Painful ending for the Fleet - Boston Herald tab

PWHL

Painful ending for the Fleet

Boston falls short of playoffs after losing 8-1 at home

Minnesota goaltender Nicole Hensley blocks a shot by Boston forward Hilary Knight during the third period of Saturday’s PWHL game at the Tsongas Center. JAMES THOMAS PHOTO

Boston Fleet goaltender Aerin Frankel blocks a shot on net from Minnesota Frost forward Dominique Petrie during the first period of Saturday’s PWHL game in Lowell. Minnesota won, 8-1. JAMES THOMAS PHOTO

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By Jason Cooke

Correspondent

LOWELL >> Perhaps the Minnesota Frost’s two most pivotal wins in team history have unfolded on Tsongas Center ice.

A year ago, Minnesota defeated Boston in the all-important fifth game of the Walter Cup Finals to claim the inaugural Professional Women’s Hockey League title.

The Frost doled out another painful result to the Fleet in Lowell on Saturday, skating to an 8-1 romp in front of 5,013 fans to clinch a playoff berth while eliminating Boston.

“Our players seem to really like it here,” said Frost head coach Ken Klee. “It was quick — we got on them early, and good thing we kind of kept our foot on the gas and kept going. We had good sticks, we had good structure, so it makes it easy to play when you’re making it hard on them.”

The Fleet entered the regular season finale requiring a single point against the Frost or an Ottawa Charge loss. Neither outcome proved favorable for Boston. Ottawa edged the Toronto Sceptres in overtime as Boston limped to the finish line at home.

The Fleet, in its second season calling Lowell home, finishes the 2024-25 campaign with a 9-6-5-10 record. Its three-game slide entering the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship ultimately proved to be fatal in reaching the four-team playoff.

“It’s been a tremendous two years with these players, and obviously, with expansion and the unknowns, we have no idea,” said Fleet head coach Courtney Kessel. “So it’s sad, because you don’t know who’s going to be back in that room. And I think that was one of our messages headed into the end of this stretch.”

Boston didn’t look like a club vying for a postseason berth in the opening 20 minutes. Minnesota sent six shots toward the direction of Frankel in the first 3:08, and two of them lit the lamp.

Britta Curl-Salemme collected a loose puck atop the right circle, beating Frankel with a quick snap shot to break the ice at 2:23. The Frost doubled its lead 40 seconds later, as Lee Stecklein wheeled around the Boston net and glided into the slot untouched before sliding a backhander past Frankel’s left pad.

Things only got worse for the hosts, allowing the Frost to head to the power play at 16:10. Kendall Coyne Schofield, Minnesota’s leading point scorer (24 points), found twine 14 seconds later as her attempted pass across the slot deflected off a Fleet defender and into the cage.

The lowly period marked the first time in team history that Boston had relinquished three goals in the first period of a game. Saturday’s hiccup also marked the first time the club has allowed eight goals in a game.

Kessel opted to replace Frankel with Klára Peslarová for the middle period, but the Frost needed just 6:47 to pot an insurance goal and increase its cushion to 4-0.

Sophie Jaques collected a feed from Grace Zumwinkle along the right face-off dot, shooting and scoring in stride. The goals kept coming for the Frost, netting a power play tally at 14:58. Curl-Salemme’s second of the game was a picture-perfect cross-crease feed off the stick of Michela Cava for the tap-in.

Brooke McQuigge and Jaques put the finishing touches on Minnesota’s win with empty net goals in the third. Jessica Digirolamo scored her first PWHL goal at 15:33 for Boston, which was followed by one final jab from the visitors when Klara Hymlarova scored at 19:14.

“It’s just so fun to play in front of this crowd,” said Fleet star Hilary Knight. “They’re with us — good or bad, they’re in the boat rowing with us. It’s really special to be celebrated in that way and part of this city in that way.”