Ottawa Charge will play their first game of the 2026-27 PWHL season at the Canadian Tire Centre against Ontario rivals.

The Ottawa Charge will begin its quest for a third consecutive trip to the Professional Women’s Hockey League championship final on Dec. 6 against the Toronto Sceptres at Canadian Tire Centre.

After its first game as full-time tenants in the home it will share with the Ottawa Senators, the path will continue towards a new PWHL playoff format.

To accommodate the expansion from eight to 12 teams, the league has been divided into two conferences.

Ottawa will compete in the Eastern Conference with the Sceptres, defending champion Montreal Victoire, Boston Fleet, New York Sirens and the new PWHL Hamilton squad.

The Minnesota Frost, traditionally a contender, should be thankful to play in the Western Conference with three expansion teams (PWHL Detroit, PWHL Las Vegas, PWHL San Jose) and two other clubs that are just one year old (the Vancouver Goldeneyes and Seattle Torrent).

Each team will continue to play 30 regular-season games, including 18 within its conference and 12 interconference games, while the Walter Cup playoffs will expand to feature eight teams competing in three rounds, up from the four-team, two-round format in each of the league’s first three post-seasons.

The eight teams that qualify for the playoffs will be the top four teams in each conference. The first round will feature four best-of-three series, followed by best-of-five conference finals and a best-of-five championship final.

A PWHL playoff tradition will also expand this season, awarding the first-place team in each conference the opportunity to select its first-round opponent, choosing between the third- or fourth-place team within their respective conference.

Following its season opener against Toronto, the Charge will play eight of its next 10 games on the road.

It concludes the season with five of its final six games at CTC.

“There’s a lot to be excited about with this schedule,” Charge coach Carla MacLeod said. “We’ll be tested early with so much time on the road, but that’s an opportunity for us to come together, establish who we are, and earn our position.

“What’s especially exciting is the opportunity to finish the season with six of our final eight games at Canadian Tire Centre. We want to make CTC a place our players love playing, and our opponents hate coming into.

“After back-to-back trips to the Walter Cup Finals, we understand how hard it is to get there — and there’s absolutely some unfinished business for our group.

“We can’t wait to get started.” 

The Charge will play in four regular-season Takeaway Tour games at still-to-be-announced venues, while opening its two-game pre-season schedule at the Morgan Firestone Arena in Ancaster, Ont., against Detroit’s expansion team on Monday, Nov. 23, and then facing the Sceptres at Mattamy Athletic Centre the next night.

The Charge opens its training camp at Canadian Tire Centre on Nov. 18.