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5 takeaways from Week 2 of PWHL: Seattle fans turn out, while Jenner shoots the lights out

Hunter Crowther
Hunter Crowther(HunterCrowther)
Dec 1, 2025, 14:01 EST
Ottawa Charge captain Brianne Jenner
Credit: PWHL

We’re two weeks into the 2025-26 PWHL season, and so far we’ve seen great offensive performances, blowouts, jailbreaks and … even a fire helmet?

Here’s five takeaways from Week 2 of the PWHL season (with a bonus takeaway at the end).

Jenner, Charge dominate Goldeneyes

In my 2025-26 preview on the Ottawa Charge, I told readers to keep an eye on how captain Brianne Jenner performs to start the season. She struggled to produce in the first half of the previous two campaigns, and with the departure of several key names this past offseason, Jenner would need to step up.

That’s exactly what we saw last week, with Jenner having a hand in four of the Charge’s five goals against the Vancouver Goldeneyes. She finished with two goals and two assists for four points, helping Ottawa defeat the league’s new Canadian franchise 5-1.

A quick glance at Jenner’s career PWHL stats confirm she’s an offensively inclined forward, having led the team in points in 2023-24 and finishing in the top five last season. But there’s gaps in production, long stretches where she can’t score. If Ottawa wants to have a chance at making another Walter Cup Final run, Jenner can’t afford to go silent for too long.

MacLeod reveals cancer diagnosis

Charge head coach Carla MacLeod released a statement Sunday announcing she has been diagnosed with breast cancer.

“Hearing those words was incredibly difficult, but I want everyone to know that I’m going to be OK,” she said. “I’m incredibly fortunate to have an exceptional medical team guiding me, and together we’ve built a treatment plan that gives me tremendous confidence in the road ahead.”

MacLeod, now in her third season with Ottawa, said her goal is “without question” to be behind the Charge bench “as often as possible.” She added that her medical team assured her that her treatment should have a minimal impact on her role with the team, and that she will also be able to coach the Czechia National Team at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games this February.

However, as MacLeod’s treatment begins, she will miss the team’s Dec. 2 matchup against the Minnesota Frost. Charge GM Mike Hirshfeld says assistant coach Haley Irwin will serve as head coach on Tuesday while MacLeod begins treatment.

The Seattle Torrent drew more than 16,000 fans for their home debut against the Minnesota Frost at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Wash., on Nov. 28, 2025. (PWHL)

Seattle fans help break women’s U.S. attendance record

Seattle Torrent fans showed up in droves to see them host the defending PWHL champion Minnesota Frost, as they broke the record for the largest crowd for a women’s hockey game in a U.S. arena, with 16,014 in attendance.

It surpassed the record for any women’s game in the U.S., set by the University of Wisconsin when they hosted St. Cloud State in January 2017, as well as the professional record when the PWHL Takeover Tour was at Little Caesars Arena last March.

It may not have been the result the team was hoping for, with the Torrent losing 3-0 to the Frost, but one thing is certain for the league’s newest U.S.-based franchise: people will come.

Sirens (sorta) stay hot

After opening the week with a 4-0 win over the Charge, the New York Sirens followed that up with a … 4-0 loss to the Montreal Victoire. What’s odd is if you watched last Tuesday’s game, the Victoire were all over the Sirens in the first period but it remained scoreless after 20. Otherwise, New York outshot Montreal 27-15, yet the Victoire got three past Kayle Osborne and buried an empty netter for the win.

The Sirens responded with a 5-1 performance over the Goldeneyes in their home debut at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Both the league’s 2024 and 2025 No. 1 overall picks in Sarah Fillier and Kristyna Kaltounkova scored for New York

Meanwhile, 2025 No. 3 overall pick Casey O’Brien earning her first career assist, as well as 2025 second-round pick Anne Cherkowski recording her first two career apples.

I had the Sirens as the team I was most excited to see this season, and three games in, I stand by that pick.

Goldeneyes struggle in first full week

Everyone’s Hip Cool Pick © to take the Walter Cup, the Goldeneyes, struggled this week with back-to-back 5-1 losses on the road. It wasn’t just the goals given up that’s worrisome – both Emerance Maschmeyer and Kristen Campbell gave up at least four each – but the shot numbers … oh the shot numbers! Vancouver was outshot by a combined total of 63 to 40 and for large chunks of their respective games against the Charge and Sirens, were badly outplayed.

Sarah Nurse missed both of Vancouver’s games this past week with an upper-body injury, and considering her impact in the regular-season opener, it’s understandable that her absence was felt. Besides, we’re three games into the franchise’s existence, so it’s hard to focus too much on one single week.

Still, how the team responds in their game this Wednesday against the Boston Fleet will be a good indicator of whether those two losses are a blip in the radar, or a weather warning of an incoming storm.

Bonus round: Tapani protects Frankel

There’s something so wholesome about Susanna Tapani holding teammate Aerin Frankel during their team’s scrum with the Sceptres over the weekend. No analysis or evaluation required, just pure vibes for a clip that just screams “meme template” for years to come.

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