The Boston Fleet were one of the PWHL's leaders from start to finish in the regular season. But their 2026 Walter Cup playoff run fell flat resulting in Boston being ousted in four games by the Ottawa Charge. Here's a look at what went wrong.
For much of the 2026 PWHL season, the Boston Fleet sat first overall. In fact, it wasn't until the final night of the season that Montreal took first overall via a tiebreaker. Boston exceeded every expectation this season, except for those of fans for the Fleet in the postseason.
After the Montreal Victoire selected third seed Minnesota, they left the fourth place Ottawa Charge for Boston. But the Fleet were unable to finish what they started, falling to the Charge in four games.
It's a result Boston will be thinking about all offseason, and with expansion coming, their roster will begin taking new shape before the end of the month. But what went wrong for the Fleet? What resulted in an opening round exit at the hands of Ottawa.
What Happened To Aerin Frankel?
This season Aerin Frankel saved Boston time and again. The Fleet were a good team in front of her as well, but they avoided major injuries to their top players, and got stellar netminding from Frankel from start to finish in the regular season.
Frankel came into game one hot as well stopping 17-of-18 shots for a .944. But after that game, Frankel made saves, but she wasn't the unshakeable presence she'd been before, particularly on a pair of disastrous goals in game three.
Frankel was good, but she wasn't the same flawless goaltender we'd seen all season, including at the Olympics. The game winner from game three which she directed into her own net off an end wall rebound will haunt the Fleet.
It looked like mentally, Frankel had the first major lapses of her career. Off ice this week, fans flooded Frankel's social media platforms with critique over a merchandise line she dropped mid-series, to the point where comments had to be turned off. Was it enough to pull her focus even by the smallest fraction from the series? Perhaps. Regardless, Frankel's year of perfection slipped in this series at the worst possible time.
Overall, Gwyneth Philips outplayed her Team USA and former Northeastern teammate, and it was a key difference in a series where Boston collectively outshot Ottawa 142-94.
Power Play Dries Up When Needed Most
Boston went 1-for-16, good for only a 6.3% success rate on their power play in this series with their lone goal with the extra attacker coming in game four. Boston had many moments of control and were precise with their passing, but spent too much time on the perimeter. When they did get to the middle of the ice it was 60 feet from the net along the blueline.
With Megan Keller and Haley Winn as two of the team and league's best offensive players, it makes sense, but too often they didn't cross the royal road to get Philips moving from side-to-side. Philips is so competitive that even when you do catch her moving, or a fraction of a second behind, she often fights her way back. Traffic isn't enough, it's a combination of traffic and later movement, which Boston rarely found both. And when they did, Philips was up for the task.
Front End Power Goes Out
Coming down the stretch, the Boston Fleet looked dangerous. They continued to find ways to win, and added a new layer to their attack following the acquisition of Jessie Eldridge.
But in the playoffs, Boston's best threat was often coming from 60 feet away off the stick of Megan Keller or Haley Winn, who were regularly jumping into the attack and creeping in, but it was too much for the duo. Not only did they play over 40 minutes each in game four, but they were expected to cover more ice, being everywhere all the time for the Fleet. The duo were elite, and handled it well continuing their presence as the league's top pairing, but it was more the lack of finish up front that hurt.
While Eldridge had seven goals in her final eight games with the Fleet, she failed to score in the playoffs. After missing the playoffs with the New York Sirens the past two seasons and playing for the league's last place team in each of her three seasons joining Seattle before the trade this year, there was no telling what her playoffs would look like. She did contribute three assists, and fired 20 shots in four games, but none found the back of the net.
Eldridge wasn't alone, as Susanna Tapani didn't register a point for the Fleet in the four game series.
Boston only scored five goals from their forward group in four games. It's just not enough to win a series. Of their top give point scoring forwards from the regular season, only Alina Muller and Jamie Lee Rattray scored in the postseason with Tapani, Eldridge, and Abby Newhook coming up empty. Rattray in fact, barely played in the series playing 3:51 in game three, and only 4:48 in a deciding double overtime game four where Eldridge and Muller played more than 30 minutes each, more than Rattray's series total.