Fleet and Frankel Get Second Straight Shutout With 2-0 Win Over the Goldeneyes

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On Tuesday night, the Boston Fleet returned to Tsongas Center to face the Vancouver Goldeneye in front of 4,178 fans. The Goldeneye were beginning a five-game road trip, and the road has not treated them kindly this season. They’ve managed only 13 goals in 10 games away from Vancouver, with multiple-goal games in just three of those contests. One of those came against Boston on January 3—a 4-3 win over the Fleet. Boston, meanwhile, entered Tuesday’s game undefeated at Tsongas Center and aimed to set a new team record with another regulation win.

The starting goalies were Kristen Campbell for Vancouver (3-4-2-0, 2.23 GAA, .910 SV%) and Aerin Frankel for Boston (14-0-3-2, 1.29 GAA, .849 SV%). After a scoreless first period that saw only one penalty called against Vancouver, shots on goal stood at 8-6 in favor of the Goldeneye. Boston broke the deadlock at 9:03 of the second period when Laura Kluge tipped home a point shot from Megan Keller for her first goal of the season, giving the Fleet a 1-0 lead. Kluge later said she was happy to “get that out of the way.” Rookie defenseman Mia Biotti earned her first career point with an assist, calling it “amazing” to contribute on the play. Vancouver earned two power plays in the period, the second coming at 19:57 on a penalty to Boston’s Riley Brigman that carried over into the third. Shots in the second were 14-13 in favor of Vancouver, and through two periods, the Goldeneye led 22-19 overall.

In the third period, Vancouver increased the pressure, peppering Frankel with shots and controlling much of the offensive zone time. True to form, Frankel stood tall. The Goldeneye fired 12 shots on goal in the first ten minutes of the period, but could not solve her. Boston received a power play at 11:49 but again came up empty, extending their drought to 0-for-22. Another opportunity came at 16:48 when Claire Thompson went off for tripping, but the Fleet’s struggles continued, making them 0-for-23 on the power play. With less than a minute left, Campbell (27 saves on 28 shots) was pulled for an extra skater, but it backfired as Susanna Tapani scored into the empty net—her eighth of the season—from Hadley Wintto to seal a 2-0 victory. Frankel stopped all 35 shots for her sixth shutout of the season.

After the game, Vancouver head coach Brian Idalski called it an “excellent hockey game” and praised Frankel for her timely saves. From the Boston bench, assistant coach Jordan Lavialle-Smatherman described it as “an interesting one.” Asked about the power play struggles, he said the team “just needs a lucky bounce.” Frankel, who continues to impress this season and is coming off an Olympic workload, said she’s taking it one game at a time and hasn’t changed her practice routine.

With the win, the Fleet improved to 11-5-2-4, while Vancouver fell to 6-1-4-11.