Takeaways: Fleet Stay Undefeated Against Sirens With 3-2 Shootout Win

In their third meeting in just 11 days, the New York Sirens gave the Boston Fleet everything they had, but the Fleet eeked by them in the shootout, 3-2. Boston is undefeated in five meetings against New York this season, and they're now on a four-game win streak (two past regulation). Meanwhile, the Sirens' losing streak stretched to seven games (also two past regulation).

Goal Rundown

Sarah Fillier picked up a loose puck in the slot and ripped it bardown to open the scoring for the Sirens just 2:09 into the game.

Loren Gabel later rifled a shot past Kayle Osborne to tie the game at 6:27. 

With the clock winding down in the first period, Jessie Eldridge picked the puck out of a scramble and put it past Aerin Frankel to retake the lead for her team with 50.1 seconds remaining.

Late in the second period, the Fleet headed to a power play. Less than a minute later, Amanda Pelkey found a rebound off a netfront scramble and sent her first of the season past Osborne to retie the game at 19:23.

That was it for regular scoring thanks to Frankel and Osborne making numerous grade-A saves. The game went down to a shootout, where both goaltenders continued to shine. In the second round, Susanna Tapani scored what turned out to be the only goal to secure her team the victory.

In goal, Frankel made 37 saves for the win, while Osborne turned aside 30 in the loss.

Takeaways

1. The Fleet weathered the storm to beat a desperate team.

After losing six straight, New York was expected to come out hot in Buffalo, and that’s just what they did. Boston didn’t put up a huge fight for most of the first period, but they weathered the storm and improved as the game went on. It’s not a strategy to employ every game, but sometimes it’s just the way you have to win games in a league as competitive as the PWHL.

“I think our second period was the team that we wanted to show up for sixty minutes,” head coach Courtney Kessel said postgame. “I think we got a good 50 minutes out of them by the end of the overtime and a win’s a win in this league and points are hard to come by so we’re happy with the win.”

2. Frankel sparkles yet again.

There hasn’t been a game this season where Frankel hasn’t been great. However, there are some games where she just seems to have a little bit of extra magic in her, and this was one of them. The Sirens got an alarming amount of grade-A looks throughout regulation and overtime, but Frankel was a brick wall. Then, she turned aside all five shootout chances like it was nothing. It can't be said enough how lucky the Fleet are to have a goaltender like her to bail them out when they don’t have their best game.

“She’s the best goalie in the world,” Kessel said. “Countless times she's kept us in games. Kept us rolling through playoffs last year, facing so many shots. She’s just so steady—never too high, never too low. You always get the same effort from her in practice and she’s a tremendous goalie leader as well for all three of our national goalies. The ability for them to push each other in every single practice, I think is what puts our goalies at the top.” 

3. Loren Gabel made a huge impact in limited minutes.

Gabel only played 6:34 of the game, but she made those limited minutes count. She scored a goal via her signature shot, drew the penalty that led to the Pelkey power play goal, and then drew another penalty as regulation wound down. You really can’t ask any more of her, especially in a role that she’s not super well suited for like on a grinding fourth line. She’s doing everything she can to make her case for less scratches and more minutes when she does draw in. She got a shift in the overtime period, which is a positive sign that Kessel might be slowly trusting her more.

4. The Fleet make sure fans always get their money's worth at neutral site games.

The Fleet have played in three neutral site games at NHL arenas: last season against Ottawa in Detroit, this season against Montréal in Seattle, and now against New York in Buffalo. All three have been shootout wins, during which Frankel has been brilliant, allowing just two goals on 14 shootout attempts. In the grand scheme of things, this doesn’t really mean much, but I love a good fun fact. They’ll have one more crack at the Takeover Tour this season when they take on the Charge in St. Louis, MO on Saturday, March 29.

The Fleet now have a few days off after a busy stretch. However, their next game is a big one, as they head to Montréal’s famed Bell Centre to take on the first place Victoire on Saturday, March 1. Puck drop is set for 2 p.m. ET, and you can find the game on NESN, CBC, Radio Canada, the PWHL Youtube Channel, and thepwhl.com.