Boston homestand continues with New York’s return to Lowell
LOWELL, MA (February 17, 2024) – The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) schedule continues with the second of two Saturday afternoon matchups, featuring Boston and New York, at 4:00 p.m. ET at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell.
WHERE TO WATCH
Fans in the United States can watch live on NESN or stream on the NESN 360 app by logging in with their TV provider or purchasing a direct subscription. Viewers can also watch on MSG/MSGHD and on the league’s YouTube channel. Canadian viewers can stream the game free on CBC Gem. Eric Gallanty will have today’s play-by-play call alongside analyst Bridgette Proulx.
SETTING THE STAGE
A fourth-place tie will be broken in today’s game between Boston (2-2-1-3) and New York (2-2-1-4) who step onto the ice with 11 points each. This marks the fourth of six straight home games for Boston at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell and the second of four in an eight-day period. Home ice hasn’t been kind to Boston with just one win in five appearances and two straight losses. They defeated Minnesota 4-3 in overtime on Jan. 27, and have since lost 2-1 to Montréal in overtime on Feb. 4, and most recently suffered a 5-3 loss to Toronto on Valentine’s Day. New York can take credit for one of Boston’s three regulation losses at home, winning 4-1 on Jan. 20. That game is one of four road wins for New York in six tries so far this season. The latest was a shocking 4-3 overtime comeback in Ottawa on Feb. 4 where they rallied from a 3-0 deficit. That victory snapped the team’s two-game losing streak. The teams will meet three more times this season, including Mar. 10 back in Lowell. Both teams have frequently displayed slow starts and strong finishes. Boston has eight third period goals compared to 10 in the first two periods, while New York has scored 11 third period goals compared to nine within the first 40 minutes of their games.
RECAP BEFORE THE REMATCH
New York beat Boston 4-1 on Jan. 20 in the first regular season meeting between the teams at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell. Jade Downie-Landry led the way with a hat trick, and Jessie Eldridge’s second period tally held as the game winner. Trailing 3-0 in the third period, Loren Gabel’s third goal of the year provided Boston’s only offensive spark. Boston outshot New York 33-19 and played a penalty free game. Corinne Schroeder turned aside 32 saves in the win, while Emma Söderberg took the loss and was pulled after allowing three goals on 13 shots.
TOP PERFORMERS
New York’s Alex Carpenter is tied for the PWHL scoring lead with 11 points, including five goals and six assists, in nine games and was instrumental in the team’s comeback victory over Ottawa. In that contest, she scored the game-tying goal with under four minutes in regulation, then tallied the overtime winner. Ella Shelton is tied for third in league scoring but ranks first among defenders with nine points. Jessie Eldridge is tied for sixth in league scoring with eight points and had her first two-assist performance against Ottawa. That game was also the best of the season for Abby Roque who scored a goal and two assists. For Boston, Alina Müller is tied for third in league scoring with nine points including seven assists which is tied for most among skaters. She’s been held off the scoresheet her last two games after breaking out with a four-game streak that included a trio of multi-point performances. Defender Megan Keller had her first two-point game of the season on Wednesday and is tied for second on the team with six points. Her and Jamie Lee Rattray both have two goals and six assists, with the forward tallying her second of the season against Toronto. Also on Valentine’s Day, Taylor Girard produced her first multi-point game with a goal and an assist and is now tied with Loren Gabel for the team-lead with three goals.
BOSTON CELEBRATES COMMUNITY HEROES
Today’s game will celebrate some of Boston’s community heroes. The Honor Guard from the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office will present the colors during the national anthem, accompanied by Officer Sandra White. The Boston Warriors, a hockey club for veterans, will have a table on the concourse level and will be highlighted during the game. The team will also recognize a ‘Fan of the Game’ in honor of their dedicated service. Tickets for today’s game were offered at a discounted rate for military, healthcare workers, public safety, and education heroes.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISBELL
Forward Samantha Isbell will make her PWHL debut today with Boston while celebrating her 26th birthday. The Thunder Bay, ON, native has been activated from the team’s Reserve Player list by signing a 10-day Standard Player Agreement. Isbell is a graduate of Mercyhurst University and spent last season as a member of the PHF’s Montréal Force where she recorded 12 points including three goals in 22 games. Her promotion is a result of an injury sustained by forward Sophie Shirley in Wednesday’s game.
WELCOME BACK SAULNIER
New York’s Jill Saulnier returns to the lineup for the first time since Jan. 10. The 31-year-old forward from Halifax, NS, appeared in the team’s first three games and scored a goal in the historic season opener. She was chosen by New York in the seventh round of the PWHL Draft and is a 2022 Olympic gold medalist and 2021 World Champion representing Canada. Saulnier was activated from long term injured reserve ahead of today’s game. In a corresponding roster move, New York has reverted Alexa Gruschow back to a Reserve Player contract.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“We’re excited for another game at home against New York. Our focus is to come out fast with a good start. When we play fast and physical, we are hard to beat. We have had some good games lately that haven’t resulted in a win, so hopefully we can come away with a few points.” – Kaleigh Fratkin, Boston
“I think it’s about time we showed up for 60 minutes today.” – Courtney Kessel, Boston
“We’re looking to build and learn off our last nine games and set a new standard. We know what we’re capable of and we look forward to putting everything into motion in this upcoming Boston game!” – Jade Downie-Landry, New York
“Our team is looking forward to getting back into the ring with Boston tomorrow. Our players who have remained home have been working hard in preparation for this next stretch of games and, of course, they are re-energized with our Rivalry Series players returning into the mix. It will be key to strive for a quick start vs Boston as they’ve had a game in hand following the break.” – Howie Draper, New York
QUICK HITS
New York (+1) is second in goal differential and Boston (-3) ranks sixth…Boston (2.50) is first in goals-per-game average and New York (2.44) ranks second…New York (2.33) allows the third fewest goals-per-game on average and Boston (2.88) allows the most…Boston (2) and New York (4) have recorded the fewest first goals…Boston (8) and New York (11) are most productive offensively in the third period…Neither team has lost a game when leading after two periods…Boston (+9) is tied for third in shot differential and New York (-59) is sixth…New York (28.33) is third in shots-per-game average and Boston (27.38) ranks sixth…Boston (26.0) allows the fewest shots against on average and New York (34.89) allows the most on average…New York (6/26) is second in powerplay efficiency at 23.1%…Boston (2/21) is third on the PP at 9.5%…Boston (17/19) is second in penalty kill efficiency at 89.5%…New York (24/27) is third on the PK at 88.9%…Alex Carpenter (NY) is tied for the league-lead with 11 points…Alina Müller (BOS) is tied for the league-lead with seven assists…Ella Shelton (NY) leads all defenders with nine points…Megan Keller (BOS) is tied for second among D with six points…Carpenter and Shelton are tied for second with two powerplay goals…Carpenter, Shelton, and Abby Roque lead the league with three powerplay assists…Boston’s Hannah Brandt and Taylor Girard are tied for the lead with one shorthanded goal…Girard leads the league with a 37.5% shooting percentage…Susanna Tapani (BOS) leads the league with a plus-7 rating…Roque is tied for second in the league with 10 penalty minutes…Hilary Knight leads Boston with 28 shots on goal…Carpenter and Jessie Eldridge lead New York with 36 shots each…Tapani (37/68) has a 54.4% face-off percentage for Boston… Müller (41.7%) leads the team with 151 draws…Carpenter (100/169) leads New York with a 59.2% face-off percentage and has taken the most draws…Aerin Frankel (BOS) has two wins in four starts with a goals-against-average of 1.91 that ranks second overall and a save percentage of .927 that ranks fourth…Corinne Schroeder (NY) has four wins in six starts with a 1.98 GAA and a .943 SV% that ranks second…Abby Cook will make her debut on the Boston blue line after being acquired from Minnesota in a trade on Feb. 11.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
BOSTON:
Rattray | Tapani | Knight
Girard | Müller | Gabel
Schafzahl | Brandt | Marvin
Isbell | Darkangelo | Wenczkowski
Keller | Fratkin
Brown | DiGirolamo
Healey | Morin
Cook
Frankel | Söderberg
Scratches: Kronish, Pelkey, Shirey
NEW YORK:
Roque | Carpenter | Levis
Aurard | Downie-Landry | Eldridge
Vespa | Woods | Giguère
Packer | Labelle | Norcross
Saulnier
Hobson | Bourbonnais
Fällman | Shelton
Zandee-Hart | Baker
Schroeder | Levy
Scratches: Post, Zafuto
OFFICIALS:
Referees: Lacey Senuk (Toronto, ON) and Laura White (Runnemede, NJ).
Linespersons: Sarah Buckner (Plymouth, MN) and Justine Todd (Kawartha Lakes, ON).
Follow the league on all social media platforms @thepwhlofficial plus team accounts @pwhl_boston and @pwhl_newyork.
