demand in merchandise, even when teams were without logos or team names.

Another factor that plays into a potential franchise is the youth hockey ecosystem in a region. Washington State’s Pacific Northwest Amateur Hockey Association (PNAHA) continues to grow, and the Kraken have had a big hand in the expansion of girl’s hockey in the greater Seattle area. Whichever region ends up with a new PWHL team, they’ll need to be heavily invested in the future of the game.

Boston vs. Montreal rivalry

With two games in a week, the Fleet and Victoire are developing one of the more interesting rivalries in the league. Between the two games, each team has a win and they’ve combined 50 penalty minutes, with a scrum after seemingly every whistle and a battle in front of the net.

The Victoire may have more talent, with the likes of Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey and Erin Ambrose, but this was the same Boston lineup that swept Montreal in the playoffs last spring, and U.S. Olympic regulars like Hilary Knight and Megan Keller have been dynamite through the first chunk of the year.

The two teams don’t play again until March 1, but then face off four times in the weeks after then.

PWHL handling suspensions well

The PWHL announced three suspensions this week, penalizing the Fleet’s Kelly Babstock, the Frost’s Britta Curl and the Victoire’s Catherine Dubois for one game each. 

One thing I really appreciate about how the league has handled suspensions in 2024-25 is the accompanying videos with each decision, similar to how the NHL explains its punitive decisions through its Department of Player Safety. The transparency and step-by-step explanations are a welcome addition in the new season.

The PWHL’s Player Safety Committee has also stepped up in how quickly they’re announcing their discipline decision. Last season, some suspensions weren’t announced for more than a week after the initial incident, allowing the offending players to continue playing. It feels like updating their process was a major priority going into the season, and it’s paying off. 

Sarah Fillier as good as advertised

Everyone knew that Sarah Fillier would make an immediate impact, but just seven games in, she is already one of the league’s best players. With four goals and five assists for nine points, the 24-year-old Fillier has scored in each of the last two games, and has scored at least one point in all but one of the contests. 

Fillier’s arrival has also benefited teammate Alex Carpenter, who is tied for the league lead in points with 10 (five goals and five assists). Carpenter, who finished tied for second in the league in points last season with 23, looks like she has extra jump in her step, dominating nearly every one of her shifts and generating chances on the opposing goal. 

Fillier and Carpenter have combined for 19 points through seven games and may be the league’s best one-two punch. New York finished last in the league last season, but with the addition of Fillier, the Sirens are poised to make the playoffs this May.

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