PHF's Boston Pride Seek the Rare Three-Peat as Playoffs Begin

The Boston Pride are on course for a rare three-peat as PHF Isobel Cup champions. But another Cup favorite could knock them off track if they meet in the final.

A repeat championship in professional sport is rare. A three-peat is almost impossible. 

In fact, the last time a North American professional sports franchise three-peated occurred in 2002 when the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers completed the feat. In women’s sport, the NWSL’s North Carolina Courage looked poised to contend for a third title in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the season.

The three-peat is so elusive in North American professional sport that seeing the PHF’s Boston Pride put together a dominant regular season as they prepare to vie for the franchise’s third consecutive Isobel Cup title is a storyline worth following.

Last season, the Pride defeated the Connecticut Whale in the Isobel Cup final a year after ousting the Minnesota Whitecaps from the final. The team could have already completed their three-peat had the 2019-20 Isobel Cup final not been cancelled due to COVID-19.

This season, however, the first-place Boston Pride look poised for success, and they put the league on notice with a dominant regular season record of 19-4-1.

It’s not just returning stars, such as Jillian Dempsey, Kali Flanagan, and Kaleigh Fratkin, who are leading the way, it’s an impressive group of newcomers who have stepped in and made an immediate impact. Some, including Allie Thunstrom, have long been members of the PHF and joined the Pride via free agency while others, like Loren Gabel, Elizabeth Gigeure and Corrine Schroeder, are newcomers to the PHF and are making noise with their presence.

“The new additions have made a big impact for us,” said Jillian Dempsey, who is in her sixth season as captain of the Pride and has played for Boston in all eight seasons in the PHF’s history.

“Schroeder between the pipes has been exceptional, she’s a brick wall back there and makes all the saves we need her to make. Gabel and Gigeure can really score; the way they can move the puck and their vision is truly amazing to watch and to play with…Up and down the lineup, we know we have what it takes. It’s just about going out there and executing.”

Schroeder was the PHF’s player of the month in November, while Gabel took the honor in February, bookending a spectacular season for the duo. Flanagan twice represented Team USA at the Rivalry Series this winter, while teammate Becca Gilmore also played in the series for the USA. Giguere and Gabel both played for Team Canada in the Rivalry Series. It’s a depth of talent no other team in the PHF boasts.

“Our team has a lot of depth – we don’t have a top line really, we just have a group of great players, and that’s what makes a team a team,” Gabel said. “Everyone has a team-first mentality, attacking the process, and we’re not going to get where we’re going without that.”

If any team can rival the Boston Pride, the favorite to dethrone the Pride will be the Toronto Six. This season, the teams split their four games, with Toronto outscoring Boston 16-13 in their four matchups. Overall, the Toronto Six finished only three points behind Boston with a 17-5-2 record.

Boston is set to host the fourth-place Minnesota Whitecaps in a best-of-three series starting Thursday, while the second-place Toronto Six will host the Connecticut Whale in the other semifinal starting on Friday. The Isobel Cup championship game will be played on March 26 in Tempe, Ariz.