Aerin Frankel is the first goalie in PWHL history to pass the 1000 save mark. The Boston Fleet goalie achieved the mark Friday night against the New York Sirens.
Aerin Frankel is the first goalie in PWHL history to pass the 1000 save mark. The Boston Fleet goalie achieved the mark Friday night against the New York Sirens.
Boston Fleet’s Aerin Frankel became the first goalie in PWHL history to reach 1,000 saves on Friday night.
Frankel, who has started 10 games for the Fleet this season, led the team to victory in Friday’s overtime win against the New York Sirens. The extra minutes of play allowed the goaltender to record her 1,000th save and some.
In just the second year of the PWHL, Frankel is the first goaltender to have reached this accomplishment, making history.
Frankel played a total of 28 regular season games and eight playoff games for a grand total of 36 games with the Fleet. She holds a record of 19-12 all time and has a regular season save percentage of 0.927%.
Before playing with the Fleet, Frankel played collegiately with Northeastern University from 2018-2021. She won the Patty Katzmaier Award in 2021, was a two time recipient of the WHCA National Goalie of the Year Award, and won gold with team USA in the 2023 IIHF Women’s World Championship. Frankel is known as on of the best women’s collegiate goalies to this day.
The five-foot-five New York native has been a crucial component to the Fleet’s success. Although small, Frankel is currency fifth in the league for save percentage, and is one of the best goaltenders in the league.
Frankel’s mental component has been crucial for her game.
“Last year, I learned really what it takes to be a professional player. You have to take such good care of your body and mentally have to take care of yourself” Frankel said.
She is currently on year two of a three year contract with the Fleet. Frankel has played under Head Coach Courtney Kessel for two years now. Kessel agreed that the mental component of Frankel’s game has been a key component to the team’s success.
“The way she shows up day in and day out. She's pretty steady-eddie. She's never too high, never too low. It's huge for whatever kind of moment you're going to face in these games, because they seem to be crazy every single night” said Kessel.
Frankel’s teammates applaud both her mental game but also have seen her growth. Alina Muller, Frankel’s teammate and roommate has played with her or several years.
“It's so much fun seeing her on the ice, but also the way she carries herself off the ice” said Muller, she continued, “I learned from her every day, and I have fun with her every day”.
Frankel being the first goalie to record 1,000 saves made sense to Kessel.
“We've seen night in and night out, her show up. I don't know if 1000 shots against is good for our defense, but we know that Frankel is going to show up for us every night” said Kessel.
The team celebrated both Frankel’s victory and a shootout win over New York. They rose to from sixth in the rankings to fourth.
The Fleet play again on February 12, 2025 at the Prudential Center where they will once again face the New York Sirens.