Photo @ Andrea Cardin / The Hockey News
The schedule for Ottawa Charge’s second regular season, which begins Nov. 30 against Montréal Victoire, was finally released Tuesday afternoon.
With time ticking down to the start of PWHL training camps, fans were starting to get antsy about a season start date for the young league.
“Fans have been asking about the schedule and we’re excited that it’s finally here,” said Ottawa general manager Mike Hirshfeld. “We had the best fans in the league last year and it will be a blast to play in front of a packed house again this season.”
The biggest news is the expansion from a 24-game schedule to 30 games, which will conclude May 3, 2025 against the Toronto Sceptres.
After their season opener against Montréal, Ottawa will host its home opener at TD Place on Dec. 3 against the Toronto Sceptres.
The game will be a full-circle moment for Ottawa local Rebecca Leslie, who signed with the Charge in free agency after playing with Toronto last season.
“Being from Ottawa and getting a chance to play in my hometown in front of friends and family is a dream come true,” Leslie said in a press release. “I can’t wait for our team to bring the energy back to TD Place. I felt it first-hand last season with Toronto. The fans have been incredible here since I joined the league. As a new member of the team, I’ve been welcomed with open arms here and it’s going to be sweet to play our first home game against Toronto.”
The game will be many fans’ first live look at forward Danielle Serdachny and defender Ronja Savolainen, who are expected to augment Ottawa’s core and help them compete for a playoff position.
Prior to the regular season start, Ottawa will play two “mini-camp games” in Montréal against the Fleet and Victoire on Nov. 21 and 22. Those games fall during training camp, which opens Nov. 12 at TD Place.
Ottawa is slated to play just 13 of its 30 games at TD Place. Somewhat mysteriously, five games in their schedule are without an assigned venue, including two “home” games.
It could be a hint that the Charge are set to play more “neutral site” games outside of TD Place, as they did last season at the Detroit Red Wings’ Little Caesars Arena. That game against the Boston Fleet drew a U.S. record-breaking 13,316 in attendance for a professional women’s hockey game. There’s the possibility of playing home games at the Ottawa Senators’ Canadian Tire Centre, which has a capacity of over 18,000. Ottawa’s press release stated that details about games at “non-primary” venues will be released in the coming weeks.
There are also three significant breaks built into the schedule, including one from Apr. 3-25, 2025 to accommodate for the IIHF Women’s World Championship.
With the 2025 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship being hosted by Ottawa between Canadian Tire Centre and TD Place, the Charge will hit the road for a five-game stretch between Dec. 17, 2024 and Jan. 11, 2025.
Ottawa’s only homestand longer than two games is a five-game span in February 2025, which will see four games played at TD Place, with one hanging in the air.
According to Ottawa’s press release, broadcast and streaming details for games will be announced in the coming weeks. Last season, Charge games were carried primarily by TSN, Sportsnet and CBC.
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