Lowell, Mass. — With a raucous crowd of 5,964 hockey fans on hand, Kaleigh Fratkin scored the game-winning goal in PWHL Boston’s (8-4-3-9, 35 points) 4-3 victory over Montréal (10-3-5-6, 41 points), punching her club’s ticket to the playoffs at the Tsongas Center on Saturday.
“It was absolutely insane,” said PWHL Boston head coach Courtney Kessel. “It was exciting for the fans. That’s what they come here for. At the end of the day we won and we clinched. We’re excited.”
Boston Starts Strong
Marie-Philip Poulin picked up the game’s first solid scoring opportunity leading a two-on-one into the Boston zone. However, Boston’s top goalie, Aerin Frankel, was up to the task, making another in a long line of spectacular stops.
Sophie Shirley served the game’s first penalty after the officials caught Boston with too many players on the ice. Montréal held the puck in the zone for almost the entirety of the power play, but Boston was finally able to escape with just 15 seconds to go on their first penalty kill.
Boston found a spark following a massive (and likely illegal) hit on their alternate captain Jamie Lee Rattray by Montréal’s Sarah Lefort. Rattray was sidelined for the remainder of the period and did not return following the first intermission.
Charged by the hit on Rattray, Boston broke the deadlock when Hillary Knight tapped home her fifth of the year on a Kelly Babstock feed. The puck found its way between Ann-Renée Desbien’s pad and the near post to put the hosts ahead 1-0.
Alina Muller added insurance on a one-time snapshot from the hashes. Powering her way through traffic off the draw, Muller made herself available for a feed from Theresa Schafzahl. Schafzahl upheld her end of the bargain, finding the tape of PWHL Boston’s leading scorer who fired home the insurance goal with 1:18 to go in the opening frame.
After 20 minutes, Boston held a 2-0 lead with a 12-11 lead in shots on goal.
Keller fuels the flames
The fireworks started flying early in the second period when Montréal’s Mélodie Daoust and Boston’s Emily Brown exchanged pleasantries in front of the benches.
Boston continued to pile on the pressure when Megan Keller ripped home the game’s third. Hannah Brandt got the puck off her stick just before getting taken out along the boards by Catherine Daoust. The puck made its way to the forehand of Hillary Knight who continued the link to the chain together, finding a racing Megan Keller on the far post. Keller opened 4
Marie-Philip Poulin gave Boston their first power play of the game when she was called for cross-checking just past the seven-minute mark of the period. Boston was able to hold the puck in the zone for the entirety of the power play, but the Montréal penalty killers held firm against the Boston onslaught.
Boston nearly added a fourth with under three minutes left in the middle frame. Sidney Morin thundered a slap shot from the point with Gigi Marvin standing in the bumper position. Desbiens left a rebound for the waiting Marvin, but she was able to make a sprawling save to hold the lead at three.
Through two periods, Boston’s advantage was evident on every pixel of the scoreboard, holding a 3-0 lead and a 26-19 advantage in shots on goal.
Un Come-back Québécois
Kelly Babstock took a minor penalty for roughing at the 3:23 mark of the third period, sending PWHL Boston back to the penalty kill
Mikayla Grant-Mentis finally put Montréal on the board just 20 seconds into the powerplay. A bouncing puck off an Amanda Boulier slap shot trickled through Aerin Frankel’s five-hole. With Grant-Mentis flanking Frankel’s crease, the Brampton, Ontario native tapped the puck over the line to bring the visitors to within two.
Montréal went back on the powerplay when Fratkin was sent to the box for roughing after a spirited battle with Montréal’s Laura Stacey.
Montréal scored a second power-play goal in a controversial fashion. Kati Tabin was slow to get off the ice following a thunderous hit by Megan Keller. While sauntering to the bench to be substituted, the puck appeared to strike the skate blade of her replacement, Mariah Keopple, who was also on the ice.
With play continuing as normal, Keopple launched a wrister from the top of the left circle. The puck was deflected through traffic by Grant-Mentis. It knuckled over Frankel’s blocker side shoulder and under the bar to make the score 3-2 with 8:30 to play.
Montréal captain Marie-Philip Poulin shocked the Tsongas Center crowd into silence, rifling home the tying goal with 3:09 to play in regulation. After a lengthy offensive zone possession and a clogged slot, Poulin was able to sneak the puck past Frankel to tie the game at three.
The Shot Heard ‘Round the World
Müller nearly gave Boston the lead right back, finding daylight in mid-ice and a clear path to the net. To the dismay of the home partisans, Desbiens absolutely stonewalled Müller to keep the game tied.
While Müller lit the fuse, Fratkin gave the crowd permission to blow the roof off of the Tsongas Center. Fratkin sent a shot intentionally wide from the blue line, but the puck deflected off of the rear end of Montréal defender Amanda Boulier. The new trajectory put the puck right past the glove of Desbiens and into the back of the net. This gave the hosts a 4-3 lead with 80 seconds to play.
PWHL Boston captain Hillary Knight on the goal by Fratkin:
“I was standing next to [Kelly Babstock] and she just called it. She was like: ‘We’re going to score.’ [Amanda Pelkey] and I just said: ‘Alright.’ Fratkin put the shot on the net, it goes in and we were honestly just elated.”
PWHL Boston captain Hillary Knight
The moment that sealed the deal. 🗣
— PWHL (@thepwhlofficial) May 4, 2024
Fratkin comes in clutch with the game-winner for Boston! pic.twitter.com/NIWB2VUUTa
With the goalie pulled, Montréal fought until the very last instant but would come up just short. Boston’s 4-3 victory combined with a shocking upset of Minnesota by New York allowed them to punch their ticket to the league’s inaugural playoff tournament.
Postgame Proceedings
With PWHL Boston clinching a playoff berth after a stunning late-season turn-around, defender Megan Keller seemed overjoyed following the victory:
“The way that this group stuck together shows the type of team that we are. When we came back from the break, that was the sentiment. I’m just so proud of this group and excited for the playoffs.”
PWHL Boston Defender Megan Keller
Captain Hillary Knight echoed her teammate’s praise of her club’s ability to fight through adversity late in the season.
“After the ups-and-downs of this season, I couldn’t be more proud of this group,” said Knight. “We continued to respond and evolve. This is a different team since that break. It’s wonderful to be a part of all of the hard work that we’ve put in. We’re going to continue to go with it.”
Head coach Courtney Kessel finally appears to have seen her team’s true potential unleashed in the 4-3 win:
“I think we’re using our speed. We’re forechecking hard and playing a physical game. People ask: ‘what does your team bring?’ I think we bring a physical game, but it took us a little bit to get there. It’s a special group on the ice, but it’s an even more special group off the ice.”
PWHL Head coach Courtney Kessel
PWHL Boston will face either Toronto or Montréal in game 1 of the PWHL semi-finals on either Wednesday or Thursday. The final game of the 2024 PWHL regular season will be Sunday at 7:00 PM when Ottawa takes on Toronto. All PWHL games can be streamed on the PWHL YouTube channel.
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