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It was a playoff atmosphere at Tsongas Center on Saturday afternoon as the Boston Fleet played their final regular season game of the PWHL season vs the Minnesota Frost. There was a lot on the line for both teams. For the Fleet, one point was needed to punch their ticket to the playoffs. For the Frost, they needed a regulation win to have a shot at defending their championship.
The starting goalies for the matinee were Arein Frankel for the Fleet, who was back after missing the last two games with a concussion suffered during the World Championship playing for Team USA, and for the Frost, Nicole Hensley was between the pipes. Minnesota started the game with an early jump, and it produced the game’s first goal from Britta Curl-Salemme, her 8th of the year at 2:23, assisted by Natalie Buchbinder, which made it 1-0 Frost. Lee Stecklein made it 2-0 Frost at 3:08 from Liz Schepers, and Grace Zumwinkle put the Fleet in an early game hole. Minnesota already had six shots on net as they were playing with great desperation.
Through the first ten minutes of the first period, the Fleet had no shots on goal. A slow start for a team that was 6-3-1-4 at Tsongas Center this season. The game was fifteen minutes old, and Boston had only one shot on goal, and that was by Loren Gabel at the 11:15 mark. The Frost went on the power play at 16:10 when Fleet defense person Megan Keller went off for cross-checking. 14 seconds later, Kendall Coyne Schofield went down the right wing side and beat Frankel shortside to make it a 3-0 Frost lead. The goal was Schofield’s 12th of the year, and she now has points in her last six games. Kelly Pannek had the lone assist. The first period ended with Minnesota up 3-0. Shots on goal were 10-3 in favor of the Frost. It could be said that it was one of the worst periods by the Fleet this season.
After a first period to forget, head coach Courtney Kessell made a goaltending switch. Frankel was done (seven saves on ten shots), and Klára Peslarová was in. The change did what you were hoping for, as the Fleet had a little more jump in their skates. However, the jump did not last long. Off a rush, the Frost made it a 4-0 game on a goal by Sophie Jaques off a cross-ice feed from Zumwinkle from left to right. Jaques made no mistake as she beat Peslarová to the far side left post. The goal came at 6:47, and Brookie McQuigge also got an assist. The Frost were not taking their foot off the pedal. They added their second PP goal of the game at 14:58 when Curl-Salemme notched her second of the game and 9th of the year, making it a 5-0 game. Michela Cava and Taylor Heise got the assists.
As the second period came to an end, the news for the Fleet got worse. The Ottawa Charge had won their game vs Toronto, which meant the Fleet would need to win their game to see the playoffs. Things were not looking good as the second intermission began. Boston outshot Minnesota 15-6 in the period. It was 18-16 after two periods.
With the score being what it was, Coach Kessell decided to pull out all the stops, pulling her goaltender four minutes into the period. How many goals the Fleet could lose by was not an issue anymore. They had to get five goals or their season was done. Minnesota would score an empty net from McQuigge at 7:19 two-point day for her. That made it 6-0, Frost. Minnesota would then score a jailbreak empty net goal from Jaques, her second goal of the game at 15:09. The Fleet avoided a shutout at 15:33 on a goal from Jessica Digirolamo, her first of the year, unassisted, to make it 7-1 Minnesota. The Frost scored their third PP goal of the game at 19:14, when Klara Hymlarava scored her first of the season. Jacques netted a three-point game. Liz Schebers also assisted. The final score of 8-1 was a disappointing ending to the season for the Fleet.
Boston head coach Courtney Kessell explained the reasoning behind starting Arein Frankel by saying, “Clear to play, she is our horse.” She thanked the fans for their support all season.
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