By J Gray
Edited Abbi Holt
Over 3,000 fans were in attendance at Verdun Auditorium on Saturday as PWHL Boston visited the capital of Québec. For the home team at the top of the league’s standings, 2018 Olympic MVP Mélodie Daoust made her PWHL debut and scored her first goal. For the visitors, captain Hilary Knight notched the only tally as Boston fell 3-1.
Head coach Courtney Kessel made some adjustments to the lineup after last Sunday’s close win in Minnesota. The line of Jamie Lee Rattray, Susanna Tapani, and Theresa Schafzahl, which had scored in each of the last two games, was elevated from the second line back to the first line. The trio of Loren Gabel, Alina Müller, and Knight was moved to the second line. Going into Saturday, Müller was tied for the team lead with 11 points and Gabel tied for the team lead with four goals.
In the bottom six, University of Wisconsin graduate Sophie Shirley returned after missing four games to an upper body injury. She slotted in beside Hannah Brandt and Shiann Darkangelo on the third line. Taylor Girard, who has four goals in 13 games to tie Gabel for the team lead, was moved to the fourth line.
Montréal’s star-studded top line was on the ice for all three of the team’s goals. Laura Stacey and the debuting Daoust flanked “Captain Clutch” Marie-Philip Poulin, bringing their years of familiarity from the Canadian national team. Their crisp passing and solid awareness of each other led to continuous zone control, allowing them to pepper Boston’ Aerin Frankel with shots. At times, Boston’s defense looked helpless to hinder the home team’s top unit. Montréal was able to take many of their 35 shots on goal from high-danger areas close to Frankel’s net.
In the other direction, Boston was unable to consistently establish the kind of presence they wanted in Montréal’s zone. Their 31 shots, kept further out from the net, were lower-danger chances that Montreal’s goaltender Elaine Chuli was able to deflect to the corners. The sole Boston goal came when a Montréal defender bobbled the puck in the neutral zone, allowing Alina Müller and Hilary Knight a two-on-one that Knight buried.
The Boston squad was disciplined to start, but took three penalties in the third period while they were down by two goals. It may have been due to frustration setting in, but the PWHL is an extremely tight league, with over half of the season’s games so far decided by one goal. While Boston’s powerplay is second in the league right now, the team is better off not spending time down a skater when they’re looking to claw their way back into a game.
Looking at the positives, the penalty kill stood tall through four power play opportunities for Montréal. Tapani and Abby Cook have continued to settle in and look good in the two weeks since they arrived from PWHL Minnesota in the trade that sent defender Sophie Jaques the other way. Frankel remains third in the league in save percentage after making 32 saves in the loss, her ninth start in Boston’s 13 games.
Something to keep an eye on: several sources have reported trade talks between Boston and Montréal for forwards Shiann Darkangelo and Jillian Dempsey. Dempsey, a well-known figure in the Boston sports landscape, led the PHF’s Boston Pride to back-to-back Isobel Cups in 2021 and 2022. She has three assists in 14 games for Montréal while playing center and wing in their bottom six. Darkangelo captained the Toronto Six of the PHF to their first Isobel Cup in 2023, and has one assist in 13 games for Boston. A change of scenery and a return to familiar situations and teammates might spark both players, previously top scorers on their teams, and prove beneficial for both squads.
Saturday’s loss leaves Boston with a 4-2-2-5 record and 18 points in the PWHL’s three-point scoring system. While they have a game in hand against third-place Toronto, time is ticking to collect valuable points. Boston currently sits in the final playoff spot, with Ottawa and New York only two points behind them in the standings.
Boston’s next game will be on Wednesday on the road against a surging Toronto squad, and the stakes are high. A win would give them much-needed breathing room in front of Ottawa and New York. A loss would broaden the six-point gap between the top half and the bottom half of the league, with Boston falling on the wrong side.
Catch PWHL Boston in action on NESN or YouTube at 7:00 pm EST on March 6.
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