San Jose’s expansion team in the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) will play 13 games at SAP Center this season, starting with its PWHL debut against the two-time league champion Minnesota Frost on Saturday, December 5.
San Jose is one of four expansion franchises – none of which has an official name yet – in the 12-team league. The fourth-year league revealed its full 180-game schedule on Friday morning after announcing each team’s opener earlier in the week.
The teams will play 30 regular-season games, and every team will visit San Jose at least once. San Jose also has four “Takeover Tour” games at yet-to-be-named neutral sites in cities that do not currently have a league franchise.
San Jose opens the season with consecutive home games before a four-game trip that begins Dec. 12 at defending league champion Montreal. San Jose has a season-high four-game homestand from Jan. 13 through the 22nd. Five of its final eight regular-season games are on the road.
“There’s a tremendous amount of energy and anticipation around this team, and now we know the path that lies ahead,” Troy Ryan, PWHL San Jose general manager and head coach said in a statement. “Our players, coaches, and staff are ready to embrace the challenge, build this organization with you, and represent the Bay Area with pride. We can’t wait to get started.”
The PWHL drops the puck on the season December 5 and runs through April 18. The league for the first time will be divided into conferences (Eastern and Western) with an expanded eight-team playoff format to determine the Walter Cup champion. During the regular season, teams will play 18 games within their conference and 12 interconference games.
The eight teams that qualify for the three rounds of playoffs will be the top four teams in each conference.
San Jose is in the Western Conference along with the Frost, which won the first two PWHL titles and is one of the league’s ‘Inaugural Six’, PWHL Detroit, PWHL Las Vegas, the Seattle Torrent and the Vancouver Goldeneyes. The Eastern Conference includes the Boston Fleet, PWHL Hamilton, Montréal Victoire, New York Sirens, Ottawa Charge, and Toronto Sceptres.
Half of San Jose’s regular-season games will be played on weekends, including eight Saturday games and seven Sunday games, with Wednesdays representing the busiest weekday with six games.
The PWHL’s first night of play will include women’s hockey replacing the NHL on CBC’s iconic “Hockey Night in Canada” broadcast, the league announced earlier this week.
San Jose 2026/27 schedule. Courtesy of the PWHL.