written by Laura Everett, Edited by Abbi Holt
Photo by Michael Riley; shared with permission of the PWHL
Enough of the pretty goals, the corner shots, the slaps from center ice. We need scraps and scrum and dirty leftovers. We need toe-pokes and pick-ups and cheap shots that don’t make the highlight reel.
With an offensively dense team and an emerging defense, Boston does know how to score pretty goals. What we have not yet learned to do together is score garbage goals.
Boston Head Coach Courtney Kessel said after the game, “We have all this firepower up front. We can’t just score one goal.”
The junkyard, pond-play, by the light of the moon Boston team has yet to show up. On Saturday January 20, Boston matched up against the yellow-brick-wall of former Boston Pride Goalkeeper Corrine Schroeder who was still wearing her helmet from her Pride days. Schroeder kept out 32 of 33 shots against her in PWHL NY’s 4-1 victory over Boston. Jade Downie-Landry became the new league’s second player to net a hat trick in the victory.
Coach Kessel again changed up the offensive lines to try and find connections between players. Though you’d forgive fans for confusion about who was starting because the in-arena announcer at Tsongas Arena announced the wrong players. The actual starting lineup included:
Theresa Schafzahl, Hannah Brandt, and the essential Jamie Lee Rattray, with Megan Keller and Sophie Jaques on defense.
Playing only their fourth game ever and second at home in Lowell’s Tsongas Arena, Boston started Swedish national Emma Söderberg in goal as they had in the previous game against Toronto.
Söderberg would not end up staying in goal for the full game though. Downie-Landry scored an unassisted goal in the first period. NY’s Jessie Eldridge scored a second goal only 24 seconds into the second and Downie-Landry scored again at 2:04. Down 3-0 less than 3 minutes into the second period, Coach Kessel pulled Söderberg and replaced her with goalie Aerin Frankel.
“Other than probably about five minutes of that game, we outplayed New York all over the ice. Schroeder played a phenomenal game. She’s a tremendous young goalie. She’s been doing great,” Kessel opined.
Schroeder herself noticed the consistent rhythm of Boston’s shots allowed her to stay focused on Boston’s attack, with 11 shots on goal over each of three periods. “It was pretty easy to stay in a rhythm and stay in a groove, and not get distracted.”
But getting a puck past Schroeder proved nearly impossible. It took until 1:12 into the 3rd period, and 41:12 minutes into the game for Loren Gabel to finally score past her former Boston Pride teammate bringing the score to 3-1.
The only player to do so, Gabel expressed frustration after the game. “It all starts in practice. I don’t think our practice and execution has been great the last couple of days after our game in Toronto. Now, regrouping, refocusing for the game on Wednesday.”
Gabel was assisted by linemate Alina Müller, and defender Emily Brown
In the press conference after the game, Coach Kessel reflected on Boston’s struggles to convert, saying, “I think some of our top goal scorers who haven’t produced are probably gripping their sticks a little bit tight, but you know, they’ve got a lot of pressure on their shoulders. Not only with just this league coming into play, but also knowing that everyone looks to us to have some offensive firepower, so I think they’ve got to loosen their sticks up a little bit and just play where they can.”
The third period began, not just with an usual line change, but with the usual center of Müller moving to the wing and breaking up the Müller/Gabel connection, to start a line of Muller, Captain Hillary Knight, and Taylor Wenckzowksi. Down 3-0, Boston had officially hit the “try anything” portion of the game.”
Knight reflected, “We’re just trying to find rhythm. I think that’s the biggest thing. It’s frustrating if you’re not getting a lot of minutes, you want to get out there and you want to play. People who are used to finding the back of the net take it personally that they’re not doing so right now, cause it’s making the bottom six suffer. And you look forward to the next game.”
The next Boston game is Wednesday January 24, 7pm EST at Ottawa.
Bring the garbage, and the goals.
(Pick of Garbage zamboni)
Boston Women's Sports 
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