PWHL: Montréal’s Ann-Renée Desbiens Named Player of the Week
The milestone will come just days after Saturday’s sold-out crowd of 17,850 for the league’s first-ever game at Boston’s TD Garden and the completion of the 16-game PWHL Takeover Tour™ this past week in Edmonton. Only 15 games remain in the 2025-26 regular season with five teams still in contention for the fourth and final berth in the PWHL Walter Cup Playoffs.
1 MILLION FANS WITHIN REACH
PWHL attendance through 105 games of the 2025-26 regular season stands at 976,219, just 23,781 away from reaching the 1 million milestone. This season’s average attendance is 9,297 fans per game, nearly a 29% increase over the average attendance across all 102 games played in 2024-25, including playoffs. The crowd of 17,850 at TD Garden set a new attendance record for a Boston Fleet home game, ranks second all-time in U.S. arena attendance for a women’s hockey game, is the fourth largest attendance of the 2025-26 season, and ninth largest in PWHL history.
HISTORY AT THE GARDEN
Boston’s TD Garden was the 35th venue to host a PWHL game all-time and 21st with a current NHL team. In three seasons, the PWHL has hosted sold-out games in nine NHL venues, including Boston, Edmonton, Montréal, New York, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, Washington, D.C., and Winnipeg. Saturday’s game, presented by Bentley University, was part of Hockey Day in Boston with a Bruins-Fleet doubleheader at TD Garden, and support was shown both ways as members of the Bruins wore Fleet jerseys for their walk-ins, and Fleet players wore Bruins jerseys for their Boston sports-themed arrivals. Hockey Hall of Famer and Bruins legend Zdeno Chara, performed the ceremonial puck drop with Fleet captain Megan Keller and Victoire rookie Skylar Irving, a native of Kingston, MA, who won two Women’s Beanpot titles at TD Garden with Northeastern. The game was also a highlight of the PWHL’s Fantasy Camp in Boston with a Pregame Panel for participants that capped two days of training led by Fleet staff and experiences alongside legends and former pros like Kacey Bellamy, Tessa Bonhomme, Emma Buckles, Jillian Dempsey, Meghan Duggan, Courtney Kennedy, and Gigi Marvin. On the ice, the visiting Victoire emerged with a 1-0 win in the first of two games in seven days between the league’s top two teams, posting the 26th shutout of the PWHL season. Click here to see all PWHL results.
TAKEOVER TOUR REACHES NEARLY 200,000 FANS
Edmonton’s Rogers Place hosted the final game of the 2025-26 PWHL Takeover Tour™ last Tuesday with a crowd of 10,794, bringing the 16-game total attendance to 199,631, an average of 12,477 fans per game across 11 different neutral site markets this season. With the crowd of 16,150 on Apr. 1 at Calgary’s Scotiabank Saddledome, Alberta’s four-game PWHL attendance in two seasons totaled 54,726, the most in any province or state outside the league’s primary markets. Boston’s 5-1 win over Vancouver on Tuesday was the largest margin of victory in Takeover Tour games this season, with only four of the 16 games decided by multiple goals. Click here for more about the PWHL Takeover Tour™.
TAKEOVER TOUR LEADERS
Montréal led the way with nine points in five Takeover Tour games (.600), but Minnesota posted the highest points percentage (.667) by earning six points in three games. Toronto (.556) and Boston (.444) also played in three Takeover Tour games and earned five and four points, respectively. Vancouver (.467) and New York (.400) both played five Takeover Tour games and earned seven and six points, respectively. Ottawa (.500) and Seattle (.417) each played four Takeover Tour games with six and five points, respectively. Offensively, Sirens rookie Casey O’Brien scored the most Takeover Tour goals with four, and defender Jaime Bourbonnais contributed the most Takeover Tour assists and points with six. Ann-Renée Desbiens of the Victoire led all goaltenders with three Takeover Tour wins and one shutout. A total of 96 players found the scoresheet in Takeover Tour games, including 46 different goal scorers, and 12 goaltenders appeared between the pipes with 10 of them earning wins.
DOMINANT DESBIENS
Desbiens extended the Victoire’s winning streak to six games with a pair of victories last week, including one shutout for a 0.50 goals-against average and .978 save percentage and has been named PWHL Player of the Week presented by SharkNinja. The 32-year-old from Clermont, QC, made 24 saves in a 4-1 win over Seattle last Tuesday, then stopped all 20 shots faced in the 1-0 victory over Boston at TD Garden on Saturday. The shutout was her seventh of the season and the win was her 17th, tied with Boston’s Aerin Frankel for the league lead and a share of single-season records in both categories. Desbiens has won five straight starts for the second time this season and has surrendered only two goals in that stretch. Her 1.08 GAA and .956 SV% so far this season are better than the 1.86 and .932 marks she posted when awarded 2025 PWHL Goaltender of the Year honors. Click here to see this season’s goaltending leaders.
VICTOIRE RETAIN FIRST PLACE
Montréal (16-4-2-5) became the first team in PWHL history to win 20 games in a single regular season and have set a new benchmark for points with 58. Boston (14-5-2-5) had their five-game winning streak snapped by the Victoire but remain in second place with 54 points and a game in hand. Minnesota (13-3-4-6) has won 16 games for the first time in team history, and their two-game streak has them in third place with 49 points. Montréal could clinch the league’s top spot as early as Friday with a regulation win against Boston, however that scenario will only be in play if the Frost beat the Fleet in overtime or a shootout on Wednesday. The fourth and final playoff spot is still up for grabs but currently held by Ottawa (7-7-1-12) with 36 points and three games remaining following Saturday’s regulation win over the Sceptres. All four other teams have four games to play with Toronto (9-1-5-11) in fifth with 34 points, New York (8-2-3-13) in sixth with 31 points, Vancouver (7-1-4-14) in seventh with 27 points, and Seattle (7-1-3-15) in eighth with 26 points. Click here to see the full PWHL standings.
