The Boston Fleet arrived playoff ready, and they jumped out to a 1-0 series lead over the Ottawa Charge. Now they're ready to get back on the ice, and face whatever comes next in their quest for a Walter Cup.
The Boston Fleet have been preparing for game one of the Walter Cup playoffs, since game one of the 2025-26 PWHL regular season.
Boston, under first year head coach Kris Sparre, have been built on playoff style hockey since day one. The Fleet are a hard checking, relentless team who can win tight games and shut down opponents.
Boston clinched a playoff spot early, and it's likely because they've been playing playoff style hockey all year.
"I think it's something that you don't you can't necessarily flip a switch and start preparing them now in this moment," said Sparre of being ready for playoff hockey. "You you prep them early in the season and you prep them throughout the season. And so physicality is not something that we haven't seen. You know, we love it. We embrace it, it's a part of our our DNA as a hockey team."
Boston set that tone early in their opening 2-1 win over the Ottawa Charge. It came with three first period penalties, including a five-minute check to the head against Rylind MacKinnon. Boston has not been afraid to be a physical team, finishing the regular season with a 91.6% penalty kill efficiency. It's why they weren't afraid to approach game one of the Walter Cup playoffs with an edge.
While the highs and lows of the playoffs are just beginning for the Fleet, it's a process they're ready for. They now have a one game lead in their opening round best-of-five series against Ottawa, but as Sparre says, it's only one win. The bigger task is doing it two more times in this series.
"You can tell players, 'stay calm, relax,' you can say everything you want, but the truth is, players have to go through that that side of the game, the grind of playoffs," Sparre said. "This is only game one. You know, we got to get up tomorrow, have a great practice, and guess what? We get to do it again in 48 hours. I think it's something that players have to go through. They have to feel it in order to have that experience."