Monday, May 26: Ottawa at Minnesota, 4 p.m. x-Wednesday, May 28: Minnesota at Ottawa, 7 p.m.

For the second straight season, the Toronto Sceptres suffered an opening round playoff loss at the hands of the underdog Minnesota Frost. Toronto finished first in year one, and second in year two during the PWHL regular season to secure home ice advantage,

Ottawa's rise to a team that’s two wins away from winning the Walter Cup began with a trade deadline that many viewed as a head-scratcher.

What's interesting about the matchup is that the PWHL's No. 1 seed, the Montreal Victoire, were given the right to choose their first-round opponent and instead of selecting the low seed Frost, they went with third-seeded Ottawa.

The Frost will open their PWHL title defense as Walter Cup champions with a game at Toronto at 6 p.m. Wednesday. Game 2 will be Friday at 6 p.m., in Toronto before the series shifts to Xcel Energy Center for Game 3 on Sunday,

As impressive as the PWHL’s growth has been less than two years since its launch, Stan Kasten says you’ve seen nothing yet.

Boston Fleet captain Hilary Knight has been named one of three finalists for the PWHL’s MVP award after a breakout second season. Knight is joined by Renata Fast (Toronto) and Marie-Philip Poulin (Montreal) as finalists for the award, which is named for PWHL investor and advisory board member and women’s sports advocate Billie Jean King.

Montreal Victoire's Kori Cheverie, Ottawa Charge's Carla MacLeod and Toronto Sceptres' Troy Ryan have been named the finalists for Professional Women's Hockey League coach of the year honours.