The inaugural PWHL playoffs, taking place in May, will feature the top four of the league’s six teams in two best-of-five series, according to the CBC’s Karissa Donkin.
Following a traditional bracket format, the top seed will face the fourth-seeded team while the second- and third-seeded teams face off in two semifinals to set up the championship series.
The six teams will play 24 games throughout the regular season. There will be two international breaks, including a lengthy one in April for the IIHF Women’s World Championship, before the final three weeks of the season leading into the playoffs.
The PWHL’s six teams were finalized earlier this week, but there are still some kinks to be ironed out by the league office with just over two weeks until the start of the regular season. New Year’s Day.
The league hosted nine preseason games in Utica, New York, last week, where it conducted testing. different rules of power play and gave players the opportunity to experience competition and develop chemistry with their teammates.
One potential rule included serving all two-minute penalties in full, even if a power play goal is scored. Another issue the league tested was not allowing shorthanded teams to take the ice. The forced icing would result in a faceoff in the shorthanded team’s defensive zone, and the offending team would not be allowed to change lines.
According to CBC, the league is currently analyzing data from its nine preseason games and seeing which rules it will implement and which it will discard.
“We’re going to have to look at the data and see if it actually created more scoring chances or more goals, which, of course, I think that’s the goal,” said Jayna Hefford, vice president head of hockey operations for the PWHL, at CBC and Radio-Canada. last Thursday.
“We’ll debrief the event and really understand the pros and cons, and see if it makes sense to implement any of them.”
Hefford said another priority is ensuring players receive consistent calls from officials.
“We want these players to know every game, regardless of where they play, that the rules will be called the same way, and then they know what they can expect.”
As for team names, jerseys and logos, the league has not finalized anything yet. For now, players will wear simple jerseys with the city’s name on the front. According to CBC, the league has hired someone to work on branding, but there doesn’t appear to be any urgency to force things.
“I don’t know if she’ll be finished by opening day,” PWHL advisory board member Stan Kasten said of the progress. “At this point, I don’t think so, but I don’t care. We’re going to make it happen.”