Takeaways: Fleet Claim Victory in First Game of PWHL Takeover Tour

The Boston Fleet and Montréal Victoire put on a show for the 12,608 fans in attendance at the first game of the PWHL's Takeover Tour. The Fleet battled back from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Victoire in a shootout, 3-2, and notch their first road win of the season after dropping four.

Goal Rundown

In the first period, Laura Stacey corralled a rebound off the end boards and sent it past Aerin Frankel to open the scoring for the Victoire on the power play.

Near the end of the period, Kristin O’Neill collected a Boston turnover and passed it to Abby Boreen, who lasered it past Frankel for her team-leading third goal and fifth point.

During a second-period power play, Hannah Bilka ripped a beautiful shot just inside the post to get the Fleet on the board.

Finally, in the third period, Susanna Tapani was standing net-front on the power play and redirected a Megan Keller shot past Ann-Renée Desbiens to tie the game and wrap up the regular goal-scoring.

After a high-octane overtime, the game headed to a shootout. Hannah Brandt and Marie-Philip Poulin scored in the opening round, while Hannah Bilka and Susanna Tapani added tallies in rounds 3 and 4 to secure the extra point for the Fleet.

In goal, Desbiens made 28 saves in the loss while Frankel made 23 for the win.

Takeaways

1. It was more than just another regular season game.

While the PWHL Takeover Tour games count the same as any other regular season matchup in the standings, they mean more to the teams that play them. After the game, Fleet head coach Courtney Kessel spoke about getting a "very warm welcome from Seattle."

“Just an unbelievable experience,” Kessel said. “Our players got to do some fun things yesterday and the day before that and it’s just really nice to come out with a win."

Victoire head coach Kori Cheverie also shared how exciting it was to play in a new market.

“It was definitely exciting from start to finish, having a game in these cities that don't have a team right now," Cheverie said. "Having a game that close and the fans are in it the whole time, it was certainly loud, this building is amazing. It was really cool to be a part of, and we are fortunate to have been a part of that."

Finally, Victoire forward Laura Stacey added that playing in these games is a privilege the players don't take lightly.

“It's a pretty big honor to come into rinks like this, cities like this, and have 12,000 fans cheering for two teams that don't even belong to their own city," Stacey said. "I think it's amazing to see. It's a privilege for every single one of us to step on that ice today in front of Seattle. We don't take it for granted.” 

2. The Fleet’s offense is slowly getting better.

There’s still work to do, but the Fleet outshot their opponent for the second straight game after not doing so in any of their first six. They also cracked 30 shots for the first time this season and did a decent job of getting quality looks (although they also had several dump-in/low-quality shots). The Fleet’s average shots per game still sit at just 24.6, but with 28 and 31 over the past two games, they're trending in the right direction.

3. The power play came through.

After starting the season hot, the Fleet’s power play went just one for eight over the past two games. However, it came through in Seattle, with both of their regulation goals coming with the advantage. Given the Fleet’s frequent struggles with generating offense and propensity for giving the other team a lot of time with the advantage, they need their power play to keep coming through in big moments like it did today.

4. The defense did a much better job clearing the front of the net.

Continuing with positive trends, Boston did a good job keeping the Victoire offense on the perimeter. Only three of Montréal’s shots came from the crease area, which is a welcome improvement after 59% of Minnesota’s shots were from around the crease last game. The Victoire still had some great looks, but good teams will always get their chances. What’s more important is limiting those second and third opportunities and allowing your goaltender to see the shots, which is exactly what the Fleet did. 

5. Stop with the momentum-killing penalties.

In the opening period, the Fleet outshot the Victoire 5-1 before Emily Brown was sent off for tripping at 5:39. Over the rest of the opening frame, Boston managed just two more shots while Montréal tallied two goals off eight shots. The Fleet dug themselves out of the hole, but they might find getting points easier if they stop gifting their opponents momentum with poorly timed (and frequently avoidable) penalties.

The Fleet will be back in action Wednesday night when they return to Minnesota for a rematch with the Frost. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. ET at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN, and you can watch the game on NESN, FanDuel Sports Network North, TSN, the PWHL Youtube Channel, and thepwhl.com.