Sign in Subscribe
PWHL

2025-26 PWHL Power Rankings: Week 5 (12/19-12/25)

Each team makes a New Year's resolution in this week's PWHL power rankings.

2025-26 PWHL Power Rankings: Week 5 (12/19-12/25)
Riley Brengman and Jill Saulnier celebrate a goal against Seattle. Photo courtesy of the PWHL.

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.

Last time out, most teams continued whatever streak they were on at the time. This week, however, was a different animal. For starters, the Fleet finally lost a game, the Charge got back in the win column (albeit in overtime), and the Goldeneyes lost in the hallowed Pacific Coliseum. The only team whose streak endured this week was the Sirens, whose run of misery unfortunately continued. The final stretch of 2025 PWHL hockey is shaping up to be a good one, with six games on the docket before the calendar turns and a whole lot of teams looking for redemption, so don't miss out.

2026 is nearly upon us, and you know what that means: it’s time to make some New Year's resolutions that you will definitely keep up the whole year and not abandon by the time February rolls around. So, I’ve come up with a resolution for each PWHL team that they really do need to keep, or they won’t be happy with where they stand come the end of April.

Support TIG With A Paid Subscription

#1. Boston Fleet (6-0-0-1, 18 points)

Brengman and Mobley stand close, smiling at each other as they open their arms to embrace. They are both wearing white away uniforms.
Riley Brengman and Olivia Mobley smile before hugging as they celebrate a goal against Minnesota. Photo courtesy of the PWHL.

Last Week’s Ranking: 1 (-)

This Week’s Results:

  • Fri, Dec 19 @ MIN- 5-2 L
  • Sun, Dec 21 @ SEA- 3-1 W

Upcoming Schedule:

  • Sat, Dec 27 @ OTT- 12 p.m. ET, TD Place, Ottawa, ON (NESN, Sportsnet, PWHL Youtube Channel)

Resolution: Keep building.

The Fleet are getting the results they want this season, but their process has been iffy. There have been multiple games where they won more by opportunistic scoring and Aerin Frankel’s brilliance than because they really deserved it. However, there have also been several games where they were the better team and earned the win. So, in 2026, they just need to keep building as a team and start making those deserved wins more frequent.

Well, the inevitable happened: the Fleet’s win streak came to an end this week. They were not ready to play when the puck dropped in Minnesota, and by the time they woke up, it was too little, too late. However, they followed it up with perhaps their best 60-minute performance of the year out in Seattle. They got three different types of goals, all from defenders, and Abbey Levy did her part to secure just her second PWHL win in her first start for Boston. It was as good a bounce-back game as they could’ve hoped for, and a great way to head into the holiday break.

#2. Montréal Victoire (3-1-0-2, 11 points)

A shot from inside the net, as a Montréal player pushes the puck past Emerance Maschmeyer and over the goal line. The Montréal player is wearing a cream away uniform, while Maschmeyer is in a blue home one.
Montréal scores against Vancouver. Photo courtesy of the PWHL.

Last Week’s Ranking: 2 (-)

This Week’s Results:

  • Sat, Dec 20 @ VAN- 4-2 W
  • Tue, Dec 23 @ SEA- 2-1 L

Upcoming Schedule:

  • Sat, Dec 27 vs TOR- 2 p.m. ET, Bell Centre, Montréal, QC (CBC, CBC TV, PWHL Youtube Channel)

Resolution: Finally find postseason success.

For the third year in a row, the Victoire are proving that they’re a strong regular-season team. All that’s left now is to find a way to translate that into postseason success. That 0-1-3-3 record is an eyesore.

Welcome to the “lost a game you really shouldn’t have” club, Montréal. They opened the week with a statement road win over the Goldeneyes, and then followed it up with another strong performance in Seattle. However, despite outshooting the Torrent 37-23, they only managed to solve Hannah Murphy once, and that’s not going to win you many games. That said, getting goalie’d every once in a while is a fact of life. They’ll have a chance to redeem themselves against a hit-and-miss Toronto squad in the annual Bell Centre game tomorrow. 

#3. Minnesota Frost (3-0-1-2, 10 points)

A from-behind shot of Knoll raising her arms and right leg in celebration. The crowd is in the background cheering. Knoll and many crowd members are wearing purple home jerseys.
Katy Knoll celebrates her goal against Boston. Photo courtesy of the PWHL.

Last Week’s Ranking: 3 (-)

This Week’s Results:

  • Fri, Dec 19 vs BOS- 5-2 W
  • Sun, Dec 21 vs OTT- 3-2 OTL

Upcoming Schedule:

  • Sat, Dec 27 @ VAN- 2 p.m. CT, Rogers Place, Edmonton, AB (FanDuel Sports Network North, Sportsnet, PWHL Youtube Channel)
  • Tue, Dec 30 @ TOR- 6 p.m. CT, Coca-Cola Coliseum, Toronto, ON (FanDuel Sports Network North, Amazon Prime, PWHL Youtube Channel)

Resolution: Develop a better killer instinct.

The back-to-back Walter Cup champions have had a bit of a problem closing out games this season. They’ve lost two where they outplayed their opponent (the season opener against Toronto and this week against Ottawa), and they let Boston crawl back into their meeting this week after leading them 3-0 heading into the third period. That’s not ideal if they hope to defend their championship again, so they need to develop more of a killer instinct as the calendar turns to 2026.

Minnesota had a weird week. After losing to Boston back on December 17, they learned the key to beating Frankel was redirections, and that’s just how they scored two of their three goals against her on Friday. They should’ve been able to beat the Fleet handily after they broke through Frankel, but they let their foot off the gas in the third and had to resort to eking out the win. Then, they dominated Ottawa on Sunday, outshooting them 43-25 with a crazy shot map, but ran into a sick-of-losing Gwyneth Phillips, who willed her team to the OT victory. As mentioned in the Montréal section, every team gets goalie’d sometimes, but both of this week’s games call this team’s ability to close out games further into question, hence their resolution.

#5 (tied). Seattle Torrent (3-0-1-2, 10 points)

Serdachny tries to reach around a sprawling Levy to score as Boston players try to defend. She is wearing a teal home uniform, while Levy and her teammates are in white away ones.
Danielle Serdachny nearly scores on Abbey Levy. Photo courtesy of the PWHL.

Last Week’s Ranking: Tied for fifth (-)

This Week’s Results:

  • Sun, Dec 21 vs BOS- 3-1 L
  • Tue, Dec 23 vs MTL- 2-1 W

Upcoming Schedule:

  • Sun, Dec 28 @ NYS- 3 p.m. PT, American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX (MSG, Sportsnet, PWHL Youtube Channel)

Resolution: Figure out how to generate offense at 5v5.

Seattle doesn’t have much of a problem scoring on the power play, which is good. However, they have a big problem generating quality shots at 5v5, not to mention scoring consistently. Fixing that has to be their main focus heading into 2026, or they’ll be heading for a long offseason.

Do my eyes deceive me? Or did the Torrent win a game where their power play didn’t score? Sure, it was still the top line that got both tallies, and they still got massively outshot, but baby steps. They opened the week with a terrible showing against league-leading Boston, but the win over the Victoire was an ok bounce-back for the club. Goaltender Hannah Murphy was a big part of it, continuing her *ahem* torrid start to her career, turning aside 37 shots, many of which were high-danger, to secure the victory. This is still a team trying to find its footing in the PWHL,  but they’re finding different ways to win games now, which should benefit them as they embark on their first major road trip.

#5 (tied). Toronto Sceptres (3-0-2-2, 11 points)

Two Toronto players open their arms wide as they are about to embrase in the corner after scoring. They are both wearing white away uniforms.
Toronto players celebrate a goal against New York. Photo courtesy of the PWHL.

Last Week’s Ranking: 4 (-1)

This Week’s Results:

  • Sun, Dec 21 @ NYS- 4-3 W
  • Tue, Dec 23 vs OTT- 4-3 OTL

Upcoming Schedule:

  • Sat, Dec 27 @ MTL- 2 p.m. ET, Bell Centre, Montréal, QC (CBC, CBC TV, PWHL Youtube Channel)
  • Tue, Dec 30 vs MIN- 7 p.m. ET, Coca-Cola Coliseum (Amazon Prime, FanDuel Sports Network North, PWHL Youtube Channel)

Resolution: Improve offensively.

Toronto’s offense has not been good this year. They’re frequently getting outshot, and they’re not doing a particularly good job of making up for it by being opportunistic. Sure, they scored four and three goals in their games this week, respectively, which is great. But, they've managed just one goal in half their games this young season. They have some talented offensive players, but they need them to show up more consistently next year.

The Sceptres had one of their patented rollercoaster weeks. They opened with a win over the Sirens despite getting severely outshot, but then suffered an embarrassing loss to the Charge after leading 3-0 in the second period. This team has yet to string together consecutive wins this season, although they’ve also yet to suffer consecutive regulation losses, and have just one losing streak that featured one regulation and one shootout loss. Still, the lack of consecutive wins is an issue for a team with playoff aspirations. They’ll be nearly a third of the way through the season by the end of this week, so the “it’s early” excuse is going to run out quick. They need to flip the switch we all know they can, and soon.

#6. Vancouver Goldeneyes (2-1-0-4, 8 points)

Thompson follows through with her stick as she fires a shot on goal as Montréal's Laura Stacey drops to a knee to block it. Thompson is wearing a blue home uniform, while Stacey is in a cream away one.
Claire Thompson takes a shot against Montréal. Photo courtesy of the PWHL.

Last Week’s Ranking: Tied for fifth (-1)

This Week’s Results:

  • Sat, Dec 20 vs MTL- 4-2 L

Upcoming Schedule:

  • Sat, Dec 27 vs MIN- 12 p.m. PT, Rogers Place, Edmonton, AB (Sportsnet, FanDuel Sports Network North, PWHL Youtube Channel)
  • Wed, Dec 31 @ NYS- 10 a.m. PT, Prudential Center, Newark, NJ (Sportsnet, MSG, PWHL Youtube Channel)

Resolution: Learn to win away from home.

The good news is that the Goldeneyes are a good home team. The bad news is they were abysmal on the only road trip they’ve had this season. It’s hard to say right now whether that was all early-season chemistry issues or if they need to be able to control matchups and have a home crowd behind them to succeed. They’ll be resolving the make it the former as they embark on another road trip.

Vancouver’s home win streak came to its inevitable end this week at the hands of Montréal. Still, 8 out of 12 possible points at home so far this season is a great start. However, unfortunately for them, they won’t get to see Pacific Coliseum again for nearly a month. Next up on the docket is a “home” Takeover Tour game, followed by a heck of a road trip through every East Coast team. It’ll be a trial-by-fire to see if they grew enough during their lengthy homestand to make their gnarly inaugural road trip a fluke, or if they're going to find themselves in a bad position with the Olympics fast approaching.

#7. Ottawa Charge (1-2-0-5, 7 points)

Leslie skates down the handshake line at the bench after scoring against Toronto. She and all of her teammates are wearing white away uniforms.
Rebecca Leslie celebrates one of her goals against Toronto at the bench. Photo courtesy of the PWHL.

Last Week’s Ranking: 8 (+1)

This Week’s Results:

  • Sun, Dec 21 @ MIN- 3-2 OTW
  • Tue, Dec 23 @ TOR- 4-3 OTW

Upcoming Schedule:

  • Sat, Dec 27 vs BOS- 12 p.m. ET, TD Place, Ottawa, ON (Sportsnet, NESN, PWHL Youtube Channel)

Resolution: Be nicer to their goalies.

I don’t know what the Charge have against their goaltenders, but they are really, really mean to them. They let them get shelled from high-danger areas night in and night out, and they rarely provide enough scoring to make their often Herculean efforts mean anything. So, in 2026, their sole focus should be on being nicer to their goalies by giving them legitimate support at both ends of the ice.

Could it be? Have the Charge finally emerged out of both the league and power rankings basement? Yes they have, albeit a bit begrudgingly. The only Ottawa player who deserves credit for Sunday’s win over Minnesota is Gwyneth Phillips, and then they had to rally back from a 3-0 deficit on Tuesday against Toronto. However, they still managed to win both in overtime, more than doubling their season point total in the process. This is still not a particularly good team, and they still need to find a way to win in regulation and without Phillips going nuclear if they want to be taken too seriously. But for now, they get to spend a week out of the basement.

#8. New York Sirens (2-0-0-5, 6 points)

Nylén-Persson appears to shove the Toronto player, who is in the air and about to make contact with Osborne, who is on her knees in her crease. The New York players are in teal home uniforms, while the Toronto player is in a white away one.
Maja Nylén-Persson appears to accidentally shove a Toronto player into goaltender Kayle Osborne. Photo courtesy of the PWHL.

Last Week’s Ranking: 7 (-1)

This Week’s Results:

  • Sun, Dec 21 vs TOR- 4-3 L

Upcoming Schedule:

  • Sun, Dec 28 vs SEA- 6 p.m. ET, American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX (MSG, Sportsnet, PWHL Youtube Channel)
  • Wed, Dec 31 vs VAN- 1 p.m. ET, Prudential Center, Newark, NJ (MSG, Sportsnet, PWHL Youtube Channel)

Resolution: Find positive consistency.

The Sirens have not had a fun existence. The only thing consistent about them is that they’re really good at shooting themselves in the foot. However, the pieces are there this year to stop doing that so much. So, in 2026, their focus needs to be finding a way to develop some positive consistency, be it consistent scoring, tight defense, or if we really want to get crazy, a decent win streak or two.

This photo seems to sum up New York's season to date pretty well. It takes a special kind of misfortune/ability to shoot yourself in the foot to not only outshoot your opponent every game, but to get a fair amount of quality chances in several of them, yet only manage to walk away with two wins. I don’t know what the answer is in New York, but something has to give. Their record should not be this bad, and as it spirals further out of control, they feel further away from figuring it out. The finishing needs work, as does the defense, but unlike for long stretches last year, they’re playing better than their record shows. Alas, in the PWHL, what you deserve doesn’t matter anywhere near as much as what you manage to get, hence why they find themselves right back in the league and power rankings basement.

Read next

Comments ()