The six Professional Women's Hockey League teams will get an earlier start and a half-dozen more games in the league's second season.
The PWHL unveiled Tuesday its regular-season schedule running from Nov. 30 to May 3. The number of games increases from 24 to 30 per team.
The league's inaugural season started Jan. 1, 2024, and ended May 5.
The playoffs concluded May 29 with the Minnesota Frost beating the Boston Fleet for the first Walter Cup.
"We started with 24 games, but we knew it was something that, we as players, would love to have more games," said Toronto Sceptres forward Natalie Spooner.
"That's kind of why we play the game, to get those games under our belts. To be able to increase the amount of games is exciting. Fans will be excited to be able to watch more games.
"It feels like now we're seeing much more hockey on TV, so to get our season started soon is super-exciting."
Canada's three teams hit the ice opening day. Toronto hosts Boston at Coca-Cola Coliseum, which is the Sceptres' new home arena after a season at the downtown Mattamy Athletic Centre.
The Montreal Victoire, who continue to train at Verdun Auditorium, is at home to the Ottawa Charge at Place Bell in Laval, Que., which is the Victoire's new primary arena.
The New York Sirens visit Minnesota at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., on Dec. 1.
New York relocated after struggling to draw fans last season.
The Prudential Centre in Newark, N.J., which is the home of the NHL's New Jersey Devils, is the Sirens' new primary arena. They'll train at the Devils' former practice facility in West Orange.
Ottawa remains at TD Place, Boston continues to make the Tsongas Center at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell its home arena and Minnesota is still at Xcel.
But sites for 14 of the 90 games on the schedule were still to be announced Tuesday.
A PWHL spokesperson said "TBA" games won't be played at a primary home venue and those locations, along with broadcast and streaming information, will be announced in the coming weeks.
The PWHL pulled together its first season on the fly after Mark Walter, the controlling owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, committed to finance women's pro hockey in June 2023.
The league operated without team names for an entire season until they were announced Sept. 6, 2024.
"Our teams and players are so eager to bring their new identities to life, and the schedule announcement elevates that sense of anticipation," PWHL senior vice-president of hockey operations Jayna Hefford said Tuesday in a statement.
"We have more games, new uniforms, a talented rookie class and so much more for the PWHL community to look forward to. For our players and our fans, the season ahead will be intense, competitive and fun."
The weeks leading into the league's second season has fewer question marks for players, who arrived at last year's training camps without knowing definitively when they'd play their first games.
"There's not so many unknowns," Spooner said. "Going into last season, it was our first season of professional hockey. It was a new schedule for us.
"Everyone was being drafted, where were you going to go play, where were you going to live? There was a lot going on.
"We know what the season is going to feel like. There's going to be more games, but we know the city we're in and where we're playing so a lot of players feel more comfortable with that and, in a sense, know what to expect."
This year's training camps starting Nov. 12 will include pre-season scrimmages involving all six teams Nov. 19-22 in Toronto and Montreal.
The teams announced training camp rosters up to a maximum 32 players Oct. 11. Their 23-year-player rosters, plus three reserves, must be finalized by Nov. 27.
The 2024-25 schedule features three international breaks Dec. 9-16, Feb. 3-10 and April 3-25.
The 2025 women's world championship April 9-20 will be held in Ceske Budejovice, Czechia.
Canada and the United States will conclude their five-game Rivalry Series Feb. 6 in Halifax and Feb. 8 in Summerside, P.E.I.
The first three games are Nov. 6 in San Jose, Calif., Nov. 8 in West Valley City, Utah, and Nov. 10 in Boise, Idaho.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 15, 2024.
Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press
