Purple Reign

We're back after what was an oustanding tournament in Milano-Cortina as the second half of the season is well and truely underway

With our Frost not back in action until March 1 my fellow Purple Trio members Pluto & Lady join me for a jampacked show as my co hosts

First we share some quick thoughts on the Winter Games after which we recap all of the fixtures in February across the PWHL which definetely saw an Olympic boost

Next up we look ahead to the remainder of the Takeover Tour with six more games still to go including Denver which we will be attending in person

Then we give you our headlines on what to look out for in the second half of the 2025/26 season

We finish off by looking at the points leaders for the month of February even if there isn't that much movement

We are so looking forward to coming out to the States next week and if any of you are coming to Grand Casino Arena or Ball Arena do come and say hi

Get in touch at [email protected] and check out our bonus episodes on the official George Hand YouTube channel

Ilya from Heated Rivalry guest hosting SNL should have been a good thing for the LGBT community and if he had in his monologue stuck to roasting the show that made him a household name then I would have been fine with itThe problem was he then went to bring in the Olympics which saw Boston Fleet captain Megan Keller and Seattle Torrent captain Hillary Knight poking at the distasteful joke that happened in the boys locker roomFor me I fear that we have now normalised what was a disgusting joke and that is an issue because the moment we normalise that behaviour the more frequently we're going to see itWatch it for yourselves - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iU7xOTUq3Qs

Despite originally planning not to do an episode of the joke I kind of felt I had no choice after the emotional impact it had on the entire Purple Trio but also having the confidence to do it after Tessa & Julia brought it up on Jocks in JillsWhat happened in that locker room has disgusted me but at the same time powered me on to carry on and go further in my role as both supporter and advocate to the Professional Women's Hockey League

Last weekend the NHL began its Hockey Day in Europe celebrations beginning in hockey loving Sweden with further stops planned for Czechia, Germany and FinlandNow while we don't cover NHL news on this show I actually think this is a good idea and something that we in the PWHL should do to help grow our league even furtherAlthough my fellow Purple Trio members get carried away claiming that I should be the one to lead the UK charge and become the Dave Shaw of the PWHL

While the Purple Trio were deep in the Winter Games coverage a brand new documentary made by the company owned by none other than Resse Witherspoon was releasedThe show which can be streamed on Peacock focuses on our inaugural season of the PWHL and while its a good idea as shows like these can do wonder like ITV's Champions: Full Gallop Lady has a massive problem with how its been distributed

With the Milano-Cortina Winter Games seeing our sport grow further it shined a spotlight on something not many people will know about and that is the Triple Gold ClubThis club is for players who have won World Championship Gold, Olympic Gold & the Walter Cup and it doesn't surprise us that all but one is an active member of our Minnesota Frost

The PWHL Starting Six is where each month the league will recognise three forwards, two defenders and one goaltenderIn this third Starting Six recap the Purple Trio celebrate the Starting Six for the month of January 2026Check out the recipients - https://www.thepwhl.com/en/news/2026/february/03/pwhl-announces-january-s-pwhl-starting-six

The last thing I expected from the league I love is for one of its players to release a debut single as that is exactly what Jincy Rose from the New York Sirens has gone and doneMe and Lady personally like it while Pluto feels confused about the messaging of the song and then he has the cheeck to drop a huge bombshell from my childhood

The third game of the Purple Trio's trip of a lifetime took place on Wednesday 18 March 2026 as the Minnesota Frost won 5-0 over the Ottawa Charge

On the final day of the group stages some unexpected news came from Ottawa as it was announced the Charge would be going back to CTC in a rematch with the Montreal Victoire who they hosted last yearThis is a good move for the Charge especially as CTC could one day be their new primary venue given their nowhere near out of the woods with their arena debacle