The Olympic break doesn't mean the PWHL is shut down. Instead, teams will continue to practice throughout the three weak stoppage in league play, and look to gain a competitive advantage over their opponents heading into the season's second half.
There's no rest for the wicked, nor for the Boston Fleet who are off to a 'wicked awesome' start to the 2025-26 season.
Sitting in first overall at the midway point in the campaign, the Olympic break has arrived. While many of the league's top players are headed overseas, others will remain with their PWHL clubs looking to find ways to get better. For the Boston Fleet, it involves keeping the roster that remains in North America in peak competitive form, so that when their teammates return, they can finish out wha they've started.
According to Boston Fleet head coach Kris Sparre, his team will take a rest to start the time off, and then dial in to come back even stronger.
"We're going to get some rest right now. We're going to have a little bit of time off. At least some of us are. I know the Olympians will be ramping it up, but yeah, we have to stay sharp," Sparre said following Boston's final game prior to the Olympic break.
"There's a there's a group of players in this league that are going to go play some of the most competitive hockey they've seen in a very long time at the highest stage. And so you can better believe that when they come back to this league, they're going to be ready to go. And so our job is to match that or try to match that with our practice intensity and the way that we go about our business over the next few weeks."
Boston has outperformed all expectations this season after bringing in a new coach, losing captain and league co-leading scorer Hilary Knight, losing first round pick Hannah Brandt, and implementing new systems across the board with only a week training camp before puck drop. Despite it all, Boston found a way to sit atop the league standings at the midway point. Returning from the Olympics the Fleet will have a target on their backs.
It's why they'll be spending the break intentionally working to improve.
"We're also going to put a big emphasis on development and use this time to to strengthen our group," said Sparre.
I think that we want to be playing our best hockey towards the end of the season. So, it's great to have a great start for sure. We're excited about where we're at. We're excited about what we've been able to show. And what that does, it just gives us a baseline of confidence for the group to know that we can compete in this league and and do a really good job at that. But every team's going to get better...every team's going to get stronger, every team's going to get a little bit more structured. So for us, we have to keep the competitive advantage that we feel we have right now, and so that'll be the focus for us."
The Boston Fleet return to action February 28 when they travel to TD Place Arena to face the Ottawa Charge. The PWHL's first game back from the 2026 Olympic break will be February 26 when the New York Sirens host the Montreal Victoire.