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The Professional Women's Hockey League has established Eastern and Western conferences and doubled its playoff field from four to eight teams for the upcoming season, which begins Dec. 5 and runs through April 18.
The Professional Women's Hockey League has established a conference structure for the upcoming season and will increase the number of playoff teams from four to eight.
PWHL Confirms 2026 27 Schedule
Four expansion clubs will join the league this season, which begins Dec. 5 and continues through April 18, the PWHL announced Friday as it released its 2026-27 schedule. With 12 teams, new conferences and more games than ever before, this schedule reflects the PWHL's monumental growth as anticipation builds for our fourth season, PWHL executive vice-president of hockey operations Jayna Hefford said in a statement.
The introduction of conferences and an expanded playoff format will deepen rivalries and fuel the competitiveness that makes PWHL action so exciting from the very first puck drop until the Walter Cup is raised, Hefford added. Eastern Conference teams will include the Boston Fleet, PWHL Hamilton, the Montreal Victoire, the New York Sirens, the Ottawa Charge and the Toronto Sceptres.
Western Conference clubs include PWHL Detroit, PWHL Las Vegas, the Minnesota Frost, PWHL San Jose, the Seattle Torrent and the Vancouver Goldeneyes. Each team will play 30 regular-season games, including 18 within its conference and 12 interconference games. Expansion team names are expected to be announced next month. The top four teams in each conference will qualify for the playoffs.
Expanded Playoff Format Details
Best-of-three first-round series will be followed by best-of-five conference finals and then a best-of-five league final for the Walter Cup. The two first-place teams will have the opportunity to select their first-round opponents, choosing between the third- or fourth-place teams within their respective conference. In the regular season, every team will visit the primary or secondary home venue in all 12 PWHL markets at least once. The PWHL used a four-team, two-round format in each of its first three post-seasons.
In Canada, TSN, Sportsnet, Prime Video and the CBC are returning as domestic broadcast rights-holders. Montreal Victoire rights-holders include RDS, Radio-Canada on ICI TELE and ICI TOU. TV and Prime Video. All 180 regular-season games will be available to an international audience on the PWHL's YouTube channel and via the league's website.
Broadcast Rights And Tour Expansion
Canadian viewers can access games on those platforms when they're not being carried domestically. The PWHL's Takeover Tour will expand from 16 to 24 games this season, the league said. Additional details are expected to be announced over the coming weeks. Each team will play in four Takeover Tour games, which are currently marked as TBD on the schedule.
All teams will observe a one-week break around the debut of the PWHL All-Star event in Toronto on March 7.
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CP24:This story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
PWHL Conferences Playoffs Expansion 2026-27 Schedule
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