The final game of the regular season, which was a potential playoff-clinching game for the Boston Fleet, who just needed one point to continue their season. The Fleet wildly underperformed against the Minnesota Frost. The team lost 8-1, in their worst game all season; frankly, the worst game in the franchise’s history. 

The Minnesota Frost came to Tsongas Center on Saturday afternoon ready to fight for their playoff spot. They were coming off of a win against the Ottawa Charge to stay alive in the playoff race. 

Minnesota scored just two minutes and 23 seconds into the game, and struck again less than a minute later. 

The Fleet started Aerin Frankel, who has been on injury reserve since the World Championship break. Frankel returned to the ice, but maybe it was too soon seeing that three minutes and eight seconds into the game the Frost had a two-goal lead, which would only grow as time went on. 

Head Coach Courtney Kessel spoke on the decision to start Frankel. She said, “she's been our number one from day one. We wouldn't have been where we were last year or this year without her, and she was cleared to play.” She continued, “You know, sometimes it's not always on the goalie. And [it’s] really unfortunate, honestly, I felt terrible for Franks.”

The Fleet’s playoff chances didn’t only rely on the Fleet winning, it also was being determined by the Toronto Sceptres and Ottawa Charge game. The Toronto Sceptres, who had already clinched a playoff spot, faced the Ottawa Charge, who were batting for a spot actively during the Fleet game. The Charge/Sceptres game began at 12 p.m. E.T., just one hour before the puck dropped in Lowell. 

The Sceptres/Charge game was close, resulting in overtime. An Ottawa loss in any form would send the Fleet to the post season. Instead, the Charge won in overtime three-to-two, securing themselves a playoff spot. 

The result came in with just five-minutes remaining in the second period of the Fleet game. At that point, the Fleet were trailing the Frost five-to-zero. 

The first two goals, one by Britta Curl-Salemme and Lee Stecklein, were scored early in the game. The scoring didn’t end there, first period came to a close with a goal from Kendall Coyne Schofield, who gave the Frost a nice three-goal lead. 

Goaltending Change Doesn't Turn Things Around

In between periods, the Fleet announced that they would have a goalie change, Klara Peslarova would be coming into the game for Aerin Frankel. 

Peslarova didn’t have better luck than Frankel though. In the second period, Sophie Jaques scored to give the Frost a four-to-zero lead, followed by Britta Curl-Salemme, who netted her second of the night. 

The period ended and heads hung as the Fleet’s destiny was in their own hands. The Charge had just won and if the Fleet wanted to make playoffs they would have to beat Minnesota. However, the Fleet were trailing five-to-zero to Minnesota. 

Boston needed a miracle to make playoffs. They began the day in third place in the league, just one point away from clinching, however once the third period started they found themselves in a very different position. 

Fleet Captain Hilary Knight said that they didn’t want to know the outcome of the Ottawa/Toronto game, however she also  said, “our staff came in between the second and third and said it was sort of a do-or-die situation. Obviously, that's when we found out our fate.”

Fleet Try Everything In Third

The Fleet came out hot in the third period, but the damage was already done. 

Needing a miracle to extend their season, Kessel did something unheard of [at least in my time watching hockey]. With 16 minutes remaining in the period, Kessel pulled Peslarova from the net giving the Fleet a player-up advantage. 

This back-and-forth of Peslarova being on the bench and the Fleet up an extra player for one minute, and then Peslarova being back in net the next, went on for three minutes before Brooke McQuigge sealed the deal for Minnesota with an empty-net goal. 

With the score six-to-zero, one might think the scoring would be over for the day. However,  Minnesota continued to widen the gap. Sophie Jaques scored an empty net goal while the Fleet were on the power play, extending the lead to seven-to-zero.

The Fleet kept fighting as Jessica Digirolamo scored the sole goal for the Fleet with five-minutes remaining in the game. It was Digirolamo’s first goal this season, and Knight said, “[when] Digi got her first goal of the year tonight, the fans erupted for her. They're with us, and it just speaks to the culture here in Boston and what we're trying to build, and the legacy that we want to be a part of.”

The Frost still weren’t satisfied, Klara Hymlarova scored her first of the season with 45 seconds left in the game to seal the deal for the Minnesota Frost and give them a direct ticket to the playoffs. 

The Fleet, who needed to win in order to clinch a playoff spot, lost eight-to-one. Their hard fought season came to an end. 

Fleet Captain Hilary Knight said, “to be shy just of the single point is [a] really tough, tough way to go out, specifically because we have the best team in the room, and also some of the best fans in the world. It's really special for us to be able to play here on home ice, day in and day out.”

At the end of the day, the Fleet, Charge and Frost all had 44 points, however the Fleet were at a tie-breaker disadvantage. Their season ended with a record of 9-6-5-10. For the first time since the league was formed last season, the Fleet did not make the playoffs. 

A disappointing end to the season as the Fleet were just on the brink of playoffs and had several opportunities to clinch a spot. 

Fleet’s Megan Keller said, “obviously this hurt will last a while, but I think we have a lot of great memories and joy to take away, and once this fades away, we're going to remember all the laughs that we had in the locker room, all the adversity that we overcame as a group. It was special group to be a part of, and I think just cherishing those moments and just remembering all the good times that we had.”

The Fleet let up the most goals in franchise history on Saturday afternoon.

The high pressure defense and eagerness Minnesota came out with couldn’t be matched by the Fleet. As the team looks ahead at the coming year, expansion is happening in the PWHL and it is unclear what the team will look like next year. 

Not all was negative for the Fleet, six players made history today by playing in every regular season game in their team’s first two seasons for the Fleet, Brandt, Keller, Knight, Morin, Jessica DiGirolamo and Jamie Lee Rattray.

Kessel reflected on the past two years with these players and said, “sure we're here to coach the game and we want to win, and but at the end of the day you're around 26 to 27 individuals that are amazing human beings and that show up and work hard and have a smile.”

The season is now over for the Fleet who are awaiting their draft positioning. The Frost are now waiting until tomorrow at 6 p.m. when the first place Montreal Victoire will announce who they will be choosing to face in the first round of the playoffs. It is between Ottawa and Minnesota. 

Knight reminisced on the season and said, “it's tough when you don't get to celebrate that legacy. The only legacies that get celebrated are the winning teams, the championship teams. And so to see what some of our players went through this year, to see what they overcame, it's sad [and] it's disappointing that we didn't get a win to continue this story, and carry it forward and celebrate those legacies. It's a privilege to be in that room. We're extremely grateful for the way everybody showed up and the way people carry themselves on a day to day basis.”