As the Professional Women’s Hockey League expands to 12 teams for the 2026-27 season, a new conference and playoff format will be introduced.
The Boston Fleet will play in the Eastern Conference alongside four other original teams — Montreal, New York, Ottawa, and Toronto — as well as the expansion franchise in Hamilton, Ontario.
Eastern Conference teams will play 18 games against their five conference opponents and 12 against Western Conference teams (Minnesota, Seattle, and Vancouver; plus expansion franchises Las Vegas, Detroit, and San Jose). Each Western Conference team will visit Boston once.
With the addition of four teams, the league will expand the Walter Cup playoffs to now feature the top four teams in each six-team conference.
The 2026-27 schedule was released Friday, and as previously announced the Fleet will open the season on Dec. 6 at New York and will begin play at their new home, Agganis Arena, on Dec. 9 against Ottawa.
Boston will make its only West Coast swing early in the season, heading out for a week-plus of games at Vancouver, Seattle, Las Vegas, and San Jose over Christmas. The Fleet will head back out on the road for a five-game swing in the last two weeks of January before playing nine of their final 11 regular-season games at home.
The PWHL will continue its Takeover Tour, bringing games to neutral-site cities across North America. The Fleet have two home dates (Jan. 2 and Feb. 20) and two road dates (Jan. 23 vs. Montreal and Feb. 2 vs. Toronto) designated as Takeover Tour games.
There also is a Feb. 27 home game against the Vancouver Goldeneyes not yet slated for a venue. Vancouver recently signed Salem, N.H., native Caroline “KK” Harvey, the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, to a three-year deal. Could the Fleet possibly hope to play at TD Garden once again? They sold out the venue last April, and Feb. 27th’s listed 7 p.m. faceoff would pair well with a scheduled 12:30 p.m. Bruins matinee against Detroit.
The PWHL will host its first All-Star event on March 7 in Toronto, and players will get about two weeks off. The season is set to wrap on April 17.
2026-27 Boston Fleet schedule
All home games at Agganis Arena unless noted.
Dec. 6, at New York Sirens, 3 p.m.
Dec. 9, vs. Ottawa Charge, 7 p.m.
Dec. 12, at Toronto Sceptres, 7 p.m.
Dec. 16, vs. Montreal Victoire, 7 p.m.
Dec. 22, at Vancouver Goldeneyes, 9:30 p.m.
Dec. 23, at Seattle Torrent, 10 p.m.
Dec. 26, at Las Vegas, 7 p.m.
Dec. 30, at San Jose, 10 p.m.
Jan. 2, vs. Ottawa Charge, noon (Takeover Tour, location TBA)
Jan. 9, vs. Toronto Sceptres, 2 p.m.
Jan. 13, vs. New York Sirens, 7 p.m.
Jan. 17, at Ottawa Charge, 1 p.m.
Jan. 23, at Montreal Victoire, 2 p.m. (Takeover Tour, location TBA)
Jan. 26, at Hamilton, 7 p.m.
Jan. 29, at Minnesota Frost, 7 p.m.
Feb. 2, at Toronto Sceptres, 6:30 p.m. (Takeover Tour, location TBA)
Feb. 6, vs. Detroit, 7 p.m.
Feb. 10, at Hamilton, 7 p.m.
Feb. 12, at Montreal Victoire, 7 p.m.
Feb. 17, vs. Seattle Torrent, 7 p.m.
Feb. 20, vs. Montreal Victoire, 3 p.m. (Takeover Tour, location TBA)
Feb. 27, vs. Vancouver Goldeneyes, 7 p.m. (location TBA)
March 14, vs. Minnesota Frost, 1 p.m.
March 21, vs. San Jose, 1 p.m.
March 27, vs. Las Vegas, 3 p.m.
April 3, at New York Sirens, 7:30 p.m. (location TBA)
April 8, at Detroit, 7 p.m.
April 10, vs. Hamilton, 3 p.m.
April 14, vs. New York Sirens, 7 p.m.
April 17, vs. Toronto Sceptres, TBA
Emma Healy can be reached at emma.healy@globe.com or on X @ByEmmaHealy. Katie McInerney can be reached at katie.mcinerney@globe.com. Follow her on Instagram at @katiemac.sports.