Takeaways: Victoire Snap the Fleet's Home Win Streak at Seven

The Boston Fleet dropped their first home game since December 4 yesterday, as they fell to the Montréal Victoire at Boston University's Agganis Arena, 3-2 in overtime. Another poor start found the Fleet in an early 2-0 deficit, but thanks to contributions from their bottom six, they battled back to force overtime in their first game within the Boston city limits.

Goal Rundown

To the surprise of no one, BU alumna Marie-Philip Poulin potted her league-leading 14th goal of the season in her return to campus. She was somehow left all alone, and she corralled a bounce off the end boards and sent it past Aerin Frankel to open the scoring for the Victoire at 3:41.

A few minutes later, Catherine Dubois skated into a Claire Dalton rebound and punched it past Frankel to double the Victoire’s lead at 7:39.

After managing just two shots all period, Lexie Adzija and Jamie Lee Rattray sprung into the offensive zone on a 2-on-1. Adzija faked a shot before sending it over to Rattray, who sent it bar down to bring the Fleet within one at 14:25.

In the second period, Amanda Pelkey continued her hot streak when she sent an Adzija rebound home to tie the game at 12:59. The assist gave Adzija her first multi-point game of the season, while Jillian Dempsey picked up her first point as a member of the Fleet with the secondary assist.

Regulation is rarely enough for these two clubs, and this game was no exception. After a missed Fleet chance at the other end, Cayla Barnes ended the game just 21 seconds into overtime when she drove the net hard and snuck the puck past Frankel.

In goal, Frankel made 26 saves in the loss, while Desbiens turned aside 19 for the win.

Takeaways

1. Another poor offensive start from the Fleet

Yet again, the Fleet struggled to generate offense for most of the first period. They picked it up with four shots after Rattray’s goal, but managing just three before that isn’t good enough. They were better the rest of the game, although quality was still an issue at times, but the Fleet simply have to start games on time. Sure, they keep finding ways to get points, but they won't beat many good teams by playing from behind every game.

2. The bottom six stepped up

The Fleet have had a fairly top-heavy offense this year, but their bottom-six shined yesterday. Not only did they record all of the points, but they were as noticeable as they’ve been all year. Everyone was hustling, making plays, and being physical. The fourth line made the biggest impact on the scoresheet with Adzija, Pelkey, and Dempsey combining for four points despite limited minutes. After the game, head coach Courtney Kessel praised her fourth line’s contributions.

“[I] said this last year, you don't win a Walter cup with just one line,” Kessel said. “I think you need four lines contributing in some way…I know that line [the fourth line] works hard, and sometimes their roles are undervalued. I think it's so great when you get to see them put the puck in the net and find ways to impact the game and help the team in different ways.”

3. Lexie Adzija had one of her best games as a member of the Fleet.

Adzija has had a quieter season, with just one point in her first 18 games. However, since missing the February 23 meeting with New York Sirens due to illness, she has three points in her last three games while playing some of her best hockey as a member of the Fleet. Yesterday was her first multi-point game of the season (and the second of her career) and offense aside, she was a buzzsaw out on the ice. She only played 7:38, but she was noticeable almost every time she stepped out there, which is not something you could say for much of the season. If she can keep having the impact she did today on and off the scoresheet, the Fleet will be much better off for it.

4. Agganis Arena was rocking

This was the first game the Fleet have played within Boston proper, and as such, there was a lot of hype leading into it. Despite some operational issues on Agganis’ end (namely involving parking and a few faulty elevators until about a half hour before the game), it lived up to the hype. The place was rocking, with a sellout crowd of 5,968, which is the Fleet’s second largest of the season (excluding the Takeover Tour stop in Seattle). Their largest crowd was 6,032 at the Tsongas Center on Sunday, February 16 against the Minnesota Frost. 

“It was great getting to play in the city and have the fans turn out for this,” Dempsey said postgame. “It was exciting to have nearly full capacity in the building. We had the classic ‘Frankel’ chants in the third, those never disappoint. We were thrilled with the turnout that we got today.” 

Numbers aside, I walked around the concourse and spoke with numerous fans attending their first game, which was a big goal for the Fleet coming into it. It’s no secret that it’s not easy to get to Lowell from Boston and south of it, so this was an opportunity to showcase the game to a different crowd. Their next game at Agganis on Wednesday, March 26 will provide a little more insight into the real potential of playing in the city, as no matter where they play, I think Friday-Sunday games have a high chance of selling out (or at least getting close to it) at this point. However, work/school nights have been a struggle in Lowell, as they have yet to break 4,000 fans this season at one, and only did so twice last regular season. 

The Fleet return to action on Saturday, March 15 when they travel to Ottawa to take on the Charge in one of their final two road games of the season. Puck drop is set for 2 p.m. ET, and you can find the game on NESN, CBC, the PWHL Youtube Channel, and thepwhl.com.