Boston Fleet Win Second Straight at Home, 3-2 Over Ottawa

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Coming off their first home win of the season, the Boston Fleet were looking to spread a little holiday cheer with another solid performance vs the Ottawa Charge on Tuesday night at Tsongas Center. A win by the Fleet would give them a two-game win streak which would tie their longest regular season win streak. Fleet goaltender Aerin Frankel is tied for saves in the league with 89. Her counterpart in net, Ottawa’s Emerance Maschmeyer, also had 89 saves coming into this game.

Frankel was making her fifth start of the year and is 1-2-0, 1.82 GAA, with a .937 save percentage. Maschmeyer was making her fifth start and her record is 1-1-0, 2.07 GAA, and a .927 save percentage. The Fleet received more good news with the return of forward Alina Muller who missed the last game with an injury.

At the halfway point of the first period, both teams were moving up and down the ice at a pretty good clip. There were good scoring changes by both sides. The crowd on hand was already being entertained by a good start to the game. While no player had multi-shots on net, both goalies were challenged by the quality of shots they faced. The first period ended scoreless with Ottawa holding a 9-7 shot advantage. There were also no power plays for either team.

The second period began at even strength. Ottawa forward Brianne Jenner had an early chance on Frankel, but Frankel’s glove was ready to take care of it. It would be the Fleet that would break through first. Jamie Lee Rattray, off a turnover at the Charge blue line that was created by Fleet defense person Emma Greco, skated in on the left side and beat Maschmeyer (22 saves on 25 shots) to the far right post on the backhand for her first goal of the season at 2:18. Greco picked up the only assist. 1-0 Fleet. The Charge would tie the game at 1-1 at the 6:49 mark on a goal by Shiann Darkangelo who redirected the puck off her skate past Frankel for her first of the year. Jincy Roese grabbed one assist and it was her shot that Frankel stopped that led to the goal. Danielle Serdachny also assisted on the goal.

The Fleet regained the lead at 8:02 on Shay Maloney’s first of the year, and first as a pro. The assists were from Amanda Pelkey and Sophie Shirley. The Fleet was back in front 2-1. The pace of the game was leading to good chances for both teams. The first penalty of the night went to Rattray for a roughing minor at 12:31 of the second period. Ottawa’s power play on the road was 1/3 (33.3%) on the young season. Boston’s penalty kill was at 88.8% as they had allowed one power-play goal in nine tries. Boston made it 10 kills out of 11 tries after taking care of the Ottawa power play. The Charge had only one shot on goal. With under four minutes left in the period, the Charge tied the game at 2-2 off a drop pass from Jenner Antea Tejralava who buried one pass Frankel for her first on the season at 16:16. Serdachny (two-point game) also assisted. The game now stood at 2-2 with under three minutes left in the period. The Fleet took a bench minor for too many players on the ice at 18:53 that was served by Hannah Bilka. That penalty carried over to the third period. Shots in the period favored Boston by an 11-8 margin. Through two periods it was 18-17 Fleet.

The third period started with the Charge on the power play for 53 seconds. Once the Fleet killed off that penalty, it was back to trying to win the game in regulation. The Charge had two shots on goal during the person advantage. The Boston Fleet took their third one-goal lead of the night at 8:26. Hannah Brandt, off a nice behind-the-back feed from Hilary Knight, found the back of the net inside the right post. The goal was Brandt’s second of the year and it gave the Fleet a 3-2 lead with ten minutes left.

Frankel got it to a one-goal lead with a nice pad save on the ice off a shot by Tereza Vanišová that was part of a 2-on-1 down low. Once again, the Fleet was testing fate when Sydney Bard went off for boarding at 12:43 of the third. Ottawa was 0/3 on the power play to this point. Boston made it 0/4 with another kill and they were five minutes away from win #2 at home. The Charge could only get one shot on Frankel (24 saves on 26 shots) during their latest power play. Ottawa pulled their goalie with under two minutes left. The Charge would call timeout after a glove save by Frankel off a shot by Vanišová with 1:14 left. Despite the pressure applied by Ottawa, the Fleet hung on and won their second in a row 3-2 over Ottawa.

After the game, Fleet head coach Courtney Kessel was happy with the win and her penalty-killing units. With the new rule in place, everyone has a chance to be a part of it. She thinks her players are “Diaed in on the PK.” After getting off to a slow start at Tsongas a year ago, things have switched somewhat. Hannah Brandt talked after the game about how much the team is “Enjoying playing in Lowell.” Ottawa players believed there are “Good things to take away from Tuesday night game.” Of course, there are still things to work on.

The Fleet is off for 10 days due to the holiday break. Once they return, a crazy road trip begins.