{
  "id": 11443801,
  "title": "Frost joins six-team Western Conference in new PWHL alignment",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/frost-joins-six-team-western-conference-in-new-pwhl-alignment",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-02T13:05:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/frost-joins-six-team-western-130500879.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Minnesota Frost, one of the Original Six teams, will compete in the Western Conference of the newly formed PWHL for the 2026-27 season. This marks the first time the league has split into two conferences, each containing six teams. The Frost will join five other expansion teams in the Western Conference: Detroit, Las Vegas, San Jose, Seattle, and Vancouver. These teams will be joined by Boston, Hamilton, Montreal, New York, Ottawa, and Toronto in the Eastern Conference. The playoff field has been expanded to eight teams, featuring three rounds with four best-of-three first-round series, a five-game Conference finals series, and a five-game Walter Cup final series. The Frost, who have won the first two PWHL championships and are among only two teams to make the postseason in the league's first three seasons, will open their home schedule on December 13 against Seattle at Grand Casino Arena. The team is looking forward to returning to play in front of their supportive fan base.",
  "summary": "The Minnesota Frost will play its fourth PWHL season as the only Original Six team in the newly formed Western Conference, starting with a season-opening game in the league’s first Game of the Week in San Jose, Calif., on Dec. 5. With four expansion teams beginning play this season, the PWHL split into conference for the first time, two with six-teams each. The Frost will play in the West with ...",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}