The New York Islanders are going to have some co-tenants at UBS Arena as the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) will hold four of its home games for the New York City side at the NHL arena, the venue announced on Thursday.
The games will be held on Jan. 10 (vs. Montreal), Feb. 21 (vs. Montreal), March 3 (vs. Minnesota), and March 25 (vs. Boston). In total, each of the six teams will play 72 games during the 2024 season.
“We are extremely pleased to be welcoming the PWHL to UBS Arena during their inaugural season,” Kim Stone, president of the venue, said. “I’m proud that women’s hockey is getting a beautiful new building to call its home for a number of games during this historical moment in women’s sports history. We are excited to welcome the New York team and passionate hockey fans within the region into our home in 2024.”
The PWHL is a brand-new women’s league preparing for its first-ever season. The inaugural campaign features six teams: New York, Boston, Minnesota, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal. Play will begin on New Year’s Day in Toronto where the club from “The Six” will take on the New York franchise at Mattamy Athletic Centre.
Other venues include the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell, Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport, CT (home of the Islanders’ AHL affiliate), Xcel Energy Center (home of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild), and the Verdun Auditorium in Montreal (four games will be played at Bell Centre, home of the Canadiens). The New York club will play the majority of its home games in Bridgeport.
The hope is that the PWHL will be a pro women’s league that will stick in North America. The Canadian Women’s Hockey League folded in 2019 and the National Women’s Hockey League — later rebranded as the Premier Hockey Federation — was dissolved in July.
The league’s inaugural player draft took place in September. University of Minnesota forward Tayor Heise was the first-ever No. 1 pick, which went to the Minnesota team. New York selected Clarkson University defenseman Ella Shelton with their inaugural pick at No. 5.
