Still Eeyore
Well-known member
Because no-check rules force you to play defense in ways that are more interesting to watch.
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2025-26 PWHL season
- Thread starter BowWowWow
- Start date
Yes, this was an excellent article, thanks for sharing it -- and having this sell-out game at MSG is an excellent development for the Sirens! I was there and greatly enjoyed the atmosphere....
PWHL game at Madison Square Garden sets U.S. women’s hockey attendance record
A sold-out crowd of 18,006 fans watched the New York Sirens take on the Seattle Torrent in the league’s debut at MSG.www.nytimes.com
There was a loud cheer for Hilary Knight as her name was called early in the Seattle introductions. It's a good thing that New York pulled out the win in the end. I think the home ice definitely helped push the final shootout in the Sirens' favor. Kayle Osborne whipped around and saved the first shot in the shootout while the puck slid on the line to her left: a game of inches.
It seems in articles or interviews that the players say that they want to have checking, but they also allude to inconsistent officiating.
In some ways the issue may be similar to questions about what is "illegal bodychecking" in the college women's game. There are evidently more things the PWHL referees would consider "legal bodychecking" in the league by their rulebook. The league has had bodychecking clinics within the teams and more generally in the league from certain professional/recently retired men players who have worked on this; so, it is not from a total lack of awareness or experience, anyway, on the players' part.
Of course, I'm unsure what the PWHLPA would say, but yes, it seems like a topic that must be on their mind.
2 games left in the season for all teams, as of this afternoon...
Montréal, Boston, and Minnesota have clinched playoff spots, while Ottawa, Toronto, and NY are competing for the last one.
The two expansion teams Vancouver and Seattle are eliminated from playoff contention. Seattle has 1 point toward the Gold Plan, though - all points accumulated after a team is eliminated from a playoff spot go to this, for getting the first overall draft pick.
Word from the league is still that it could expand by 2, 3, or 4 teams for next season. Some articles in The Hockey News and The Ice Garden have made the point that there's not much of a runway for an expansion team to bring their personnel together, especially because of the short training camp time, falling after late-summer national team training (at least this past season). The Athletic also recently looked at why this season's expansion teams have finished so low -- suggesting possible issues with coaching (of course, it was the coaches' first year with the league as well as the players' first year with their new teams), along with tiring travel from the West coast.
Montréal, Boston, and Minnesota have clinched playoff spots, while Ottawa, Toronto, and NY are competing for the last one.
The two expansion teams Vancouver and Seattle are eliminated from playoff contention. Seattle has 1 point toward the Gold Plan, though - all points accumulated after a team is eliminated from a playoff spot go to this, for getting the first overall draft pick.
Word from the league is still that it could expand by 2, 3, or 4 teams for next season. Some articles in The Hockey News and The Ice Garden have made the point that there's not much of a runway for an expansion team to bring their personnel together, especially because of the short training camp time, falling after late-summer national team training (at least this past season). The Athletic also recently looked at why this season's expansion teams have finished so low -- suggesting possible issues with coaching (of course, it was the coaches' first year with the league as well as the players' first year with their new teams), along with tiring travel from the West coast.