Keller Leads The Fleet To First Win

Megan Keller led the Boston Fleet to their first win of the season, waking up Boston's offense with two goals of her own.

The PWHL Boston Fleet beat the New York Sirens at Tsongas Center on Sunday afternoon, securing their first win of the season.

The highly critiqued Fleet offense came out ready to play. They were able to keep the puck in the offensive zone and capitalize on power plays to leave Tsongas Center with their first three points on the season.

The scoring started early, when Hannah Bilka thought she had scored her first PWHL goal at 6:24. The goal horn went off only for it to be quickly called back and play to resume with the score remaining 0-0.

Quickly after Bilka’s goal was called off, Susanna Tapani put the puck in the back of the net. Fleet took the lead 7:31 into the game. Tapani scored her first of the season, and the team’s first goal not scored by captain Hillary Knight.

As the period continued, Taylor Girard was called for a two minute hooking penalty, but the penalty was easily killed off by the Fleet.

Fourteen minutes into the period the Fleet were quickly met by the Sirens offense, who slipped one past Frankel 14:01 into the first. Paetyn Levis recorded the goal, her first of the season. Score was tied one-to-one.

Two Sirens penalties put the Fleet up two players and in a five-on-three power play, Sydney Bard scored her first PWHL goal with assists from Hillary Knight and Hannah Bilka.

“I just honestly was trying to get it on net with the man advantage. I missed the first one and then the second times the charm. I just got lucky on that.” said Bard.

Megan Keller described Bard’s performance.

“She shuts down battles quickly, and she plays physical. She deserved that goal today. I'm happy that she got that one, and she's gonna keep shooting” said Keller.

The Fleet exited the ice following the first period with a one goal lead. The score two-to-one Fleet.

The offense took the criticism from their past two games and channeled it into the back of the net during the first period. A new offense showed up Sunday afternoon and the Fleet played their best period thus far this season.

The second period began with both teams looking for an offensive opportunity. However shortly after the period began Susanna Tapani hit Sirens’ Sarah Fillier. Tapani appeared to board Sarah Fillier into the bench with the door open.

Fillier lay on the ice for a minute before the play was called dead. Tapani was initially given a five minute major, but after review the play was downgraded to a minor for an illegal hit.

This call gave fans flashbacks to last game, where a hit on Muller went through a similar process on ice. The play was then reversed two days after the game, and resulted in a two game suspension for Flaherty. However the call on the ice stood, two minutes for Tapani.

A penalty on Fleet’s Amanda Pelkey for interference gives the Sirens a chance to tie the game. A shot from Abby Roque snuck past Frankel and the game was once again tied at two-a-piece.

The offense was able to continue their strength throughout the second period with six additional shots. At the end of the second period the shots stand at Sirens 13 and Fleet 19. They entered the final period tied at two goals each.

The game was up for grabs with a tied score heading into the third period. Each team had one power play goal heading into the final period, which could be the determining factor as to who walks out of Tsongas with the win.

One minute and seven seconds into the third period Boston’s assistant captain Megan Keller shot the puck into the top right corner of the net. Boston took the lead three-to-two.

Aerin Frankel continued to show up for the Fleet. She made clutch saves in the third period, some even without her stick, to keep the game alive.

Keller gave praise to Frankel's game. “She plays with no heartbeat. She never gets fazed. There'll be five rebounds, and somehow she'll get every single one. We're lucky to have her on our team” said Keller.

Later on in the third, fans cheered as Hannah Bilka got a breakaway. Only for it to be cut short by an apparent trip that was not called. Fans in Tsongas Center began cheering “You can’t do that”. Shortly after Megan Keller went to the box for tripping.

The inconsistency in play calls has been a challenge for the Fleet so far this season. However Keller left the box and scored again with 2:01 remaining in the final period of play. The Fleet pull off their first win of the season, with a score of 4-2.

Keller was optimistic about starting off this season better than last, “I think we learned that last year when we had to fight and claw to get into playoffs, which allowed us to go through some adversity early, but when we can get a better start to the season, that's always helpful. I’m just really excited to pull out that win. It's a lot of fun in this building,”

The Boston Fleet took down the number two ranked team in the league, securing them two points.

The Fleet play next on Tuesday, December 17th at Tsongas Center.