The PWHL schedule has arrived. There remains 30 of the 180 games announced without a time or location, but that's only because the PWHL is planning an even larger slate of PWHL Takeover Tour games and neutral site games that will soon be unveiled.

Fans of the league's four expansion teams now have a concrete schedule to plan for, and the returning teams are getting their first look at what the new 12-team, two-conference format will look like. 

The season will kick off December 5 with the Seattle Torrent and Vancouver Goldeneyes playing the first game of the season for the second straight year. For PWHL fans it will mark the opportunity to see the league's first overall pick, Caroline Harvey, go head-to-head with the second overall pick, Abbey Murphy, ushering in a new era of stars.

While every game under the PWHL's 3-2-1 point system is crucial, here's a look at five games every PWHL fan should circle on their calendar which may have a little more intrigue than usual.

Expect to see a Walter Cup banner being raised to the rafters at Place Bell in Laval. It will be an emotional start for the returning Montreal Victoire, as well as for visiting defender Nicole Gosling who was a paramount contributor for the Victoire last season before signing with Hamilton in expansion. Towering over the game is the fact it will be a first glimpse for all of Canada at the champions and an expansion team, and it will be for all of Canada to see as the game will be broadcast from coast to coast to coast on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada. It will mark the first time in HNIC's 90-year history that women will be the feature. The PWHL will undoubtedly pull out all the bells and whistles for the game. There might be extra emotion to the night as well as everyone will be waiting anxiously to see Marie-Philip Poulin walk out to be with the team for their pre-game ceremony months after Captain Clutch won playoff MVP on one knee prior to reconstructive surgery.

Hilary Knight is one of the most beloved American players the game has ever seen, including captaining Team USA to an Olympic gold medal in 2026. But that doesn't mean Sin City will welcome her with open arms. A notoriously rambunctious Las Vegas sports scene, with a fanbase that has earned vitriol in the NHL, might have feelings about Knight spurning Las Vegas in favor of Detroit. Knight was signed by Las Vegas in expansion, but had committed to play for Detroit. It resulted in a trade that sent Knight to Detroit, rather than keeping one of America's legends in Vegas. Instead, Las Vegas enters with a young core they amassed in part due to that trade and others that brought in rookies like Tessa Janecke, Lacey Eden, and Issy Wunder to fuel their offense. Will the veteran get the last laugh, or will the youthful Las Vegas roster show Knight what she is missing? And how will Las Vegas' fans react when Knight touches the puck?

Hamilton plays at Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto December 8. But when the return happens with Toronto coming to the TD Coliseum in Hamilton, the atmosphere will be one to watch. The PWHL and Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath touted the expansion market's uniqueness, and the fact they have their own identity separate from Toronto. Few question that. But what will be in question is how Hamilton's fans show up for their first home game hosting Toronto. With home arenas only 63 km or 39 miles apart, Hamilton could also be overrun by Sceptres fans. It's likely to be a loud arena no matter who throws a hit, who makes a save, or who scores a goal. This regional battle will be one that gets plenty of attention by Ontario media, and it will be interesting to see the two fan bases clash head-to-head in Hamilton's home venue, which at 17,383 seats, holds double Toronto's Coca-Cola Coliseum.

The two teams play earlier in the season with Minnesota hosting, but it looks to be a PWHL Takeover Tour game. This means the first time Britta Curl-Salemme and co. come to Minnesota will be March 20. A polarizing player for her involvement in anti-LGBTQ+ organizations and past comments, as well as for her physical play on the ice, Curl-Salemme will undergo the litmus test of how Minnesota's fan base truly feels about her as a player when she arrives back at Grand Casino Arena with Detroit. Will the boo birds be out? This game goes beyond that narrative however, as it will also be an in-conference contest down the stretch between two teams with what looks on paper like they'll field a dangerous top six. 

Ottawa and Hamilton will have already faced each other multiple times by this point in the season, but the Charge will not face, who fans have deemed the Charge 2.0, aka Hamilton, at home until April 3. At this point Hamilton will walk into the Canadian Tire Centre, with important playoff points on the line for both teams, with a contingent of former Ottawa Charge players including last year's captain Brianne Jenner and foundational signing Emily Clark, as well as Peyton Hemp, Alexa Vasko, and Anna Shokhina, who all played with the Charge last season, and Zoe Boyd, who was a beloved Charge defender during her first two seasons in the league. Charge fans will likely be welcoming, remembering how the group helped their team to the Walter Cup finals, but when the puck drops, all bets are off. Hamilton also features Ottawa native Kayle Osborne in net, who has had success against her hometown team.