PWHL Semifinal Matchups Established Following Montreal Victoire Selection

Apr 27, 2026, 04:17

Introduction

The Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) has finalized its semifinal pairings after the regular-season champion, the Montreal Victoire, exercised its right to select the Minnesota Frost as its opponent. Consequently, the Boston Fleet will face the Ottawa Charge in the second semifinal series.

Main Body

The selection process was concluded by the Montreal Victoire, who opted to face the Minnesota Frost, a two-time Walter Cup champion. This decision avoids a repeat of the previous season's semifinal series against Ottawa. Historically, the regular-season champion's selection has not resulted in a series victory, as lower-seeded teams have prevailed in previous PWHL semifinal iterations. Montreal enters the series having won all four regular-season meetings against Minnesota, while restricting the Frost—the league's highest-scoring team with 91 goals—to only three goals across those contests. The remaining semifinal features the second-seeded Boston Fleet and the fourth-seeded Ottawa Charge. This pairing is characterized by a highly competitive regular-season series in which Ottawa secured three of four victories, all of which required extra time. Statistically, Boston demonstrates a higher efficiency in scoring the opening goal and possesses a superior defensive record, allowing 45 goals compared to Ottawa's 73. Conversely, Ottawa has demonstrated a higher capacity for recovery, leading the league in wins achieved after trailing through two periods. Technical analysis of the Boston-Ottawa matchup indicates a parity in power-play efficiency and goal production. Ottawa's power play ranks third in the league, while Boston maintains a superior penalty-kill percentage, ranking first on the road. The series will also feature a confrontation between goaltenders Aerin Frankel and Gwyneth Philips, former teammates at Northeastern University and on the U.S. Olympic team. Frankel recorded a league-record eight shutouts and a .953 save percentage, while Philips maintained a .985 save percentage during a recent four-game winning streak. Personnel developments include the return of head coach Carla MacLeod to the Ottawa Charge following her medical leave for cancer treatment. During her absence, assistant coach Haley Irwin led the team to a 4-1 record. Key contributors for Ottawa include Ronja Savolainen, noted for primary assists on game-winning goals, and Sarah Wozniewicz. Boston's primary assets include rookie Abby Newhook and defenders Megan Keller and Jessie Eldridge, both of whom lead the team in power-play goals.

Conclusion

The semifinal round commences on Thursday, April 30, with the Boston Fleet hosting the Ottawa Charge at the Tsongas Center. The Montreal Victoire and Minnesota Frost will begin their series on Saturday in Laval.

Vocabulary Learning

absence (n.)

nonattendance / lack of presence缺席

Example:Her absence due to cancer treatment left the team in a difficult position.

confrontation (n.)

conflict / clash對抗；衝突

Example:The confrontation between the two teams escalated during the final minute.

opted (v.)

chose / selected選擇

Example:The Montreal Victoire opted to face the Minnesota Frost.

prevailing (adj.)

most common / dominant主要的；佔主導地位的

Example:The prevailing sentiment among the players was that the match would be fiercely competitive.

shutouts (n.)

zero-score games / games where the opponent scores no goals零封

Example:The goaltender's record of eight shutouts earned him the league's top honor.

Sentence Learning

Montreal enters the series having won all four regular-season meetings against Minnesota, while restricting the Frost—the league's highest-scoring team with 91 goals—to only three goals across those contests.

Participial Clause: The sentence uses participial clauses 'having won' and 'while restricting' to embed background information within the main clause, creating a concise, compound structure.分詞子句: 這句使用分詞子句「having won」與「while restricting」在主句中嵌入背景資訊，避免多個從句，語句更緊湊。

This pairing is characterized by a highly competitive regular-season series in which Ottawa secured three of four victories, all of which required extra time.

Relative Clause: The clause 'in which Ottawa secured three of four victories' modifies 'series', adding specific detail to the noun phrase.相對子句: 相對子句「in which Ottawa secured three of four victories」修飾「series」，提供具體細節。

The series will also feature a confrontation between goaltenders Aerin Frankel and Gwyneth Philips, former teammates at Northeastern University and on the U.S. Olympic team.

Appositive: The appositive 'former teammates at Northeastern University and on the U.S. Olympic team' renames the preceding noun phrase, adding supplementary information.同位語: 同位語「former teammates at Northeastern University and on the U.S. Olympic team」為前面的名詞短語「Aerin Frankel and Gwyneth Philips」提供額外資訊。

Statistically, Boston demonstrates a higher efficiency in scoring the opening goal and possesses a superior defensive record, allowing 45 goals compared to Ottawa's 73.

Comparative: The sentence contrasts Boston's higher efficiency and superior defensive record with Ottawa's, using comparative adjectives 'higher' and 'superior', and a participial clause 'allowing' to detail the statistics.比較結構: 句子使用「higher」與「superior」對比波士頓與奧塔瓦的效率與防守紀錄，並以分詞子句「allowing」說明統計數字。

Personnel developments include the return of head coach Carla MacLeod to the Ottawa Charge following her medical leave for cancer treatment.

Nominalization: The noun 'return' is a nominalization of the verb 'return', functioning as the object of 'include' and allowing the sentence to list developments concisely.名詞化: 名詞化「return」將動詞「return」轉為名詞，作為「include」的賓語，讓句子能簡潔列舉發展。