u/xblacklodge

The PWHL has (finally) released their full 2026-27 regular season schedule, along with a few important announcements.

The Takeover Tour is expanding from 16 to 24 games, with each team participating in four. For the Fleet, this includes January 2nd (home), January 23rd (away), February 2nd (away), and February 20th (home). The Fleet will also play two non-primary venue games, including February 27th in Boston and April 3rd in New York (likely at TD Garden and Madison Square Garden), with details TBD.

A one week break will take place around the first ever PWHL All Star Game on April 7th.

Additionally, the PWHL announced that the league will be split into two conferences, with the Fleet in the Eastern Conference along with Hamilton, Montreal, New York, Ottawa, and Toronto, while the Western Conference will include Detroit, Las Vegas, Minnesota, San Jose, Seattle, and Vancouver. The Fleet will play 18 games within the Eastern Conference, and 12 games against Western Conference teams.

With the league expanding to 12 teams, the playoff format is also expanding to eight teams. The top four teams in each conference will qualify for four best-of-three series, followed by best-of-five conference finals and best-of-five Walter Cup finals between the winners of each conference final. The first place team will still be able to select its opponent, but now the privilege is expanded to the first place team in each conference.

Additional details can be read in the Fleet’s schedule release announcement here, and you can find the complete league schedule here.

Been meaning to share this for a while now, but the roster page has updated numbers for the 2026 draft picks, as well as new numbers for Taylor House (22), Amanda Boulier (28), and apparently Loren Gabel, who is switching from 36 to 18 this season. House and Boulier, as well as Gabel's updated 18 sweater, are now available to order as custom options in the PWHL shop.

First rounder Grace Dwyer has not signed yet, but it's well known that she wears #4 for Bobby Orr, and plans to continue doing so. Third rounder Leah Stecker, who signed a three year deal, will wear number 10. Forwards Jaden Bodgen (74) and Jenna Goodwin (12), and defender Maeve Kelly (24) round out the draft class. Once again, the new PWHL roster rules prevent the team from having more than 19 signed players heading into camp, they have 18, and we assume Dwyer is the 19th, so although they have numbers, Bogden, Goodwin, and Kelly technically still have to compete for their spot.

There is no word yet on what numbers camp invites goaltender Abby Hornung, defender Vivian Hinch, or forward Luisa Welcke will wear, as they are not officially rostered. Hinch and Welcke wore 81 and 16 in college, respectively, and those are available, but Hornung wore 31, and we all know that number is firmly locked down. Stay tuned!

Did this back in the 90s with pastels when I was a teen. Back then my favorite pastimes were listening to Manson, playing Manson songs on my bass, drawing Manson related pictures, and hanging out in the Marilyn Manson AOL chat room. Simpler times. Kind of. School wasn’t fun, but at least I had my Discman (anti-skip false advertising be damned) and a sketchbook.

The Fleet have extended a camp invite to USports defender Vivian Hinch. In 89 games with St. Francis Xavier, the Vancouver native scored 32 points (7G, 25A) with a +34 rating, 3PPG, and a GWG with 204 PIM. The GWG came last season, wherein she put up a line of 10 points (1G, 9A), with a +9 rating and 58 PIM in 23 games. At 5'11", she could bring some size and snarl on the back end.

In news that no one saw coming, the Welcke Twins, Luisa and Lilli, who have played together since they began the start of their hockey journey, will be attending PWHL training camp with separate teams. Luisa (#16) will be joining the Boston Fleet, while Lilli (#26) will be joining the Minnesota Frost.

The Welckes hail from Baden-Baden, Germany and have notably been a part of the German international team at the World Championships and Olympics. In 2022 they attended the University of Maine before transferring to Boston University.

They have consistently been praised for their work ethic, and both play a detail-oriented, 200 foot game, contributing solid numbers while helping the team in ways that don't show up on the score sheet. Interestingly, the identical twins have had nearly identical point totals the past three years at BU: Luisa has scored 12 (7G, 5A), 16 (6G, 10A), and 13 (5G, 8A), while Lilli has contributed 11 (2G, 9A), 17 (5G, 12A), and 11 (6G, 5A).

From purely a fan perspective, I was rather hoping that both Welckes would join the Fleet--and who knows, maybe that could still happen for one reason or another--but it will certainly be interesting to see how the pair break out as individuals. Best of luck to both Luisa and Lilli in their PWHL journey (and especially Luisa with the Fleet)!

Many happy returns to Fleet goalie Amanda Thiele! She was selected by the Fleet in the sixth round of the 2025 PWHL entry draft, 42nd overall, after playing her collegiate years at Ohio State University. Through 96 games, she put together a 73-16-3 record with a 1.75 GAA and .913 SV% and 11 shutouts. In her graduate season, she became the program's all time leader in wins. She is a two-time national champion, and won gold with Team USA at the U18 Women's World Championship in 2020.

Thiele only appeared in one game for the Fleet last season, but it was an important one. She made her PWHL debut against the defending champion Minnesota Frost, saving 21 of 23 shots and securing the win that officially clinched the team a postseason berth. She was consistently praised throughout the season for her work ethic and commitment to her craft, always staying late at practices and volunteering for any duty. It has earned her a promotion this year, as she is set to take over the primary backup spot behind Aerin Frankel.

Happy birthday, Amanda!

Many happy returns to Fleet forward Loren Gabel! She has been with the Fleet since their inaugural season, and previously played for the Boston Pride in the PHF. In her three year PWHL career, Gabel has tallied 12 career points (7G, 5A) in 53 games. In her year with the Boston Pride, she led the league in goals (20), assists (20) and points (40), earning MVP, Outstanding Player of the Year, and Newcomer of the Year honors.

At Clarkson, Gabel won Rookie of the Year as a freshman, then went on to win the NCAA Frozen Four in her sophomore year. She is also a former Patty Kazmaier winner. After finishing as a top three finalist in her junior year, she took home the award in her senior year (2018-19), when she put together a 69 point season (40G, 29A) in 38 games. Her senior season also earned her ECAC Player of the Year and Forward of the Year honors. Her four year totals at Clarkson of 213 points, 116 goals, and 96 assists made her the all-time scoring leader in program history.

Internationally, Gabel won bronze with Team Canada in the 2019 IIHF Women's World contributing seven points (6G, 1A) in seven games.

Happy Birthday, Loren!

Many happy returns to 2026 first round pick, Grace Dwyer! Selected 10th overall, she was Cornell's captain in her senior year, notching 20 points (6G, 14A) in 33 games, earning First Team All Ivy and ECAC Third Team honors in the process. Dwyer ultimately finished her four year stint with 76 points (18G, 58A) in 134 games. A shutdown defender with an offensive touch, she helped anchor one of the NCAA's top defenses.

A very fun fact for Boston fans to know about her: she wears the number four in honor of Boston Bruins legend Bobby Orr.

Happy birthday, Grace! We look forward to seeing you on the ice with the Fleet!

The Fleet are inviting Abby Hornung to camp to compete for the third goalie spot behind Aerin Frankel and Amanda Thiele, per Ian Kennedy. A native of Ashland, MA, Hornung put up a solid 1.88 GAA and .933 SV% at Holy Cross last year, and finished as a semifinalist for Goalie of the Year. She also holds the program record for most wins in the Hockey East era.

Here she is in action, making a diving second save with her stick. This clip of the top five Hockey East plays of the week features her making a glove save at #2. Lastly, here she is talking about her gear.

Lydia Murray is reporting that the Boston Fleet will be switching primary venues to Boston University’s Agganis Arena. Further details are of course TBD, but one wonders if they are leaving Lowell altogether or just flipping the ratio of Agganis to Tsongas games, i.e. eight at Agganis and four at Tsongas, though it's notable that she does use the word "leaving." You can assume they’re also planning to book the Garden for at least one game, though as with all of this news, we won’t know until we know.

Many happy returns to Fleet forward Sophie Shirley! One of the best and fastest skaters in the PWHL, she has played her entire career with the Fleet after being drafted 63rd overall in the inaugural draft. Shirley is a gritty player who does all of the little things well and makes the job of everyone else on the ice that much easier. She is perhaps one of the most underrated players in the PWHL, and is so much fun to watch.

2025-26 represented a breakout year for Shirley; despite scoring three goals in the inaugural season, had not scored since March 25, 2024. In a game against the Toronto Sceptres on March 27th of this year, Shirley scored a goal and recorded an assist, then added two more goals against the Minnesota Frost in the next game to help the Fleet secure a 4-2 win and clinch a playoff berth. She ultimately finished the season with a career high nine points (3G, 6A), while also adding the go-ahead goal in the Fleet's chaotic 1:30 three goal rally in game four of the Walter Cup semifinal.

Prior to joining the Fleet, she was the CWHL Rookie of the Year with the Calgary Inferno, then went on to become a three time national champion with the University of Wisconsin. She is a two time Patty Kazmaier finalist (2020, 2021), and has won silver with the Canadian national team in the 2016 and 2017 IIHF U18 Women's World Championships. Her sophomore year at Wisconsin was her most productive, wherein she notched 61 points (29G, 32A) with a +36 rating in 36 games. She has not quite unlocked her full scoring potential in the PWHL thus far, but I think the best is yet to come. This offseason, she signed a two year extension with the Fleet, through the 2027-28 season.

Happy birthday, Sophie!