LOWELL, MA (April 18, 2024) – Susanna Tapani had the eventual game-winning goal along with an assist to hand Toronto a 2-1 loss at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell on Thursday evening. Aerin Frankel made 23 saves to pick up her sixth win of the season.
The Finnish forward — who just returned from the IIHF Women’s World Championship with a Bronze Medal— recorded her first multi-point game since joining PWHL Boston via trade on February 11.
Tapani recorded her first point of the night at 14:28 of the second period when she assisted on Emily Brown’s goal, which made the game 1-0.
Tapani sent the puck from the corner into the slot where it was redirected by Alina Müller onto Brown’s stick. Brown took a wrister that was blocked by Toronto defender Renata Fast, but the rebound ended up back on Brown’s stick. Brown then fired a backhand shot that found its way through a screen and into the back of the net for her first career PWHL goal— and point.
Boston doubled up their lead late in the frame after Tapani won an offensive zone draw and sent the puck back to the point where defender Jess Healey picked it up and sent a wrist shot towards the Toronto net. As Tapani battled for position in front of the net, she was able to get a stick on the shot, redirecting it past Kristen Campbell for her second point of the game.
Boston’s strong defense continued through the first half of the third, thwarting a surging Toronto team on multiple occasions.
Toronto was able to break through at 9:03 of the final frame with a goal from Fast, which made the game 2-1.
Fast picked up a pass from forward Emma Maltais at her own blue line and charged up the ice along the far boards. Fast fought off a Boston defender and found a gap to send the puck in behind Frankel from a tough angle. Jocelyne Larocque started the play deep in the Toronto zone, picking up an assist on Fast’s third goal of the season.
Toronto got its first powerplay opportunity late in the third period and pulled Campbell to gain a 6-on-4 advantage, but they were unable to even up the score.
Campbell made 19 saves in the loss.
Toronto has now lost its last two games after winning a season-high 11 games in a row. They entered the game needing just one point to clinch a playoff berth — their next opportunity to secure a playoff position will be on Saturday against Montréal at the Bell Centre.
Boston snapped a two-game losing streak and won in regulation for the first time since February 25 and now sit just two points behind Ottawa for fourth place.
Up next, Toronto takes on Montréal in the “Duel at the Top” game on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. ET at the Bell Centre in Montréal. Later that afternoon, at 3:30 p.m. ET, Boston takes on New York at Prudential Center in New Jersey.
Postgame Quotes:
Boston forward Jamie Lee Rattray: “It was a pretty hard-fought game. I think our team played with a lot of urgency. We have a big run of games here and I’m really proud of how everyone chipped in and played the right way. I think we really showed each other that when we play that way, we can win some big games. It was a lot of fun.”
Boston head coach Courtney Kessel: “The mentality tonight was for 60 minutes, we play to win. I thought our transition was great, our forechecking was great, it was a great game. This is huge momentum for us heading to New York.”
Toronto head coach Troy Ryan: “I’ve liked our [penalty] kill all year. We don’t spend a lot of time on it, but we talk a lot about the mentality. As you can see it’s pretty agressive. We’ve got some players that just, they thrive in those situations. They’re aggressive, they don’t mind taking those chances if a power play gets lazy at times. All year our penalty kill has been a pretty good thing to swing momentum in our favour.”
Toronto forward Renata Fast on having a shoot-first mentality: “Yeah, I have to give a lot of credit to our coach Troy Ryan. He’s been emphasizing that for the D-core and it makes it easier when he has confidence in you, and he’s okay with making some mistakes and some calculated risks with that shot mentality, but I think it’s been paying off and so I’ve got to give credit to him for instilling that in us.”
Notes:
- Attendance: 4,084 – Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell, Lowell, MA.
- Three Stars: 1) Susanna Tapani 2) Emily Brown 3) Renata Fast
- Toronto outshot Boston 24-21 — They led the category in the second (8-7) and third (9-5), but Boston had the edge in the first period (9-7).
- Boston’s Hilary Knight led all players with five shots on goal — Toronto’s Natalie Spooner and Maggie Connors finished second with four shots apiece.
- Boston was 0/2 on the powerplay — Toronto was 0/2.
- Boston did not allow a powerplay goal for the first time in five games.
- Fast led all skaters with 26:04 time-on-ice —Megan Keller led all Boston players with 24:27 TOI.
- Brown becomes the sixth defender to score a goal for Boston this season which leads the league.
- Alina Müller now has 11 assists on the season which moves her into a five-way tie for most in the PWHL — She also sits tied for ninth in overall PWHL scoring with 14 points.
- Aerin Frankel is in a three-way tie for fourth in the league with six wins.
- Spooner’s point streak ends at six games (5G, 4A) — She is tied for first in PWHL scoring with Marie-Philip Poulin (MTL) with 20 points.
- Toronto is held to one goal for the first time since January 23.
- Both of Toronto’s one-goal losses this season have come against Boston.
- The season series finishes in favour of Toronto 9-6 in points.
- Boston (5-4-2-9) secures three points for the regulation win and now have 25 points on the season — They sit two points behind Ottawa, who has a game in hand, for fourth place.
- Toronto (10-3-0-7) remains in first place with 36 points — They have a one-point lead on Minnesota (2nd) and two-point lead on Montréal (3rd).
- The custom Pride-themed jacket worn by Boston’s Jamie Lee Rattray raised over $2,500 in an online auction in support of Sport A Rainbow.
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