Ottawa's PWHL fans finally have a full picture of where to watch the Charge this season.
When the puck drops
The first PWHL game to air on Hockey Night in Canada is set for December 5, 2026, featuring expansion team PWHL Hamilton against the reigning Walter Cup champion Montreal Victoire. PWHL Executive VP of Business Operations Amy Scheer said Hockey Night in Canada "is a fixture in Canadian sports culture, and its Saturday night schedule has ritually captivated hockey fans for nearly a century." PWHL Hamilton player Brianne Jenner echoed that sentiment, saying, "As a Canadian, and as a Canadian hockey player, you grew up with Saturday night Hockey Night in Canada. I remember the sights and sounds of that in my living room growing up."
Where the Ottawa Charge fit in
The bigger structural change for Ottawa supporters is the league's move from 8 to 12 teams, split for the first time into Eastern and Western conferences. The Ottawa Charge will play in the Eastern Conference alongside the Boston Fleet, PWHL Hamilton, the Montreal Victoire, the New York Sirens and the Toronto Sceptres. The Western Conference is made up of PWHL Detroit, PWHL Las Vegas, the Minnesota Frost, PWHL San Jose, the Seattle Torrent and the Vancouver Goldeneyes.
That means more Charge games against familiar nearby rivals in Montreal and Toronto, with the regular season running from December 5, 2026 through April 18, 2027. Each team will play 30 games, 18 within its own conference and 12 against the other conference, for 180 games across the league.
A bigger playoff picture
The Walter Cup playoffs are expanding too, from a four-team to an eight-team, three-round format, with the top four teams from each conference qualifying. That gives the Charge a wider path into the postseason than in past years. The first round will be best-of-three, while both the second round and the Walter Cup Final move to best-of-five.
Where to actually watch
CBC is only one piece of the broadcast puzzle. TSN will carry 55 games, Sportsnet 30, Prime Video 20 exclusive Tuesday games, and RDS 18 Montreal Victoire games, giving Ottawa viewers several ways to catch Charge action depending on the night. Before any of that, PWHL training camps open November 18, 2026, following the IIHF Women's World Championship in Denmark, and the league's All-Star event is scheduled for March 7 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
What led here
The CBC partnership isn't new news to Ottawa fans: ottown's earlier report covered the return of Hockey Night in Canada with the PWHL back in late September.
Sources: PWHL (official), Daily Faceoff
