PWHL notebook: Play resumes after international break

With the Professional Women’s Hockey League season underway, NHL.com staff writer Anna Kulesa will be filing a biweekly notebook on all the happenings in the league. Today, a look at the top storylines from the season’s first few weeks.

Return from international break

The PWHL got back to action Tuesday after it paused from Dec. 9-16 for the first of three international breaks this season. Boston Fleet goalie Emma Soderberg (Sweden), New York Sirens forward Chloe Aurard (France) and defenseman Taylor Baker (Hungary), Montreal Victoire goalie Sandra Abstreiter (Germany), Ottawa Charge forward Anna Meixner (Austria) and coach Carla MacLeod (Czechia), and Toronto Sceptres assistant Rachel Flanagan (Canada) participated in the 2024 Euro Women’s Hockey Tour in Finland or the Four Nations Tournament in Denmark. The league’s next two international breaks will be from Feb. 3-10 and April 3-25.

Sirens rookie Fillier leads league

Sarah Fillier, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 PWHL Draft, is off to a hot start with New York in her first professional season. Fillier leads the league in points (seven) and assists (five) through four games. She had two goals and an assist in a 4-1 win against the Victoire on Dec. 4 and was named the PWHL’s first star for the week of Dec. 2-8.

Strong start for Sirens

The Sirens won three of their first four games (with one victory coming in overtime) and are in first place following a 4-2 win against the Sceptres on Wednesday. This comes after New York finished in last place last season. Fillier’s linemate Alex Carpenter is second in the league with six points (three goals, three assists), and her other linemate, Jessie Eldridge, and New York defenseman Micah Zandee-Hart are tied for third with five points (one goal, four assists) each. Carpenter also is tied with Minnesota’s Michela Cava and Dominique Petrie for the league lead with three goals.

Charge set attendance record

Ottawa set its single-game attendance record when a crowd of 11,065 watched its 2-1 loss to Montreal at Canadian Tire Centre on Dec. 6. The Charge’s first game of the season at the home of NHL’s Ottawa Senators broke Ottawa’s previous women’s professional sports record of 8,452 fans, set by the Charge last season at TD Place, also against the Victoire.

Beginner’s guide for new fans

The PWHL posted a handy guide for new fans that includes the league’s makeup, points system and rules. There are 159 PWHL players from nine countries. The league has a 3-2-1-0 points system, with the top four teams making the playoffs. The league also has a “jailbreak goal” rule, which allows any player serving a minor penalty to “break out” of the penalty box if her team scores a short-handed goal. Check out the guide below.