PWHL
“Getting to play in the city and having the fans turn out for this — it was exciting.”
The Boston Fleet found themselves in a different barn for Saturday’s home game against the Montreal Victoire.
But based on the cacophony of cheers raining down on them, one would be hard-pressed to notice the difference from a raucous Fleet crowd.
Playing roughly 30 miles south of their usual home rink of Lowell’s Tsongas Center, the Fleet thrilled a sold-out crowd of 5,968 at Boston University’s Agganis Arena on Saturday — trading chances with Montreal en route to an eventual 3-2 overtime loss.
“It was great,” Fleet forward and Winthrop native Jillian Dempsey said of playing within the city limits for the first time. “Getting to play in the city and having the fans turn out for this — it was exciting. … We had the classic ‘Frankel!’ chants in the third — those never disappointed. So yeah, we were thrilled with the turnout that we got today.”
As has been the case all season long, Boston goalie Aerin Frankel stood tall between the pipes on Saturday — turning aside 26 of 29 shots in the OT loss. Forward Lexie Adzija finished with two assists for the Fleet, who have gone to overtime in four of their five meetings with Montreal so far this season.
Saturday’s matchup might have been a home game for Boston, but it also served as a homecoming of sorts for Montreal captain Marie-Philp Poulin — who starred at Boston University for four seasons.
The three-time Olympic gold medalist and one of the most decorated hockey players of all time opened the scoring at Agganis — tucking a puck past Frankel following a fortuitous bounce off the boards just 3:41 into the contest.
“Very special to come back here to Boston — especially to play here at Agganis,” Poulin said. “Great memories. It was four years of my life that were some of the best — so really special.”
Montreal doubled their lead less than four minutes later, with Catherine Dubois pouncing on a loose puck in the low slot and firing it past Frankel to make it a 2-0 game.
The Victoire controlled play for a majority of the first period, but the Fleet struck back in the tail end of the frame off of a 2-on-1 break between Jamie Lee Rattray and Adzija.
Gathering the puck on her stick as she glided toward Montreal netminder Ann-Renee Desbiens, Adzija lifted a pass across the slot to Rattray — who promptly roofted the offering into twine to put Boston on the board at 14:25.
Both Boston and Montreal traded power-play bids near the start of the second period, with Fleet captain Hilary Knight nearly uncorking the roof off of Agganis following a breakaway bid after exiting the sin bin.
Knight wasn’t able to beat Desbiens amid an array of dangles, but the Fleet did manage to knock another puck home later in the second.
Adzija once again served as the primary conduit of a Grade-A look. After taking a slick behind-the-back feed from Dempsey, Adzija cut into the slot who fired off a sharp backhand shot that clanged off the left post.
The puck bounced out to the right, where a lurking Amanda Pelkey was ready to pot the rebound to knot the game up at 2-2 with 7:01 to go in the period.
“Demps had eyes in the back of her head,” Adzija said. “So big shoutout to her there. And Pelkey was in the perfect spot, backdoor. “
It marked Pekley’s third goal of the season, as well as Dempsey’s first point with the Fleet.
“Obviously not the outcome we wanted for the game. So that part stings a bit. But obviously any time you can contribute on the scoresheet and help the team offensively and make an impact, it’s a good feeling,” Dempsey said. “So our line has been — we felt like we’ve been on the brink for several games now. And so it felt great to be able to contribute in that way.”
The score remained deadlocked through the remainder of regulation, eventually leading to overtime.
In an extra frame that lasted just 21 seconds, the Fleet generated a Grade-A look right out of the gate when Megan Keller uncorked a shot from the slot. But her attempt sailed wide, with Montreal’s Cayla Barnes ending the game just seconds later when she beat Frankel with a backhand attempt near the crease.
“Three-on-three hockey is exciting. It’s why we play it after the game,” Fleet head coach Courtney Kessel said. “And we had an opportunity to bury the game. We didn’t. They turned around and scored. So I think it is what it is.
“We move on, and the next time we go to overtime with Montreal, we’ve got to finish them.”
Saturday will not be the final time the Fleet set sail for Comm. Ave this season, as they will return to Agganis Arena for another home bout on March 26 against the Toronto Sceptres.
As reported on by The Boston Globe’s Emma Healy — the Fleet’s two games at Agganis will present the PWHL with an opportunity to gauge fan and audience data, especially with Boston holding the second-lowest average attendance in the league up in Lowell.
The Fleet will resume play next Saturday when they head up to Ottawa to take on the Charge at TD Place. Puck drop is set for 2 p.m.
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