Marie-Philip Poulin

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 some of the top storylines, including the league’s successful Takeover Tour and Marie-Philip Poulin’s highlight-reel week.

Takeover Tour success

The PWHL made its first three stops on the neutral-site Takeover Tour, which began Jan. 5. A combined 45,644 fans watched the games at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Rogers Arena in Vancouver and Ball Arena in Denver. An attendance record was set for professional women’s hockey in the United States when 14,018 fans turned out in Denver to watch the Minnesota Frost defeat the Montreal Victoire 4-2 this past Sunday. NHL stars came out to cheer on the teams, including Seattle Kraken players Matty Beniers, Yanni Gourde and Joey Daccord, and Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar.

Poulin’s stunning goal

Marie-Philip Poulin scored a stunning goal during the Victoire’s game against the Toronto Sceptres in Vancouver on Jan. 8. With her team leading 2-0 in the second period, Poulin one-timed a rebound in the left face-off circle from her knees. The Victoire forward also scored an empty-net goal to seal the 4-2 win. Poulin was named the PWHL’s first star of the week on Monday.

First-place Frost

The Frost (4-3-2-2) took over first place with the win against the Victoire on Sunday. Defenseman Claire Thompson leads the league with nine assists and is tied for second with 10 points. Forward Taylor Heise is tied for fifth with nine points (two goals, seven assists), and forward Britta Curl-Salemme is tied for the lead with five goals. The Frost have a three-point lead over the Victoire; the teams play again at Place Bell in Montreal on Friday.

Schroeder’s back-to-back shutouts

New York Sirens goalie Corrine Schroeder has been lights out. She recorded the PWHL’s first back-to-back shutouts during the regular season, making 26 saves in a 5-0 win against the Frost on Jan. 4 and 28 saves in a 1-0 victory against the Sceptres on Jan. 12. Her .934 save percentage and 1.86 GAA lead the PWHL, and she is the only goalie with a shutout this season.

All eyes on Quebec City

The PWHL will continue the nine-game Takeover Tour when the Ottawa Charge and Victoire face off at Videotron Centre in Quebec City on Sunday. The game could be a sellout, with fewer than 1,000 tickets available as of earlier this week, according to the CBC. Quebec City hopes to be a contender for an expansion team. The league has said it could add teams as early as next season.