All 90 games of the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s second season will be televised, including 17 Saturday afternoon games on CBC Sports, while Radio-Canada will televise seven Montréal Victoire contests.
On Thursday, the league announced its Canadian broadcast partners, with TSN having exclusive coverage of 57 games. Amazon Prime and RDS are also involved. The deal with CBC Sports is for two years.
The season begins Nov. 30 with the Toronto Sceptres hosting Boston Fleet at 2 p.m. ET at Coca-Cola Coliseum. The game will be streamed on CBCSports.ca, CBC Gem, and CBC Sports App.
“The first PWHL season was a tremendous success, and CBC/Radio-Canada is pleased to partner with the league to broadcast its second season,” CBC/Radio-Canada president Catherine Tait said in a statement. “The public broadcaster is delighted to support women’s sport in Canada, and to bring the exploits of these exceptional athletes to Canadians.”
The Sceptres/Fleet matchup will not mark the return of Toronto forward Natalie Spooner from a serious knee injury suffered in last season’s playoffs. The Toronto native was the PWHL’s first MVP and the International Ice Hockey Federation’s female player of the year in 2024.
At 5 p.m. ET, TSN/RDS will have coverage of the Victoire and visiting Ottawa Charge. The Victoire, who will play this season out of 10,000-seat Place Bell in Laval, Que., will have French-language coverage for all 30 home games. Besides Radio-Canada, RDS will carry 18 games and Amazon Prime five.
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Amazon Prime, which launched Prime Monday Night Hockey for the NHL season on Oct. 14, will have live coverage of all 16 Tuesday evening PWHL games, beginning Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. when the Charge host the Sceptres.
Canadian coverage of the PWHL playoffs will begin with TSN/RDS broadcasting one semifinal series and Amazon Prime the other. The Walter Cup final will be shown on TSN/RDS.
“The consistent visibility and accessibility of PWHL games in partnership with TSN and RDS, CBC/Radio-Canada, and Prime Video is a win for the league, but most importantly for our fans in Canada,” said Amy Scheer, PWHL senior vice-president of business operations.
“The composition of our Canadian broadcast schedule reflects a growing interest in women’s hockey and a commitment from our partners to showcase the PWHL to fans and new audiences on a variety of platforms.”
PWHL home openers
Toronto Sceptres — Nov. 30, 2024, 2 p.m. ET vs. Boston Fleet at Coca-Cola Coliseum.
Montréal Victoire — Nov. 30, 2024, 5 p.m. ET vs. Ottawa Charge at Place Bell.
Minnesota Frost — Dec. 1, 2024, 6 p.m. ET vs. New York Sirens at Xcel Energy Center.
Ottawa Charge — Dec. 3, 2024, 7 p.m. ET vs. Toronto Sceptres at TD Place.
Boston Fleet — Dec. 4, 2024, 7 p.m. ET vs. Minnesota Frost at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell.
New York Sirens — Dec. 18, 2024, 7 p.m. ET vs. Toronto Sceptres at Prudential Center.
Every PWHL team will play 30 games, up from 24 in the first season. Each team will play head to head six times.
Reigning Walter Cup champions, the Minnesota Frost, will begin their title defence Dec. 1 at 6 p.m. ET at Xcel Energy Center against the visiting New York Sirens.
On May 29, Minnesota defeated Boston 3-0 in a winner-take-all Game 5 to claim the inaugural championship. A rematch is scheduled for Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. at the same Xcel Energy Center.
WATCH | Minnesota beats Boston in Game 5 to claim 1st Walter Cup:
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The regular season will conclude on May 3. In between there will be three breaks for international play, including the Canada-U.S. Rivalry series, from Dec. 9-16 and Feb. 3-10.
Nearly 400,000 people attended PWHL games in the first regular season, including a record-breaking 21,105 inside the Bell Centre to watch visiting Toronto defeat Montréal, the biggest crowd to ever watch a women’s hockey game.
Training camp opened across the league on Tuesday and will include mini camps for all six teams in Toronto and Montreal.
The Victoire, Fleet and Charge will assemble at Montreal’s Verdun Auditorium, with the Sceptres, Frost and Sirens at Toronto’s Ford Performance Centre for training sessions and pre-season scrimmages Nov. 19-22.
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