In comes the new year, and with it, the most packed weekend slate yet in the 2025-26 season. The PWHL ushered in 2026 with five games between Friday and Sunday; two reached overtime, and all but one were decided by one goal.
Consistency eludes those sitting atop the PWHL standings. By winning percentage, only two teams hold records above .500.
Instead, it’s the underdogs that carry hot streaks into January. The Ottawa Charge own the League’s longest active winning streak with four in a row, followed closely by the New York Sirens, with three straight regulation wins.
Each team is on the rise, although they’ve still got a ways to go in our latest edition of the PWHL power rankings.
1. Boston Fleet (19 points, 6-0-1-2)
L2, +8 GOAL DIFFERENTIAL
The Boston Fleet have come back down to earth after a red-hot 5-0-0-0 start to open 2025-26. A third-period comeback from the Vancouver Goldeneyes on Saturday handed Boston its third loss in four games (1-0-1-2) and just its second defeat in regulation all season.
They’re hoping that doesn’t become a trend. That 4-3 loss to Vancouver marks the second straight game with a blown third-period lead, after Boston surrendered a late goal to Ottawa’s Fanuza Kadirova and fell in a shootout Dec. 27.
Granted, it’s not as if the sky is falling. The Fleet have a three-point edge for first place in the standings. They’re still getting elite play out of Team USA goalie Aerin Frankel, who sports a 1.36 goals against average (GAA), .948 save percentage, and 5-2-1 record in eight games. The star-studded defense pair of Megan Keller and Haley Winn has combined for 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in nine games; Keller leads all PWHL defenders with eight points. And even after the recent batch of losses, Boston still paces the PWHL in goal differential (plus-eight).
Their spot atop the power rankings is safe for now, although that could change quickly if any of the teams below them start to pick up steam.
2. Minnesota Frost (16 points, 4-1-2-3)
L2, +6 GOAL DIFFERENTIAL
This past weekend wasn’t particularly kind to the Minnesota Frost. Minnesota dropped both games of a road back-to-back, falling 5-2 in regulation to Ottawa on Saturday before coming up short Sunday in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Montreal Victoire.
The Frost looked much improved Sunday — their fifth straight game outside of Minnesota — as PWHL leading goal scorer, Kendall Coyne Schofield, tallied two points (one goal, one assist) and Mae Batherson extended her point streak to six games. They were 29 seconds away from a regulation win, but settled for one point instead after Montreal’s Abby Roque netted the 6-on-5 equalizer at 19:31 of the third period.
That takes some of the luster away from a strong close to 2025, but it doesn’t negate it. Minnesota’s 11 points in December were second-most in the League, highlighted by three different five-goal outbursts and a 2-1 win over Vancouver thanks to Taylor Heise’s overtime winner.
With Schofield (11 points), Britta Curl-Salemme (11 points), and Kelly Panek (10 points) all playing at a point-per-game pace, Minnesota’s offense is undoubtedly a difference maker. The Frost produced a League-best 28 goals in 10 games and rank first with a 9.6 shooting percentage.
That scoring attack should help hide some of the defensive inconsistency that’s surfaced through the first month. It helps that goalie Maddie Rooney looked more like herself in her past three games, and Nicole Hensley continues to post elite numbers in net.
3. Montréal Victoire (13 points, 3-2-0-4)
W1, +5 GOAL DIFFERENTIAL
Where would the Victoire be without Marie-Philip Poulin? Fortunately, they don’t have to entertain such a ridiculous question.
Captain Clutch delivered the overtime winner Sunday, placing a backhander top-shelf to finish off a 3-2 comeback win over Minnesota. It was part of a two-goal, three-point effort that saw Poulin extend her points streak to five games, tying Coyne Schofield and Curl-Salemme for the League-lead in points (11) in the process.
The Victoire remain two points out of a playoff spot, but at the very least, they’ve put a three-game skid behind them.
Of course, Poulin’s game-winner was only made possible by Roque’s tally in the final minute of the third. The Victoire’s top line of Poulin, Roque, and Laura Stacey has accounted for 55 percent of the team’s goals and over 51 percent of their points. It’s a testament to the trio’s dominance — and an indictment of Montreal’s scoring depth behind them.
The Victoire are one of three teams with a positive goal differential, and they’ve got an x-factor in net (Ann-Renée Desbiens) who can regularly save their bacon. That doesn’t mean the burden should fall solely on one stellar line and an elite goalie. Montreal’s playoff history suggests it’s a flawed formula.
4. Seattle Torrent (12 points, 3-1-1-3)
W1, -1 GOAL DIFFERENTIAL
The Seattle Torrent are tied for last in the League with 12 points. So why in the world are they fourth in the power rankings? For starters, they’ve only played eight games this season — by points percentage, the Torrent are tied for third in the PWHL. They’ve also played some of their best hockey since the international break.
The Torrent defeated the Toronto Sceptres 3-2 in a shootout Saturday after Alex Carpenter forced overtime with her fifth goal of the season. Seattle has only won consecutive games once this season, but been fairly competitive night in and night out.
Since dropping the first two games of its inaugural season, Seattle is 3-1-0-2 in a stretch that includes wins over New York, Ottawa, and Montreal. The Torrent could benefit from more scoring outside of their top six, but they’ve gotten good production from the likes of Carpenter, Julia Gosling, and Hillary Knight.
Rookie goalie Hannah Murphy made a statement in just her third career game, outdueling Desbiens with 37 saves in a 2-1 Torrent win on Dec. 23. The second-round pick (No. 15 overall) suffered her first loss on Dec. 28, surrendering four goals on 41 shots to the Sirens, but that shouldn’t change the outlook all that much. Murphy sports a 1.76 GAA and .945 save percentage in four games, both of which rank fifth among PWHL goalies.
It’s also encouraging to see Corinne Schroeder bounce back after a rough start. Seattle signed the former Sirens goalie to be their No. 1, but Schroeder allowed seven goals on 45 shots in two November games and lost playing time to the red-hot Murphy. After a solid 35-save effort against Boston on Dec. 21, Schroeder had her best game of 2025-26 on Saturday, stopping 27 of 29 shots in 65 minutes to claim her first win of the season.
The Torrent may not have the makings of a high-flying offense, but if they can get quality play out of their goalie tandem, they should be a tough battle more often than not.
5. New York Sirens (15 points, 5-0-0-5)
W3, EVEN GOAL DIFFERENTIAL
It’s been quite the turnaround for the Sirens. Entering their Takeover Tour game against Seattle on Dec. 28 in Dallas, New York sat dead last in the PWHL. Then they got a hat trick from rookie forward Casey O’Brien in a 4-3 win over the Torrent to end a four-game losing streak. It also planted the seeds of momentum — but who knew it would sprout so quickly?
Thanks to a pair of wins this past week over Vancouver and Montreal, the Sirens tied a team record with three consecutive regulation wins. They’ve reclaimed a playoff spot in the process, tying the Sceptres for third in the standings.
It’s no coincidence that the Sirens hot stretch aligns with consistent production from its deep rookie core. Kristyna Kaltounkova leads all rookies with five goals, scoring in each of her past two games; but it goes beyond New York’s No. 1 overall pick. Rookie skaters scored in four consecutive games, and they account for nine of New York’s last 12 goals.
But the rookies can’t take all the credit. Flowers also go to Kayle Osborne, who’s defied the commonly-held notion that goalies need rest. The second-year netminder started all 10 games for the Sirens, posting a 2.13 GAA and .922 save percentage. Osborne delivered a pair of gems this week, shutting out the Goldeneyes on Wednesday before making a career-high 42 saves against Montreal on one day’s rest. Is this type of workload sustainable? Coach Greg Fargo seems to think so.
At their best, it’s clear the Sirens have a playoff-caliber ceiling — but they still must prove they can play to that potential consistently. If that rookie scoring dries up a bit, or if fatigue catches up to Osborne, it’s suddenly a much gloomier outlook. For now, however, New York has much to be proud of.
6. Toronto Sceptres (15 points, 4-0-3-3)
L2, -6 GOAL DIFFERENTIAL
The Sceptres may be the most puzzling team in the PWHL. Toronto is the only team in a playoff spot with a negative goal differential. They haven’t won consecutive games this season, and lead the League with three overtime losses — the only thing separating them from a four-way tie for last in the standings. Yet they’re just one weekend removed from a brilliant road win in Montreal, and have plenty of talent to be a legitimate contender this season.
Toronto had an up-and-down December, with more lows than highs. The new year delivered another stinger, in the form of a 3-2 shootout loss to Seattle on Saturday. With that, the Sceptres have now lost three of their past four, and five of seven. Then again, the losses haven’t been lopsided — outside of a 5-1 rout by the Frost on Tuesday.
The malaise can’t be chalked up to one glaring issue. Rather, it’s an amalgam of average to below-average play in virtually every area of the game.
They boast one of the game’s top goal scorers in Daryl Watts, and still, the Sceptres average 2.0 goals per game, a rate trailed only by the Goldeneyes. They’re middle of the pack when it comes to shot volume allowed, but there’s stuff to clean up in their own end. Raygan Kirk and Elaine Chuli are a more-than-serviceable goalie tandem, but the Sceptres rank in the bottom half of the League in save percentage and goals saved above expected, per PWHL Analytics.
It’s too early to write the Sceptres off. They’ve got more to give, especially if they can get improved production out of Natalie Spooner and Ella Shelton. January is a big test to see if Toronto can build some momentum before the Olympic break.
7. Ottawa Charge (12 points, 2-3-0-5)
W4, -4 GOAL DIFFERENTIAL
It won’t be easy for Ottawa to erase the stink of an ugly start that saw the Charge drop five of their first six games (1-0-0-5) to open the 2025-26 season. But a couple more weeks like this past one will certainly help.
After stacking three overtime wins together, Ottawa finally celebrated its first regulation win since Nov. 26, defeating the Frost 5-2 at TD Place on Saturday. If the Charge do pull off a complete ascension up the standings, many will point back to a Dec. 23 win over the Sceptres, when Ottawa erased a 3-0 deficit to win 4-3 on Rebecca Leslie’s OT-winner.
But even more so than the Sirens, the Charge must prove that this hot streak isn’t a fluke. A four-game winning streak does little to alleviate all the long-term concerns, especially on the defensive end. The Charge are still allowing shots on goal at a League-worst rate, and their 40.5 expected-goals-for percentage at 5-on-5 is easily the worst in the PWHL, per PWHL Analytics.
Brianne Jenner is on pace to shatter her previous career highs in goals and points, but Ottawa’s saving grace remains its star goalie Gwyneth Philips. She has a .900 save percentage or better in eight of her nine games started, often acting as a safety blanket for the Charge’s lackluster defense.
With Philips in net, it’s hard to rule the Charge out of any contest — even if Ottawa’s defense tests her limits.
8. Vancouver Goldeneyes (12 points, 3-1-1-5)
W1, -8 GOAL DIFFERENTIAL
Vancouver brings up the rear in our rankings, but it’s with a much different tune after a thrilling comeback win over Boston on Saturday. The Goldeneyes skirted a fourth straight loss against the first-place Fleet, erasing a 3-1 deficit with three unanswered goals from Claire Thompson, Sophie Jaques, and Izzy Daniel in the third period.
It’s not enough to leapfrog them over anyone in the power rankings, but it’s the type of win that can become a turning point for a scuffling squad.
More than anything, it’s nice to see some life from a Goldeneyes offense that’s been rather disappointing given the talent on the roster. Saturday marked just the third time in 10 games that Vancouver scored more than two goals — a fitting stat for a team that ranks dead last, averaging 1.9 goals per game.
With that type of production, even Frankel and Philips would have a tough time stealing wins. That has been the unenviable task of Goldeneyes goalie Emerance Maschmeyer, who’s played well but not to the herculean levels required to dig this squad out of the cellar.
Hannah Miller tallied three points (one goal, two assists) in the win over Boston, more than doubling her season total. Miller recorded 10 goals and 24 points with Toronto in 2024-25, and should be one of the primary engines driving the Vancouver attack. Sarah Nurse’s injury doesn’t help the cause, but perhaps better days await this offense.
