Tsongas Center may not have been full on Wednesday night, but the night will be remembered in Boston Fleet history.
The Boston Fleet and New York Sirens met on Wednesday night for the final time this regular season. Boston secured a five-to-two victory over the Sirens, and broke history as the first team to ever shutout another team for the entire regular season.
That wasn’t the only historic moment for the Fleet on Wednesday, Captain Hilary Knight scored the franchise’s first hat trick with three goals in the game. She also recorded four points Wednesday night with three goals and one assist.
As for her performance she remained humble, referring to the whole team’s performance when she said, “I think every team in this league is really good, and so when you can come out of the night with three points, it's a tremendous effort."
The Fleet showed up ready to win. Frankel got the start in net, which proved to Fleet fans once again why she has been crucial for the team this season. Frankel allowed just two goals out of the forty shots she faced.
The Fleet offense only had 20 shots on net, however one quarter of them went in, and they left with the full three points.
The two teams have met six times this year, Boston leaving with at least two points each time. The win puts the Fleet in second place in the PWHL standings, with a record of 6-5-3-6.
Head Coach Courtney Kessel came into the game prepared. She said, “I knew it was going to be hard, because it's first of all hard to sweep a team six-to-zero, and when you have a team that's little bit desperate and fighting for every inch of their lives right now, [we] knew it was going to be a battle."
Despite the score, the game was relatively close until the third period.
The scoring started off with Elizabeth Giguere scoring off of Sarah Fillier's backhand shot. Giguere gave the Sirens an early lead, and they had several offensive chances on net.
The Sirens one goal lead didn’t last long. Hilary Knight set Alina Muller up as she tapped the puck right past Kayle Osborne to tie up the game.
The period ended with a huge save from Frankel on Sarah Fillier's breakaway. A Fillier breakaway is not the breakaway you want to have (if you decide to allow one), but the opportunity was there because of a bad turnover by Sophie Shirley.
Despite the Sirens chances on net, the period ended tied one-to-one.
Sirens Paetyn Levis wasted no time heading to the penalty box less than a minute into the second period for cross checking. The Fleet went on the power play, giving them the opportunity to take the lead.
And that they did with 57 seconds left in the power play. Less than two minutes into the second period, Shay Maloney set up Hilary Knight for a goal, giving the Fleet a two-to-one lead over the Sirens.
Sophie Shirley headed to the penalty box shortly after for a minor penalty for delay of game.
The Fleet killed off that penalty, and after Hilary Knight sent the puck flying past Sirens goaltender Kayle Osborne on a breakaway. Knight recorded her second goal of the night, giving the Fleet a two goal lead.
The Sirens quickly responded to Knight’s goal when Hannah Brandt went into the box for two minutes for a high stick. Sirens Abby Roque took advantage of the player advantage and set up Sarah Fillier in front of Frankel for another Sirens goal.
Per usual, Frankel had some incredible saves in the second period, only allowing one goal so far which came seven minutes into the first period.
Sirens Head Coach Greg Fargo praised Frankel’s performance all season when asked about the roadblock to beat the Fleet. He said, “I think Aerin Frankel has a lot to do with that tonight. She's been tremendous. I think every time we played her this year we have a lot of looks that we like, we've just got to find a way to convert."
The period ended with the Fleet at three goals and the Sirens at two, however the Fleet were outshot 33-11 in the first two periods.
Fleet then took a four-to-two lead over the Sirens in the third period when Susanna Tapani scored off of a perfectly placed pass right in front of the net from Jill Saulnier.
From there the Sirens battled to get back into the game, but with three minutes left Kayle Osborne skated to the bench in a desperate attempt from the Sirens to stay alive in the game, hoping to not lose their ninth straight game.
To the pleasure of Fleet fans and the despair of Sirens fans, Hilary Knight, Alina Muller, and Shay Maloney played hot potato with the puck in front of the empty net. Finally, Knight got a handle and put her third goal of the night in the net, recording a hat trick.
Following the hat trick Knight said, “I just saw that the puck go, and I was like, ‘let's not get an icing call. Let's just go for it.’ [I am] really fortunate to be able to get a hat trick. I think it's my first in the league, so really exciting."
It was in fact Knight’s first hat trick and also the Fleet’s first hat trick in team history.
The 3,252 fans at Tsongas Center erupted as eight seconds after Hilary Knight got her hat trick the Fleet beat New York five-to-two.
Boston did not lose to the New York Sirens in the 2024-25 regular season. This made history as the first team this season to sweep another team in the regular season in PWHL history. It also moved the Fleet to second place in the league.
Not only was history made, it was also Women’s Appreciation Day at Tsongas Center and the Fleet had Professional Lacrosse Leagues Charlotte North participate in a ceremonial puck drop ahead of the game.
The team also invited several other professional female athletes and teams to the game. Including the newly formed Boston Guard, a part of the Women’s Lacrosse League, a sled team and a rugby team.
Captain Hilary Knight said, “What they're doing at the WLL is just amazing, and so much fun to watch. It’s really important, and to be able to honor and applaud individuals that are doing tremendous things in their own industry, is just so fun."
The Sirens lost their ninth straight game, putting them in last place in the league standings.
With just under 10 games remaining in the season, they will need a miracle to make playoffs. The Fleet are in the opposite position, sitting right below the top team in the league, the Montreal Victoire.
The Fleet will face the Victoire on Saturday at Agganis Arena in Boston. That’s right, a Boston Fleet game actually in Boston.
The matchup will be one to watch as Marie-Philip Poulin returns to her former college (Boston University) and Hilary Knight returns to the arena where she won a National Championship with the University of Wisconsin in 2009.
Wednesday night was filled with history, and set the Fleet up for the remaining games of the season. Knight said, “I'm glad that we were able to get a win tonight in front of everyone that showed up and we celebrated."
The Boston Fleet will host the Montreal Victoire on Saturday March 8th at 2 p.m. ET. The game can be viewed on NESN, CBC and Radio Canada.