PWHL Las Vegas opens 1st season at home against Hilary Knight, Detroit

PWHL Las Vegas will play its inaugural game at home when the league’s fourth season opens in December.

Las Vegas will open its first season in the PWHL with an all-expansion matchup, facing PWHL Detroit at T-Mobile Arena on Dec. 6.

The regular season schedule will be unveiled Friday.

The first home game for the new PWHL franchise caps off a busy weekend of hockey at T-Mobile Arena. The Vegas Golden Knights face the Winnipeg Jets on Dec. 5.

Training camps across the league open Nov. 18. Las Vegas will scrimmage against the Minnesota Frost on Nov. 22 and Vancouver Goldeneyes on Nov. 24.

The home opener will be the debut game for coach Kim Weiss, who spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach with the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League.

Tessa Janecke, the No. 3 pick in this year’s PWHL Draft, will also make her league debut.

Las Vegas and Detroit were involved in one of the league’s biggest trades during the offseason. Las Vegas acquired the No. 3 pick they used on Janecke from Detroit for the signing rights to forward Hilary Knight.

Knight, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, signed a one-year deal with Las Vegas during the league’s expansion process, but Knight did not want to continue her career in Las Vegas.

Las Vegas opted for the future by utilizing two top-five picks. Las Vegas took Wisconsin forward Lacey Eden with the fifth pick.