The third-ever Walter Cup Playoffs started on April 30, 2026, with the Boston Fleet facing off against the Ottawa Charge at 7 p.m. The Montreal Victoire and Minnesota Frost’s playoff series started two days later on May 2 at 2 p.m.
These Walter Cup Playoffs are for the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), whose first-ever season was in 2023-24. While similar to the men’s league, the National Hockey League (NHL), its playoffs have some differences.
Firstly, because of the size of the league (eight teams versus the NHL’s 32), only the top four teams from the season are eligible for playoffs. This season sees the Montreal Victoire, Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost, and Ottawa Charge clinching playoff spots, whereas the Seattle Torrent, Vancouver Goldeneyes, New York Sirens, and Toronto Sceptres were eliminated.
Because there are only four teams competing in the postseason as opposed to the NHL’s 16, the PWHL playoffs only have two rounds, the semifinals and the finals. Additionally, each series only has up to five games, with the winning team being whichever reaches three wins first.
Secondly, where the NHL playoff matchups are determined by the regular season’s standings, the PWHL does it a little differently. Whichever team finished first in the regular season can choose if they want to face off against either the third or fourth place finishers for the semifinals. The second seed team places the remaining team.
In this case, the Montreal Victoire ended the regular season with the most points and were able to choose between the Minnesota Frost and the Ottawa Charge for their first-round playoff opponents.
The Minnesota Frost are the current reigning Walter Cup champions after winning in both the previous season and the inaugural one. Tune into the playoffs to see if the Frost will continue being the only Walter Cup champions or if another team can topple them.