Boston Fleet blank New York Sirens, 4-0 in regular season finale behind shutout from Aerin Frankel.
*This is a joint article written by both Ava J and Natalie Zona
The Boston Fleet blank the New York Sirens, 4-0 in the last game of the regular season behind a shutout from Aerin Frankel. Haley Winn, Jessie Eldridge, Ella Huber and Jill Saulnier all found the back of the net for the Fleet.
The Boston Fleet hosted the New York Sirens on Saturday afternoon in an electric environment. The game took place at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, Massachusetts, and served as the last regular season game for the Boston Fleet and New York Sirens. The game recorded an attendance of 6,120 people.
The New York Sirens have already been eliminated from the playoffs coming into this game. They are the only team in the Professional Women’s Hockey League to have never made the playoffs. They will finish their season at No. 6 in the standings, with a 9-3-3-15 record. That record reflects nine regulation wins, three overtime wins, three overtime losses and 15 regulation losses. The Boston Fleet have clinched playoffs and are relying on the final league games to determine their spot in the standings.
The Boston Fleet have won every single matchup against the New York Sirens this season. The most recent win was 1-0 on March 5. Prior to this match, the Boston Fleet were coming off a 2-1 loss to Ottawa, while the New York Sirens were coming off a 1-0 win against Toronto.
The puck dropped at noon today, and the Sirens came out hot with 16 shots in the first period compared to Boston’s one, and that one shot didn’t come until over 11 minutes in. The defensive front for New York was strong throughout the first period halting any attacks from Boston.
Along with the strong start to the game, the Sirens also were awarded two power plays but were unsuccessful with both. Frankel, Boston’s goalie and starting Olympic goaltender in Milan, bailed out the Fleet offense with 16 saves in the first.
In a post-game press conference, Frankel said, “We have a really special group, so that makes going to battle with them every night so much fun. They show up for me, so if I have to bail us out a little bit in the first to get things going, then that’s what I’ll do.”
The second period was much of the same with New York outshooting Boston 24-8, but the Fleet had a lot more chances to score this period. Throughout these two first periods, the Fleet’s passing accuracy was subpar, often giving it away to the Sirens and losing possession in their offensive zone. This period ended scoreless as well.
When asked about what gave them a spark today, Fleet Head Coach Kris Sparre said, “It doesn’t matter what line you’re on. If I feel like you can contribute, I’ll switch it right there in the moment. Today it was strictly about generating a spark for our group and fortunate enough for it to work.”
The third period began with captain Megan Keller looking to put one on the board, taking aggressive shots on the net. After recording less than 10 shots through two periods, the Fleet capitalized on a slap shot from Keller that hit off Eldridge’s stick and past the shoulder of goaltender Callie Shanahan for the first score of the game. The team found their spark after this goal and picked up three more in the final period.
Four minutes later, Huber scored as well to make it 2-0. The Fleet had found their footing and kept possession for the majority of this period. On a power play, standout rookie Haley Winn added on to the Fleet’s lead. Shortly after, Jill Saulnier scored a shorthanded empty net goal.
Boston secured a final regular season home win to improve to 16 wins. Frankel also pitched her eighth shutout of the season. They will now await their seeding and opponent when they host the semifinals on Thursday, April 30, on the path to the Walter Cup. The standings and post-game schedule will be solidified at the conclusion of the final regular season games. All Fleet playoff games can be watched on NESN.
There is a chance for Boston to claim the No. 1 spot. Tonight, the Montréal Victoire plays against the last seeded Seattle Torrent for their last game of the regular season. Due to the Fleet’s win today, with any kind of loss for the Victoire, Boston would clinch the No. 1 overall seed. If Montreal wins, they will be No. 1 and Boston No. 2.
Keller added one lasting thought saying, “Just reflecting back on this entire year, what we’ve built so far is special, but our job’s not done. Ultimately, we want to win the Walter Cup.”