First game following the IIHF Break sees Toronto make its first trip to Boston
LOWELL, MA (February 14, 2024) – The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) season resumes following the IIHF National Team Break with a pair of Valentine’s Day matchups, including Boston against Toronto, at 7:00 p.m. ET at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell.
WHERE TO WATCH
Fans in the United States can watch live on NESN or stream on the NESN 360 app by logging in with their TV provider or purchasing a direct subscription. The game is also available on the league’s YouTube channel, and streaming on the Women’s Sports Network as part of the a new league partnership. Canadian viewers can enjoy the action on TSN1/4 channels, TSN.ca, and the TSN app. Kenzie Lalonde will have the play-by-play call alongside analyst Dave Starman.
SETTING THE STAGE
Third place is on the line in the first PWHL game following a 10-day pause for the IIHF National Team Break. Boston (2-2-1-2) and Toronto (3-1-0-5) are currently tied in the standings with 11 points each, with Boston having played just seven games to Toronto’s nine. This is the third game of six consecutive for Boston on home ice – a stretch that will include four games in eight days at the Tsongas Center. Boston split its last two games before the break, defeating Minnesota 4-3 in overtime on Jan. 27 for their first victory at home, then suffered a 2-1 overtime loss to Montréal on Feb. 4. Toronto is currently in the midst of their most successful stretch of the season with two straight wins. Both victories came on home ice, including a 2-0 shutout over New York on Jan. 26, and a 4-1 win against Minnesota on Feb. 3. The team’s other five points were earned on the road where they have emerged victorious twice in four games. Both teams are the only two in the PWHL with a negative goal differential. Toronto will make one more trip to Boston on Apr. 18.
RECAP BEFORE THE REMATCH
Boston’s first regulation win of the season was against Toronto on Jan. 17 by a 3-2 score at Mattamy Athletic Centre. Loren Gabel tallied twice with an assist, Megan Keller scored once, and Alina Müller picked up three primary helpers in Boston’s victory. Both of Toronto’s goals were scored by Hannah Miller, and Rebecca Leslie collected two assists. Toronto outshot Boston 32-22, with Emma Söderberg earning her first win of the season between-the-pipes opposite Kristen Campbell.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Boston’s Alina Müller is tied for second in league scoring with nine points in seven games, including seven assists which is tied for most across the PWHL. The first-year pro will be looking to get back onto the scoresheet after having her four-game point streak snapped against Montréal. Loren Gabel (3G 2A) and Jamie Lee Rattray (1G 4A) are tied with newcomer Susanna Tapani (2G 3A) with five points each. Sophie Shirley scored her first goal of the season in Boston’s last game and returns to the lineup with three games of Canadian National Team experience. For Toronto, Natalie Spooner is tied for fifth in league scoring with eight points in nine games, including a league-leading seven goals. She was named the PWHL’s First Star of the Week before the break and has scored four goals and one assist in her last two games. Rebecca Leslie (6A) and defender Jocelyne Larocque (1G 4A) are second and third in team scoring with six and five points respectively. Two of Toronto’s founding free agents, Blayre Turnbull and Renata Fast, scored their first goals of the season in the team’s win over Minnesota.
TAPANI TO MAKE BOSTON DEBUT
It’s the first game following the first trade in PWHL history which means Boston will get its first look at newly acquired forward Susanna Tapani who had two goals and three assists in nine games with Minnesota. Tapani played with Sidney Morin during the 2018-19 SDHL season with Linköping HC and suited up with Gigi Marvin’s cousins Lisa and Layla, at the University of North Dakota in 2013-14. Boston also acquired defender Abby Cook in the deal and she is no stranger to local hockey fans, having attended Boston University from 2016-20, and earning recognition as a 2023 Women’s Beanpot Hall of Fame inductee. She also opened the 2021-22 season with the PHF’s Boston Pride and reunites with teammates Kaleigh Fratkin, Taylor Wenczkowski, and fellow Terriers alumna Sammy Davis. Cook is scratched from tonight’s lineup.
RIVARY SERIES SUCCESS
Toronto’s Natalie Spooner (3G 3A) had a point in all three of her Rivalry Series appearances for Canada last week, including a two-point and three-point performance in the sixth and seventh games to secure her country’s comeback. Emma Maltais (2G 3A) and Sarah Nurse (1G 3A) also came alive offensively in the three-game leg and produced three-point efforts in the finale. Boston’s Emily Brown picked up two assists in three games for the United States, and Hilary Knight finished the 2023-24 series tied with Spooner with six points. Tonight’s game had 18 players participate in February’s Rivalry Series. For Boston, it was Americans Brown, Knight, Aerin Frankel, Megan Keller, and Taylor Girard who made her U.S. Senior National Team debut. Jessica DiGirolamo and Jamie Lee Rattray both suited up for Canada, along with Sophie Shirley in her series debut. For Toronto, Jesse Compher and Kali Flanagan made their first Rivalry Series appearances of the season for the U.S., and the team had eight players on Team Canada counting Spooner, Maltais, and Nurse, plus Victoria Bach, Maggie Connors, Renata Fast, Jocelyne Larocque, and Blayre Turnbull. Bach’s games were her first with Canada this season, and Connors her first with Canada’s National Women’s Team.
WELCOME BACK TO BOSTON
Tonight marks a special homecoming for Toronto defender Kali Flanagan, who hails from Burlington, MA. The 28-year-old spent her NCAA tenure at Boston College, and played the last two seasons with the PHF’s Boston Pride where she captured an Isobel Cup title in 2022 and was named the league’s Defender of the Year for the 2022-23 campaign. Four more Toronto players have local NCAA connections including former Boston University Terriers Victoria Bach, Jesse Compher, and Rebecca Leslie. The trio represented the program’s top-three scorers in 2017-18, with Boston’s Abby Cook in fourth. Bach was a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award that season, with Compher named a finalist in 2018-19. Maude Poulin-Labelle played the 2022-23 season at Northeastern with Boston’s Alina Müller.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“We were excited to all be back as a team this week, this team is awesome. It’s important for us to continue to grow as a team and continue to show progress in a positive way which is what I think we’re doing. We are excited to play Toronto tonight and hopefully come out with the win.” – Loren Gabel, Boston
“We are heading into a stretch with five games in 12 days, looking forward to seeing what our progress as a group will be.” – Courtney Kessel, Boston
“I’m so excited to be back home in Boston playing in front of my friends and family for Toronto – I couldn’t be more excited to show this area what Toronto hockey is all about!” – Kali Flanagan, Toronto
“We are looking forward to the opportunity to even up the season series with Boston tonight. We played well against them in game one but didn’t execute when we needed to. We expect a better result this evening.” – Troy Ryan, Toronto
QUICK HITS
Boston (-1) is fifth in goal differential and Toronto (-6) ranks sixth…Boston (2.43) is fourth in goals-per-game and Toronto (2.0) ranks sixth…Boston (2.57) is fifth in goals-against per game and Toronto (2.67) is sixth…Boston (2) and Toronto (3) have scored the fewest first goals of any teams this season…Boston is undefeated when scoring first…Boston has scored five goals in each period this season, Toronto has three first period goals and seven in both the second and third…Neither team has lost when leading after two periods…Toronto (+58) is first in shot differential and Boston (-6) ranks fourth…Toronto has 30 more shots on goal than the next closest team (MIN)…Toronto (31.44) is second in shots-per-game and Boston (26.29) is sixth…Toronto (24.89) allows the fewest shots-per-game and Boston (27.14) averages the third fewest against…Boston (2/16) is third in powerplay efficiency at 12.5%…Toronto (2/27) is fourth on the PP at 7.4%…Boston (14/15) have the best penalty kill at 93.3%…Toronto (23/25) rank second on the PK at 92%…Alina Müller (BOS) is tied for second in league scoring with nine points and tied for the league-lead with seven assists…Natalie Spooner (TOR) is fifth in league scoring and leads the PWHL with seven goals…Spooner’s two powerplay goals are tied for the league-lead…Taylor Girard (BOS) and Emma Maltais (TOR) are tied for the league-lead with one shorthanded goal…Susanna Tapani (BOS) is tied for the league-lead with a plus-7 rating…Blayre Turnbull (TOR) is tied for second in the league with 10 penalty minutes…Hilary Knight (BOS) leads her team with 26 shots…Spooner leads Toronto with 35 shots…Hannah Brandt (43/87) leads Boston in face-off efficiency at 49.4%… Müller (41.8%) leads Boston with 141 draws…Sarah Nurse (50/92) leads Toronto in face-off efficiency at 54.3%…Turnbull (45.9%) has taken the most draws at 133…Emma Söderberg (BOS) has two wins with a goals-against-average of 3.36 and save percentage of .879…Kristen Campbell (TOR) is tied for the league-lead with four wins and carries a 2.58 GAA and .899 SV%…Toronto’s Alexa Vasko turned 25 on Feb. 7…Boston’s Jessica DiGirolamo turned 25 on Feb. 13.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
BOSTON:
Schafzahl | Müller | Gabel
Girard | Brandt | Knight
Rattray | Tapani | Shirley
Pelkey | Darkangelo | Wenczkowski
Keller | Fratkin
Brown | DiGirolamo
Marvin | Morin
Healey
Söderberg | Kronish
Scratches: Cook, Frankel
TORONTO:
Maltais | Nurse | Spooner
Miller | Turnbull | Compher
Connors | Bach | Leslie
Cogan | Vasko | Howard
Willoughby
Larocque | Fast
Poulin-Labelle | Flanagan
Munroe | Rougeau
Campbell | Howe
Scratches: Jackson, Knowles
OFFICIALS:
Referees: Jake Kamrass (Atlanta, GA) and Laura Schmidlein (Quincy, MA).
Linespersons: Jennifer Cameron (Northborough, MA) and Patrick Dapuzzo (Rutherford, NJ).
Follow the league on all social media platforms @thepwhlofficial plus team accounts @pwhl_boston and @pwhl_toronto.