Toronto will pick Minnesota as their PWHL semifinal opponent, while Montreal will face Boston

Toronto has picked Minnesota as its semifinal opponent in the Women's Hockey League playoffs starting Wednesday.

In its first season, the PWHL introduced the playoff innovation of giving the top team in the league a choice between the third and fourth seeds for its semifinal opponent after the regular season.

Toronto has 24 hours left after Sunday's final game to make a decision.

Monday's nod to fourth-seeded Minnesota means Montreal takes third-seeded Boston in the first round.

Toronto opens the best-of-five semifinal against Minnesota with the first two games on Wednesday and Friday at the Coca-Cola Coliseum.

Montreal starts Thursday and Saturday against Boston in Laval at the Bell in Laval.

The top five final will be for the Walter Cup. New York and Ottawa finished just outside the playoffs in the six-team league.

Toronto (13-4-0-7) leads the standings in the league's first season, followed by No. 2 Montreal (10-3-5-6).

Boston and Minnesota had identical 8-3-4-9 records, with Boston finishing higher in the tiebreaker.

Higher seeds receive home ice advantage for games one, two and five of each series.

Toronto, which has won four games in the postseason, has chosen American clubs in the opposite direction.

Minnesota entered the playoffs on a five-game losing streak to end its regular season.

Despite the biggest names in the women's game – Taylor Heise, Kendall Coyne Schofield and Grace Zumwinkle – not winning since the international break at the Club World Cup.

Toronto's 5-2 overtime victory over Ottawa in Sunday's final ended Ottawa's postseason hopes and left Minnesota in the Final Four.

And Boston has won four of five games in its regular season. Their only loss came against Ottawa.

Toronto is 2-1-0-1 against Minnesota, including a 4-1 win in its last game on May 1 in Minnesota.

Toronto is 3-0-0-2 against Boston, including a 2-1 loss in their last meeting on April 18.

Montreal, meanwhile, went 1-1-1-1 against Boston, with the latter beating Montreal 4-3 at home on Saturday to end the regular season for both clubs.

This Canadian Press report was first published on May 6, 2024.

Canadian Press