Women's ice hockey kicked off 2024 with the launch of a new professional league that debuted Monday with a match between the Toronto and New York teams.

The Professional Women's Hockey League "rings in the New Year with the very first regular season game in league history," the PWHL said in a press release.

Toronto earned the first victory in the new league, beating New York 4-0 in Toronto.

The regular season includes more than 20 games and runs until May, and will be followed by playoffs.

The league has six teams: Boston, Minnesota and New York on the American side, and Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto on the Canadian side.
Ice hockey is Canada's national winter sport but remains largely dominated by men.

The National Hockey League (NHL), the men's equivalent, was founded in 1917 in Montreal and has 32 teams spread across the two countries.