2025-26 PWHL Power Rankings: Week 1 (11/21-11/27)

Welcome back to The Ice Garden’s weekly PWHL power rankings! Check back every Friday for a new installment and remember: if you think your team is ranked too low, it’s definitely, totally, 100% because we hate them.

Long time, no rank, PWHL fans. After a hectic offseason that saw the league’s first expansion franchises enter the fold and a whole lot of roster upheaval, Season 3 of the PWHL is underway. With only Week 1 in the books, these rankings are near-exclusively based on their very early results. I considered factoring preseason projections in it a fair amount, but they’re just that…projections. They can be hilariously wrong. We have results now, and I’m the Power Rankings Overlord, so what I want goes. That said, expect these rankings to change drastically over the next few weeks as teams settle into the new season.

Last time around, I kicked off my power rankings season with a movie sequels theme, so it feels only right to start this year by featuring the third installments in movie series, or “threequels” if you will. This was harder than one might think, especially with eight teams in the fold now, but here goes nothing.

#1. Boston Fleet (1-0-0-0, 3 points)

This Week’s Results:

• Sun, Nov 23 vs MTL- 2-0 W

Upcoming Schedule:

• Sat, Nov 29 @ TOR- 2 p.m. EST, Coca-Cola Coliseum, Toronto, ON (NESN, CBC, PWHL Youtube Channel)
• Wed, Dec 3 vs VAN- 7 p.m. EST, Agganis Arena, Boston, MA (NESN, TSN, PWHL Youtube Channel)

Threequel: Toy Story 3

Toy Story 3 deals with Andy preparing to go off to college and deciding what to do with his beloved toys. After the toys go on a wild adventure going to and then escaping from a daycare and returning to Andy, he donates them to Bonnie, who had fallen in love with Woody after taking him home from said daycare. It’s an extremely bittersweet ending, but the toys are better off being loved by a kid again than collecting dust in the attic. Likewise, there were plenty of bittersweet goodbyes this offseason for the Fleet, but their performance in Game 1 certainly makes you wonder if it wasn't just best for the future, but now as well.

Out of several silly rankings placements this week, this one felt the silliest. Strong start, if I do say so myself. However, if I’m sticking to my word of caring about the results most of all, the Fleet got the best results this week. Granted, they only played one game, so they had it easier than half the other teams. But you really can’t ask for much more than a shutout win to open a season. New head coach Kris Sparre had them playing a fast, aggressive style, and it led to more effective offensive generation and a little less reliance on Aerin Frankel’s brilliance, although she was still a massive part of the win. Also, the whimsy of nearly everyone in the crowd wearing the giveaway sailor hat won them some brownie points for these rankings. All in all, the Fleet had the start they needed, and it’ll be very interesting to see what happens from here. That said, it seems a bit far fetched to think they'll stick at number one for long.

#2. Toronto Sceptres (1-0-0-0, 3 points)

This Week’s Results:

• Fri, Nov 21 @ MIN- 2-1 W

Upcoming Schedule:

• Sat, Nov 29 vs BOS- - 2 p.m. EST, Coca-Cola Coliseum, Toronto, ON (CBC, NESN,  PWHL Youtube Channel)
• Thu, Dec 4 vs OTT- 7 p.m. EST, Coca-Cola Coliseum, Toronto, ON (TSN, PWHL Youtube Channel)

Threequel: The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

There’s plenty of suffering to go around in The Return of the King, but with lots of hard work and a good bit of luck, Frodo and Sam manage to save all Middle-earth by destroying the Ring of Power. Likewise, the Sceptres didn’t have the world’s greatest time in their season opener, but with some luck and an excellent game by Raygan Kirk, they managed to secure the win.

Speaking of teams benefiting from playing just one game this week, hello Toronto. They didn’t play a perfect game in Minnesota, but Kirk was brilliant, stopping 30 shots, while Spooner tallied two assists and looked rejuvenated after a healthy offseason. The Sceptres will gladly take both of those things. They need to tighten up defensively and find a way to generate more offense, but it’s been one game- there’s plenty of time for that.

#3. Montréal Victoire (1-0-0-1, 3 points)

This Week’s Results:

• Sun, Nov 23 @ BOS- 2-0 L
• Tue, Nov 25 vs NYS- 4-0 W

Upcoming Schedule:

• No games this week

Threequel: Spider-Man 3

Much like Peter Parker in the final installment of Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man saga, Marie-Philip Poulin explored her good and evil sides this week. In Spider-Man 3, the symbiote that eventually becomes Venom bonds with Peter Parker, turning him edgy. Similarly, in Game 1, Poulin was a menace in a bad way, racking with six penalty minutes. However, later in the movie, Parker frees himself of the symbiote and returns to his regular Spider-Man heroics. Likewise, Poulin remembered that she’s more useful on the ice than in the penalty box for Game 2, notching a goal and an assist as the Victoire secured their first win of the season.

The Victoire had a season opener to forget in Boston. They weren’t ready to play at puck drop, and they couldn’t get out of their own way. It allowed the Fleet, who are not expected to be a high-octane offensive team this year, to expose some of the team's defensive weak spots. However, they redeemed themselves in their home opener on Tuesday. Abby Roque scored an early goal of the year candidate, Poulin became the first player in PWHL history to hit 30 goals and 50 points, and Ann-Renée Desbiens put up another brilliant performance. There’s work to do, but they should be just fine.

#4. Vancouver Goldeneyes (0-1-0-1, 2 points)

This Week’s Results:

• Fri, Nov 21 vs SEA- 4-3 OTW
• Wed, Nov 26 @ OTT- 5-1 L

Upcoming Schedule:

• Sat, Nov 29 @ NYS- 9 a.m. PST, Prudential Center, Newark, NJ (Sportsnet, MSGSN2,  PWHL Youtube Channel)
• Wed, Dec 3 @ BOS- 4 p.m. PST, Agganis Arena, Boston, MA (TSN, NESN, PWHL Youtube Channel)

Threequel: Spider-Man: No Way Home

No Way Home sees the all-stars from every Spider-Man movie return for an extravaganza that delighted fans everywhere. However, there was also plenty of tragedy to go around, like Aunt May’s death and everyone forgetting who Peter Parker was at the end. Likewise, the Goldeneyes have a star-studded lineup that started with a bang to the delight of their fans, but Game 2 was a tragedy. 

It’s been two games, and Vancouver fans have already experienced the epic highs and lows of PWHL hockey. They won an OT thriller in front of a raucous home crowd to kick off their inaugural season, but then they dropped a complete dud against a far less skilled on-paper Ottawa squad. It’s a good reminder that talent doesn’t mean everything in hockey, and that the Goldeneyes are still learning how to play together. When they figure it out though…look out.

#5. New York Sirens (1-0-0-1, 3 points)

This Week’s Results:

• Sat, Nov 22 @ OTT- 4-0 W
• Tue, Nov 25 @ MTL- 4-0 L

Upcoming Schedule:

• Sat, Nov 29 vs VAN- 12 p.m. EST, Prudential Center, Newark, NJ (MSGSN2, Sportsnet, PWHL Youtube Channel)
• Wed, Dec 3 @ SEA- 10 p.m. EST, Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, WA (MSG, TSN, PWHL Youtube Channel)

Threequel: Thor: Ragnarok

Thor: Ragnarok sees the titular hero trying to save Asgard and its people from his evil sister, Hela. After getting his butt kicked, Thor realizes that the only way to save his people is to bring on the doom of Asgard, a.k.a. Ragnarok, which will destroy Hela. Likewise, the Sirens have gotten their butts kicked plenty over the past two years, and general manager Pascal Daoust chose to blow up the core by letting three of his best players go this summer to set the team up for a better future. The results have been mixed, but it looks like it’ll be the right move in the end.

As the Sirens have every season, they won their first game. They dominated the Charge en route to the 4-0 win, outshooting them 42-28. Taylor Girard’s third-period hat trick in just 8:59 was the fastest in PWHL history, and the penalty kill was excellent, albeit relied on too heavily. However, they were then shut out by the Victoire in a game where they also relied on their penalty kill too much. The Sirens are going to have to clean up their play if they want to be competitive this season, but if they do that, this team has a chance to stay out of the basement.

#6 (tied). Ottawa Charge (1-0-0-1, 3 points)

This Week’s Results:

• Sat, Nov 22 vs NYS- 4-0 L
• Wed, Nov 26 vs VAN- 5-1 W

Upcoming Schedule:

• Tue, Dec 2 vs MIN- 7 p.m. EST, TD Place, Ottawa, ON (Amazon Prime, FanDuel Sports Network North, PWHL Youtube Channel)
• Thu, Dec 4 @ TOR- 7 p.m. EST, Coca-Cola Coliseum, Toronto, ON (TSN, PWHL Youtube Channel)

Threequel: Men in Black 3

There are two realities explored in Men in Black 3. In one, Boris the Animal escapes LunarMax prison and travels back in time to kill Agent K before he can deploy the ArcNet, setting the stage for a world-ending Bogladite invasion. However, in the other, Agent J also travels back in time to successfully prevent Boris from killing K, saving his partner and the Earth. The Charge experienced both realities in their games this week. Game 1 couldn’t have gone much worse, while Game 2 was a great redemption.

I was prepared to be extremely mean to the Charge this week after a disastrous opening game, in which Gwyneth Phillips should’ve earned the right to slap all of her teammates. However, then they came out and thumped the Goldeneyes to redeem themselves. There’s still reason to doubt this Charge roster, so they don’t quite get sole possession of sixth place, but hey, a regulation win is a regulation win.

#6 (tied). Seattle Torrent (0-0-1-0, 1 point)

This Week’s Results:

• Fri, Nov 21 @ VAN- 4-3 OTL

Upcoming Schedule:

• Fri, Nov 28 vs MIN- 1 p.m. PST, Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, WA (Sportsnet, PWHL Youtube Channel)
• Wed, Dec 3 vs NYS- 7 p.m. PST, Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, WA (MSG, TSN, PWHL Youtube Channel)

Threequel: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 1.

Mockingjay sees Katniss and Co. trying to rally all the districts together in the war against the Capitol. It’s a movie filled with setbacks and small victories, and it ends on a major low note when they discover that the newly rescued Peeta has been hijacked and wants to kill Katniss. In that vein, the Torrent had an inaugural game filled with highs and lows after getting and losing three leads, but then it ended on a sour note when they lost in overtime.

The Torrent played a solid inaugural game, hopping out to three separate leads in an extremely hostile environment. They got contributions from their two big breakout candidates, with Julia Gosling notching two goals and Danielle Serdachny picking up an assist. It’s not ideal to have given up three leads, but there’s going to be growing pains with both expansion clubs as they learn how to play together. They at least managed to secure a point, and now they have a nearly month-long homestand to clean things up and start to realize their potential.

#8. Minnesota Frost (0-0-0-1, 0 points)

This Week’s Results:

• Fri, Nov 21 vs TOR- 2-1 L

Upcoming Schedule:

• Fri, Nov 28 @ SEA- 3 p.m. CST, Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, WA (Sportsnet, PWHL Youtube Channel)
• Tue, Dec 2 @ OTT- 6 p.m. CST, TD Place, Ottawa, ON (FanDuel Sports Network North, Amazon Prime, PWHL Youtube Channel)

Threequel: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

The Hobbit movies are overhated. Sure, they are far from the most faithful adaptations of a book, but if you put that aside, they’re pretty entertaining. Likewise, this week’s ranking is unnecessarily hateful towards the Frost. Are they the best team in the PWHL? No. But they’re not the worst either.

First week, first completely unfair ranking. Again, a strong start if I do say so myself. Much like the Fleet and Sceptres were helped by just playing one game, the Frost were hurt by it. I can’t justify putting a winless team above one with a win when there's been 1-2 games played per team, so here we are. However, the good news for Frost fans is that they played a solid overall game. They outshot the Sceptres 31-19 in the game and got on the board first thanks to captain Kendall Coyne Schofield, but Kirk was unbeatable after that for Toronto. There are still questions about the Frost’s roster, namely defensively, but there’s potential here. I don’t think they’ll be in the basement very long.