Fans packed into Agganis Arena on Saturday afternoon to see the Boston Fleet take on the Montreal Victoire. In a physical, close matchup the Victoire came out victorious, winning 3-2 in overtime.
This was the first game for the Fleet in Boston drawing 5,968 fans. The team typically plays their games two hours outside of the city in Lowell, MA. The turnout was good as fans waited up to an hour before the game to be let in to Agganis, home of Boston University's men's and women's teams. The lines inside the arena for merchandise were wrapping around the rink.
It is definitely something the team should consider moving forward, as they currently stand second last in the league in regards to attendance records.
The sold out game was intense from the second both teams stepped on the ice. Marie-Philip Poulin wasted no time once the puck dropped. Just 3:40 into the game Poulin weaved around Boston netminder Aerin Frankel to score a goal off of a backhander. Poulin spent her NCAA days at Agganis as a member of Boston University from 2010 to 2015.
The Victoire scoring didn’t end there, Catherine Dubois got another one past Frankel five minutes later.
The Victoire had scored the two goals that would carry them into overtime in the first eight minutes of the game.
In between the two goals Fleet’s Megan Keller skated into the boards and lay on the ice for a minute. She was quickly escorted to the locker room.
Luckily, she got back on the ice before the second period and was eager for a goal for the rest of the game. The statistics show Keller had one shot, however she did get several opportunities to get the puck behind Montreal goalie, Ann-Renee Desbiens.
Jaime Lee Rattray scored 14 minutes into the first period off of a pass from Lexie Adzija to get Boston's offense moving. That was all for a Montreal-dominated period. Boston was out-shot 13-6.
Fleet Head Coach Courtney Kessel spoke about the first period performance and said, “our last 40 was much better than our first 20. We got to find a way to come out and make an impact in the first 20”.
In the locker room she sent a message to her team about the rest of the game when she said, “[we’ve] got to play physical, get pucks behind their d[efense], pressure them, and make them turn pucks over”.
That advice worked as the Fleet evened up the score in the second period. Amanda Pelkey scored for the Fleet 13 minutes into the second period off of a shot from Lexie Adzija.
Adzija’s shot looked like it had gone in, but Pelkey was there to fully put it over the line.
Jillian Dempsey saw the puck hadn’t crossed and told Pelkey. Adzija praised her teammates and said, “(Jillian Dempsey) Dems had eyes in the back of her head. So big shout out to her there. Pelkey was in the perfect spot back door.”
Adzija ended up leaving the game with two assist on the night. It was her first multi-point performance of the season and first career multi-assist effort.
Hilary Knight almost tied the game up following a penalty for boarding, which she was not happy about. The second Knight got released from the box she went a breakaway that was unsuccessful.
After a scoreless third period, the game went to overtime as regulation ended in a 2-2 tie. Agganis Arena was loud as the fans got to watch ‘extra hockey’.
The Fleet picked up a point in regulation which moved them into a tie for second place in the league. The Fleet are even with the Toronto Sceptres with 35 points each.
The five minute three-on-three overtime took less than one minute to find a winner. After a missed Boston chance, the puck went down into the Fleet’s defensive zone where Cayla Barnes won the game for the Montreal Victoire. Barnes is another Boston connection having played four seasons at Boston College.
Although the Fleet lost the game, they left with one point and maybe a new home.
The Tsongas Center has been a great location for the Fleet team, however the turnout and passion of the fans in the city gives the league something to consider.
Jillian Dempsey felt the energy and said, “It was great getting to play in the city and have the fans turn out for this. We had the classic ‘Frankel’ chants in the third, those never disappoint. We were thrilled with the turnout that we got today.”
Agganis Arena, owned by Boston University wasn’t a new arena for many players.
Victoire captain Marie-Philip Poulin attended Boston University. Following the game she said, “I mean, it was very special to come back to Boston, and even more to play here at Agganis Arena. I'll say, it brought back great memories. It was four years of my life that were some of the best. So, it was really special, and I'm really happy with the win.”
The Fleet now have a week to prepare for next Saturday, when they will face the Ottawa Charge at TD Place. The puck will drop at 2 p.m. ET and can be viewed on CBC and NESN.