(Photo courtesy of PWHL) “The Boston Fleet returns home on Saturday at the Tsongas Center.”
Jason Cooke
Connector Editor
When the Boston Fleet returns home at the Tsongas Center on March 21, four Olympic medalists will hit the ice in the Mill City.
Headlined by Team USA stars Aerin Frankel, Megan Keller and Haley Winn, Alina Müller had a big hand in helping Switzerland capture bronze in Milan.
Keller’s game-winning goal in overtime is still turning heads weeks later. Receiving a pass from Taylor Heise, the smooth-skating Keller entered the attacking zone on a one-on-one, dragging the puck around the Canadian defender before tucking a backhander in the net to deliver the Americans a gold medal.
“I’m lost for words,” Keller told the Associated Press after the game. “This is an incredible feeling. I love these girls so much. This group deserves it. Just the effort and the faith that we kept through this four-year journey is something very special.”
Keller was tied with Caroline Harvey for the most points in the tournament, recording 3-6-9. Also starring was Winn, Keller’s defensive partner on the Fleet, picking up 1-3-4.
But perhaps no player made a greater impact than Frankel, who has wowed fans in Lowell the past three seasons with the Fleet. Frankel allowed just two goals on 99 shots, setting an Olympic record for three shutouts and tying a record for five consecutive wins.
Seven total Fleet players represented their respective countries in Italy, including Daniela Pejšová (Czechia), Susanna Tapani (Finland) and Laura Kluge (Germany).
To make the return to Lowell even more special, the Fleet’s opponent, the Seattle Torrent, features ex-Fleet captain and Olympic legend Hilary Knight, who scored the game-tying goal against Canada in the gold medal game.
But it is unknown if Knight will lace up the skates. She was recently placed on long-term injured reserve for an injury suffered in the Olympics.
Knight donned a Fleet sweater for two seasons until being relinquished in the expansion process that reshaped the structure of the growing league. She appeared in her fifth and final Olympics this February, becoming the all-time leading scorer in Team USA women’s hockey history. She’s amassed a whopping 33 points in her decorated Olympic tenure.
The Fleet will look to use its momentum from the Olympics in the second half of the season. Boston, in first place as of Sunday with an 8-3-2-2 record, was victorious in its first game after the break. On Saturday, the Fleet escaped with a 3-2 shootout win over the Ottawa Charge on the road.
Abby Newhook and Müller scored in regulation for the Fleet before Müller and Hannah Brandt found the back of the net in the shootout. Frankel made 23 saves between the pipes and stopped four of five shots in the shootout.
“It was nice to be back on the bench and great for our players to play a game,” said Fleet head coach Kris Sparre. “I think when you take that much time off, you never really know what to expect in the first game back. We certainly have things to clean up, but I liked a lot of things about our game tonight… Maybe we should just stop wasting everyone’s time and go right to a shootout to start.”
