PWHL notebook: League breaks for Winter Olympics

With the Professional Women’s Hockey League set to drop the puck on their third season, NHL.com staff writer Anna Kulesa will be filing a biweekly notebook on all the happenings in the league. Today, a look at the last games before the Olympic break and Sarah Nurse’s triumphant return to the lineup.

Last games before Olympic break

All eight PWHL teams were in action on Wednesday before the league breaks for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, with the first-place Boston Fleet defeating the New York Sirens, 4-3; the Ottawa Charge defeating the Seattle Torrent, 4-2, the second-place Montreal Victoire defeating the Toronto Sceptres 3-0, and the Minnesota Frost defeating the Vancouver Goldeneyes, 4-1. The women’s Olympic tournament will start on Feb. 5 and run until Feb. 19, when the gold-medal game will be played. The PWHL will return to play on Thursday, Feb. 26.

Frost receive championship rings

The Minnesota Frost added more bling to their collection. The reigning Walter Cup Champions received their 2025 championship rings last week. Designed by Paris Jewelers Canada, the rings feature the Frost logo made of 26 purple amethysts. “Back 2 Back,” is written on one side of the ring in a nod to their two Walter Cup trophies. The other side features the player’s name and number with the outline of Minnesota. “Win at Home” is written on the bottom. “Frost in 4” and the Frost’s 2025 playoff results are engraved on the inside of the rings. A total of 110 diamonds is set on the sides to represent the number of goals the teams scored in the 2024-25 season.

Sarah Nurse returns to lineup

It didn’t take Sarah Nurse long to make her mark. The Goldeneyes forward returned to the lineup on Jan. 17 and scored the team’s only goal in a 2-1 loss to her former team, the Sceptres, in overtime. She had been out since Nov. 21, the team’s season opener, where she suffered an upper body injury. On Thursday, Nurse followed up with a two-goal performance in a 5-0 win against the Sceptres and recorded an assist in Vancouver’s 3-1 win over the Torrent on Sunday.

Marie-Philip Poulin’s overtime spinner

Marie-Philip Poulin reminded the world why she is known as “Captain Clutch.” The Victoire captain scored a highlight reel overtime winner against the Frost on Jan. 21. With a little over two minutes left in overtime, Victoire forward Abby Roque caught the flying puck in the neutral zone, brought it over the blue line then passed it to Poulin who was skating up on her right side. Poulin brought the puck towards the center of the ice then spun around and backhanded the puck into the net for the game winner. It was the Victoire captain’s second overtime winner against the Frost this season.

New U.S. attendance record

A new U.S. attendance record was set during the PWHL Takeover Tour’s stop at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 18. A total of 17,288 watched the Sirens defeat the Victoire 2-1 at the Washington Capitals home arena. It was the PWHL’s first time playing in D.C. The previous U.S women’s hockey attendance record was set during the Seattle Torrent’s inaugural home opener at Climate Pledge Arena with 16,014 in attendance.