Around the PWHL: Olympic wrap-up; Red-hot Desbiens; Winnipeg Takeover Tour

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/02/2026 (234 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Welcome back from the Olympic break! While there’s only one game to dissect this week (with the game between Toronto and Seattle set to end well past press time Friday night), that gives me time to acknowledge the PWHL players’ Olympic feats.

There was indisputable proof that the women’s game has improved immensely even since the 2022 Beijing Games. Team Switzerland could have easily been in the gold-medal match, and Team Sweden gave Team USA a valiant fight in the first half of their semifinal.

Both medal finals went into overtime, showcasing the game at its best. That is an accomplishment all on its own.

Now to address the elephant in the room — the phonecall to the U.S. men’s team — since I am a woman working in sports.

I would be lying to the readers of this column if I said my job has been easy. It has not been easy in the least. While my own team treats me with respect, my credentials for the job have been questioned time and time again by men in the industry just because I am a woman working in a male-dominated field. Yet, no one has stopped to ask themselves why sports journalism remains a male-dominated field when half of athletes are women.

Also, the designator of “women’s sports” gets thrown around far too often in the industry. Sports are sports. Full stop. It doesn’t really matter who the athletes are.

Most importantly, the United States women’s hockey team has handled this entire situation with such grace. And, on that note, to paraphrase Team USA captain Hilary Knight, poor behaviour from male athletes should never be the responsibility of the female athletes.

I could go into the statistics of how the men’s and women’s U.S. hockey teams have the same amount of gold medals — the men accumulating three gold over the past 106 years of the Winter Olympics, while the women have accumulated the same amount in just 28 years. I could go on about how the U.S. women’s program has reached the podium at every single Olympic Games since women’s hockey debuted at the 1998 Nagano Games. I could mention how the U.S. women accounted for 19 of the United States’ 33 medals at the Milan Cortina Games. And if you ever get the opportunity to chat with me in person, I will.

At the moment, all we can do is move forward and celebrate that Captain America herself, Knight, ended her Olympic career as the best U.S. hockey player at the Olympic Games in goals (15) and points (33) and scored the equalizer against Canada. A heartbreaker for me? If I’m allowed to confess such a thing, yes. But we also got to experience hockey at its absolute best in that gold-medal game, and both the Canadian and American athletes should be proud they put on one helluva finale.

The silver lining for fans of Team Canada was Marie-Philip Poulin setting an all-time Olympic record by scoring her 19th and 20th goals at the Games. Not only did she tie the long-standing goal record held by Saskatchewan’s own Hayley Wickenheiser, she went on to break it in the same game against the Swiss. O Captain, my Captain.

Now let’s get back to the exciting second half of the coolest league on ice.

Highlight of the week

Poulin who? Despite Captain Clutch listed as day-to-day because of a knee injury she sustained at the Milan Cortina Games, the Montreal Victoire crushed the New York Sirens without their captain in the PWHL’s first game back since the break.

The highlight of the week is Ann-Renée Desbiens’ 34 saves as she backstopped her team to a 4-1 win over the Sirens Thursday night. An honourable mention is Laura Stacey’s two assists. And, with the win, the Victoire have tied the league-dominating Boston Fleet in points.

Bring on the Olympic encore.

Come on down to Winnipeg

The good news? The countdown to the PWHL Takeover Tour game in Winnipeg at Canada Life Centre is officially on.

The even better news for fans? The Winnipeg stop has not officially sold out for the March 22 clash between Ste. Anne’s Jocelyne Larocque and her Ottawa Charge and Winnipeg’s Kati Tabin and her Montreal Victoire.

Tickets are going fast, so get them while you can.

Game to watch in Week 12

With the Boston Fleet’s multi-point lead in the standings officially evaporating Thursday and the Ottawa Charge’s late surge up the standings before the Olympic break, Saturday’s clash between the two clubs will be one to watch (1 p.m. CT, CBC).

The game will be a critical opportunity for the Fleet to prove they’re still a heavyweight in the playoff fight, and for the Charge to prove the point streak wasn’t a fluke.

winnipegfreepress.com/graceannepaizen