2025-26 PWHL Power Rankings: Week 9 (01/16-01/22)

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.

I said in last week's rankings that the PWHL had a big weekend ahead, but that might have been an understatement. Saturday featured the annual Battle on Bay Street, but Sunday blew it out of the water. The day kicked off with a new U.S. attendance record, with 17,228 fans turning out in Washington, DC. Then, the first big trade of the PWHL season went down. On Sunday, Vancouver shipped Michela Cava, Emma Greco, and Brooke McQuigge to Ottawa in exchange for Mannon McMahon, Anna Meixner, and Anna Shokhina. It was the most players exchanged in a single move in PWHL history, and while it’s too soon to really discuss how this has affected each club on the ice, on paper, the Charge appear to win this one. After that, the rest of the week went off without much hubbub. Now, it’s on to the last week of PWHL action before the nearly month-long Olympic break. Every team will be in action on Wednesday, with all but the Fleet and Sceptres also having a game earlier in the week.

Somehow, I’ve gotten nine weeks into the season without using a Disney quotes power rankings theme, and the only Disney theme I’ve used was animal sidekicks, so it’s time to remedy that. Pull up a chair and get ready to leave the world behind for some good ol’ Disney-themed hockey talk.

#1. Boston Fleet (8-1-2-2, 28 points)

Last Week’s Ranking: 1 (-)

This Week’s Results:

• Sun, Jan 18 @ SEA: 2-1 SOW

Upcoming Schedule:

• Wed, Jan 28 vs NYS: 7 p.m. ET, Tsongas Center, Lowell, MA (NESN, MSG, TSN, PWHL YouTube Channel)

Quote: “I’m a damsel. I’m in distress. I can handle this. Have a nice day.” —Megara, Hercules (1997)

The Fleet's skaters were damsels in distress in Seattle. But Aerin Frankel can handle that. They’ll take the two points and go on their way.

Well, that was an ugly win on Sunday. The Fleet were uncharacteristically sloppy with the puck, and it led to them getting outshot 36-21 by a team that usually struggles to generate offense. They again don’t quite deserve this spot, but neither do any of the other teams, so they get to keep it by default. The Fleet’s road struggles are getting more concerning by the game, as they lack a lot of the punch they’ve shown in their mostly dominant home wins. They might have one or two good periods in almost every game, but the only complete effort they’ve put together on the road was their first trip to Seattle this season. Boston has a home game left before the international break, but immediately after the Olympics, they'll embark on a five-game road trip. That feels like a make-or-break stretch for the team. 

#3 (tied). Minnesota Frost (5-2-3-3, 22 points)

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

This Week’s Results:

• Fri, Jan 16 @ NYS: 3-2 OTW
• Wed, Jan 21 vs MTL: 2-1 OTL

Upcoming Schedule:

• Sun, Jan 25 vs NYS: 2 p.m. CT, Grand Casino Arena, St. Paul, MN (FanDuel Sports Network North, MSG, Sportsnet, PWHL YouTube Channel)
• Wed, Jan 28 vs VAN: 8 p.m. CT, Grand Casino Arena, St. Paul, MN (FanDuel Sports Network North, TSN, PWHL YouTube Channel)

Quote: “If you do your best each and every day, good things are sure to come your way.” —Tiana, The Princess and the Frog (2009)

After two streaky seasons, the Frost seem committed to doing their best each and every game in year 3. Plenty of good things have been coming their way as a result.

The Frost probably deserved a few more points than they got last week. They ran into a red-hot Kayle Osborne on Friday, who stole a point for her team by withstanding a barrage of Minnesota net-front chances. Then, when they returned home to kick off their first home stand of the season, Desbiens and Poulin stole the show to hand them an overtime loss. Still, there isn’t a lot to complain about for the Frost right now. Defensively, they’re strong. Offensively, they have four of the league’s top six point-getters this season. And in goal, Nicole Hensley continues to have a resurgent season. That's a recipe for sustained success, if you ask me.

#3 (tied). Montréal Victoire (5-3-0-5, 21 points)

Last Week’s Ranking: 2 (-1)

This Week’s Results:

• Sun, Jan 18 @ NYS: 2-1 L
• Wed, Jan 21 @ MIN: 2-1 OTW

Upcoming Schedule:

• Sat, Jan 24 vs OTT: 2 p.m. ET, Place Bell, Laval, QC (CBC, CBC TV, PWHL YouTube Channel)
• Wed, Jan 28 vs TOR: 6:30 p.m. ET, Place Bell, Laval, QC (TSN, RDS, PWHL YouTube Channel)

Quote: “Oh good. My dog found the chainsaw.” —Lilo, Lilo and Stitch (2002)

Oh good, Marie-Philip Poulin found a new crazy way to score. Who needs to score a flying goal when you can send a spin-o-rama, no-look, backhander right to the perfect spot? Surely, this will end well for the rest of the PWHL (and Canada’s Olympic opponents).

As has been the case lately, the Victoire had a low-scoring week and earned rocky results. For a team that generates as many chances as they do, they’re really not good at burying the puck. Luckily for them, Marie-Philip Poulin and Co. can cover up a lot of offensive problems, and Ann-Renée Desbiens remains one of the league’s best goaltenders and covers up many of their lapses. Kori Cheverie finally gave the forward lines a massive shakeup on Wednesday, and it seemed to help somewhat, but they appear due for some more tinkering before the Olympic break. The potential is there for this team to be good all-around, but they need to work a bit harder to find the right combinations instead of just scraping by on the laurels of their stars.

#3 (tied). New York Sirens (7-0-2-5, 23 points)

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

This Week’s Results:

• Fri, Jan 16 vs MIN: 3-2 OTL
• Sun, Jan 18 vs MTL: 2-1 W
• Tue, Jan 20 vs OTT: 4-3 OTL

Upcoming Schedule:

• Sun, Jan 25 @ MIN: 3 p.m. ET, Grand Casino Arena, St. Paul, MN (MSG, FanDuel Sports Network North, Sportsnet)
• Wed, Jan 28 @ BOS: 7 p.m. ET, Tsongas Center, Lowell, MA (MSG, NESN, TSN, PWHL YouTube Channel)

Quote: “You threw off my groove!” —Kuzco, The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)

That little break the Sirens had two weeks ago? It threw off their groove. Hopefully, they'll get over it without throwing anyone out the window first.

In good news for the Sirens, they made it through a tough schedule with five of nine possible points and got at least a point in all three games. However, their defense left a lot to be desired in the first two games of the week, leaving Osborne to play a huge role in getting them any points. They then cleaned it up a bit against Ottawa, but still didn't give Callie Shanahan the support she needed to shake off the rust in her debut. However, their offense remained strong this week, with loads of quality chances in all three outings. They didn’t score as much as they would’ve liked, but you can chalk that up to playing outstanding goalies. Overall, there isn’t too much cause for concern despite the rockier week from New York, but they’ll need to tighten up defensively to get back on track against two of the league’s best teams this week.

#5. Ottawa Charge (3-5-0-6, 19 points)

Last Week’s Ranking: 5 (-)

This Week’s Results:

• Tue, Jan 20 @ NYS: 4-3 OTW

Upcoming Schedule:

• Sat, Jan 24 @ MTL: 2 p.m. ET, Place Bell, Laval, QC (CBC, CBC TV, PWHL YouTube Channel)
• Wed, Jan 28 vs SEA: 7 p.m. ET, TD Place, Ottawa, ON (TSN, PWHL YouTube Channel)

Quote: The falling with style scene—Toy Story (1995)

While not exactly a quote, this week’s Charge win bore a strong resemblance to Buzz Lightyear’s first attempt to fly. Nothing went according to plan, except Gwyneth Phillips standing on her head, but somehow, they got a good result.

The answer to the question “how will the Charge respond to their winning streak being snapped?” With an immediate return to the Phillips show. I gave Seattle a lot of flak last week for their shot chart against Minnesota, but the only thing that makes this Ottawa one better is that New York landed 11 fewer shots. They’re still all from the slot, and Phillips is the only reason they won that game. Sure, the Charge hopped out to a 3-0 lead before the halfway mark of the game, but when you consider that the Sirens were playing their third game in five days, with travel, and their rookie goaltender was making her debut, that gets less impressive. All in all, it was a thoroughly uninspiring win, but two points are two points, and Ottawa needs them however they can get them right now. However, they might want to consider adding actual defense back into their game for this final stretch before the Olympic break.

#6. Seattle Torrent (4-1-2-5, 16 points)

Last Week’s Ranking: 6 (-)

This Week’s Results:

• Sun, Jan 18 vs BOS: 2-1 SOL
• Tue, Jan 20 vs TOR: 6-4 W

Upcoming Schedule:

• Sun, Jan 25 vs VAN: 3 p.m. PT, Ball Arena, Denver, CO (CBC, PWHL YouTube Channel)
• Wed, Jan 28 @ OTT: 4 p.m. PT, TD Place, Ottawa, ON (TSN, PWHL YouTube Channel)

Quote: “Even miracles take a little time.” —Fairy Godmother, Cinderella (1950)

Everything good takes time to materialize. But the Torrent are taking a little too much time to figure out how to be a consistently good hockey team, and it’s looking like it’ll take the miraculous appearance of a Fairy Godmother to make it happen this year.

In positive news, the Torrent deserved to win both their games this week. On the flip side, they only actually won one of their games. Still, returning home appeared to do the Torrent a lot of good. They didn’t necessarily get the quality looks they wanted against Boston, but they got the quantity, and then they got both against Toronto, which resulted in a six-goal outburst. However, their defense suffered tremendously as a result on Tuesday, leaving Corinne Schroeder to fend off far too many high-danger chances. Seattle has struggled mightily to turn in complete efforts this season, and their spot in the standings reflects that. This week, they head back out on the road to play Vancouver, who has been terrible on the road, and Ottawa, who returned to the Phillips Show this week. Given that, if they play their cards right, they might get to bank some more points.

#8 (tied). Toronto Sceptres (4-1-3-7, 17 points)

Last Week’s Ranking: 7 (-1)

This Week’s Results:

• Sat, Jan 17 vs VAN: 2-1 OTW
• Tue, Jan 20 @ SEA: 6-4 L
• Thu, Jan 22 @ VAN: 5-0 L

Upcoming Schedule: 

• Wed, Jan 28 @ MTL: 6:30 p.m. ET, Place Bell, Laval, QC (TSN, RDS, PWHL YouTube Channel)

Quote: “The only predictable thing about life is its unpredictability.” —Remy, Ratatouille (2007)

The only predictable thing about the Sceptres is that they’ll quickly find a way to squander any momentum they might get from a win.

Toronto kicked the week off on a high note, finally breaking their four-game losing streak in front of a raucous Battle on Bay Street crowd. For a lot of teams, that would’ve been a game to build on. However, the Sceptres followed it up with a dud of a road trip, letting the low-scoring Torrent pot six before getting shutout 5-0 by the Goldeneyes. At this point, the belief that this team can turn things around and make the playoffs has to be growing dimmer by the day. A trade could help provide the team with a spark, but even that may not be enough this season. From top to bottom, the offense simply isn’t clicking, and the defense and goaltending are not good enough to cover it up.

#8 (tied). Vancouver Goldeneyes (4-1-2-7, 16 points)

Last Week’s Ranking: 8 (-)

This Week’s Results:

• Sat, Jan 17 @ TOR: 2-1 OTL
• Thu, Jan 22 vs TOR: 5-0 W

Upcoming Schedule:

• Sun, Jan 25 @ SEA: 3 p.m. PT, Ball Arena, Denver, CO (CBC, PWHL YouTube Channel)
• Wed, Jan 28 @ MIN: 6 p.m. PT, Grand Casino Arena, St. Paul, MN (TSN, FanDuel Sports Network North, PWHL YouTube Channel)

Quote: “Look inside yourself. You are more than what you have become.” —Mufasa, The Lion King (1994)

The Goldeneyes are more than the basement team they have become…theoretically.

Yet again, returning home did wonders for the Goldeneyes, as has the return of star forward Sarah Nurse. However, as I mentioned would be the case last week, there’s still a long way to go if this team wants to do all the damage they’ve caused themselves. Their pit stop home was a brief one, as they now head back out onto the road for the final two games before the international break. They play their fellow struggling expansion club in a Takeover Tour game first, which will be the best chance they’ve had in a while to show that maybe, just maybe, they can play a decent game on the road. However, they follow it up with a visit to a strong Frost squad, which is unlikely to send the team off into the Olympic break on a positive note. That said, should they manage to get a couple of wins here, it could give them a shred of belief that they can turn this thing around, which would be a nice thing to have during a month-long break.