Takeaways: Fleet Down Victoire in the Shootout, 3-2

The Boston Fleet secured a big shootout win over the Montréal Victoire, 3-2, in yet another thrilling meeting between these clubs. Emma Söderberg secured her first win of the season, while Hilary Knight and Susanna Tapani continued their scoring ways as the Fleet’s overall and home point streaks hit nine games.

Goal Rundown

Hilary Knight opened the scoring for the Fleet with an excellent power-play redirect at 19:08 of the first period.

In the second period, Amanda Boulier notched her first goal as a member of the Victoire by one-touching a Lina Ljungblom shot past Emma Söderberg at 6:08.

Later, Tapani lasered a shot into the top corner past Ann-Renée Desbiens to retake the lead for the Fleet at 11:47. Knight picked up the lone assist on the goal, moving her back into the league lead for points.

Just a few minutes later, a tough scene unfolded at the Tsongas Center when Desbiens was skated off the ice by her teammates after suffering an apparent knee injury. She was putting no weight on her left leg. Victoire head coach Kori Cheverie did not have much of an update postgame, other than she was in good spirits and they’d know more once they got her back to Montréal. Elaine Chuli replaced her in goal for the rest of the game.

Late in the second period, Anna Wilgren ripped a power-play shot past Söderberg to re-tie the game at 16:44. 

That was it for regulation scoring, so yet again, these teams headed past regulation. No one scored in overtime either, so for the second time in the season series, a shootout decided who got the extra point. In the first five rounds, Alina Müller and Knight scored for the Fleet, while Erin Ambrose and Marie-Philip Poulin evened things for the Victoire. Finally, Susanna Tapani potted the winner in Round 6. 

In goal, Emma Söderberg made 26 saves for the win, while Desbiens made 17 saves before leaving injured and Chuli went 10/10 before the shootout.

Takeaways

1. Another playoff-like game against the Victoire

There’s nothing quite like a Boston-Montréal hockey game, and there’s no exception to that in the PWHL. Every game between these two clubs is exciting, and last night was no different. It felt like a playoff game, with a fast pace, high intensity, and just the right amount of feistiness. Predictably, it also went past regulation for the fourth straight game between these two, and the ninth in 12 all-time meetings. Boston head coach Courtney Kessel was asked postgame what it is about playing Montréal that always seems to lead to overtime.

“I think [they’re a] very structured team, hard to get pucks to the net,” Kessel said. “I don’t know honestly, I think we have it out for each other, seems to be a little bit of a rivalry.”

2. Emma Söderberg played great en route to her first win of the season.

It’s been a bit of a tough season for Söderberg, who has played in just five games during which she’s been frequently hung out to dry by her teammates. However, she played outstanding last night, making numerous strong saves to keep the Victoire at bay. The rest of the team also looked more confident playing in front of her than they have in a long time. After the game, Söderberg spoke about finally getting that first win of the season.

“It feels good,” Söderberg said. “Haven’t had that strong [of a] season for me yet, so it’s nice to get that first win and just being out, playing with the team, and having everyone fight out there for me.”

Aerin Frankel is tied with Desbiens for the most starts in the league (19), and she had started the past seven games for the Fleet, dating back to February 17. Riding her for such long stretches is a dangerous game to play in terms of injury risk. So, it was great to see Söderberg get back on track last night. The Fleet need her or Klára Peslarová to step up and give Frankel a bit of a break down this final stretch. 

3. Finally, the Fleet played a complete game.

After far too many consecutive games with less-than-ideal starts, the Fleet finally came out and had a strong first period against the Victoire. Four power play opportunities helped their cause, but they also kept things close at even-strength. Most importantly, they then kept up a high level of play throughout the game, and there was no substantial stretch where either team felt dominant. As mentioned above, it felt like a playoff game, and if the Fleet can maintain this level of intensity and play against other opponents, they'll like where they're sitting come the end of the season.

4. Hadley Hartmetz made her long-awaited PWHL debut

It’s been a long road back to game action for Hartmetz. She suffered a severe knee injury in the 2024 NCAA national championship game on March 24, which her Ohio State Buckeyes ultimately won. She spent nearly a year rehabbing it, but was finally activated off long-term injured reserve yesterday morning. She logged 6:27 as the Fleet’s seventh defender and seemed to struggle a bit with the pace of the game (as expected), but she also made some great defensive plays. Hartmetz shared postgame what she'll remember most from her debut.

“The fans were really loud tonight,” Hartmetz said. “Sitting upstairs, you don’t really hear it as much as on the ice, so it was pretty loud. And then just the support from all my teammates when I would make a good play or have a good shift.”

5. The Fleet aren’t taking their foot off the gas.

Last season, the Fleet scrapped to get into a playoff spot until the very end. I had essentially written them off ahead of Worlds because they were playing so poorly and sat far outside of a playoff spot, but they turned it around to sneak into the playoffs and go on a run. However, this season, things are different. They’ve ridden a nine-game point streak to second place, and they have the inside track to securing home-ice advantage in the playoff semifinals. However, as the Fleet taught other teams last season, there’s no such thing as a safe playoff spot until you’ve clinched.

“Most of us in that locker room were kind of down and out with eight games left last year, so we know that anyone can win and anyone can come back at any time," Kessel said. "So I don’t think we’re ever taking out foot off the gas here.”

Kessel also shared some thoughts on where the team’s confidence is heading into this final stretch.

“Six games left, I think we can’t get complacent at all,” Kessel said. “I think we’ve had a good stretch here, the last 12 or so games, but we’re not done. I think it’s just the start of us getting our confidence going and continuing to lead us through these next six.”

The Fleet will be back in action on Wednesday, March 26 when they head back within the Boston city limits to take on the Toronto Sceptres at Agganis Arena. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET, and you can find the game on NESN, TSN, the PWHL Youtube Channel, and thepwhl.com.