Courtesy of the PWHL
For the second time in five days, the New York Sirens welcomed the Boston Fleet to the Prudential Center. The Fleet are the only team the Sirens have yet to defeat this season and they were looking for revenge after the disappointing 4-0 shutout loss last Wednesday.
New York desperately needed a win as they had dropped their last four contests and are now occupying last place in the league standings. The Sirens started rookie Kayle Osborne for this contest (1.84 GAA, .935 SV%) to hopefully get a strong performance in net, but she was facing Aerin Frankel who is one of the best goaltenders in the league.
The Fleet had won three of their last four contests and currently sit in fourth place. They have won all three contests against the Sirens this season, outscoring them 11-4.
After a ceremonial puck drop featuring Kelley O’Hara, two-time FIFA World Cup Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist with Team USA, to kick off Kid’s Day, the game started and both teams got out to a fast start. The Sirens were laying on the pressure and peppering Frankel with lots of shots, but the Fleet got the first power play opportunity of the game as Gabby Rosenthal went to the box for tripping. Boston capitalized on the advantage as Alina Müller scored her fourth goal of the season, giving the Fleet the early 1-0 lead. That’s the score that held for the rest of the first period.
The middle frame started out in dramatic fashion. Just 50 seconds in, Boston’s Sophie Shirley was assessed a major penalty for a check to the head and a game misconduct. The Sirens got a five minute power play and just a little over halfway through the advantage, Jessie Eldridge scored a gorgeous goal to tie the game at 1-1. The Sirens got a 5-on-3 chance later in the period but could not get the puck in the back of the net thanks to Frankel putting on a stellar performance in net. Boston started to control the momentum again and it ended up working in their favor as captain Hilary Knight scored her seventh of the season to make it 2-1.
Courtesy of the PWHL
The final 20 minutes were fast paced to say the least. New York turned the pressure up as they outshot Boston 14-7 in the third period alone. Both teams tried to score again, but Osborne and Frankel stopped everything that came their way. The Fleet finally broke the ice and extended their lead when Jamie Lee Rattay scored from behind the net off a turnover from the Sirens. With the score being 3-1 with just over half the period left, the Sirens needed to generate more offense to try and win the game. Even with the goaltender pulled, New York couldn’t get another on the board, but Boston did as Knight scored her second of the game to make it 4-1 with 2:15 left in regulation.
The 4-1 score is what held when the final buzzer went off. The Sirens dropped their fifth straight game and still have not defeated Boston this season.
Rattay’s goal in the third was what pretty much sealed the win for Boston, but she spoke about how the unusual goal came to be. “I didn't really know [I scored] until I looked back and the puck was in the net. I was just trying to forecheck so I could actually get a change and then the puck ended up popping right in front of the net. I was just trying to put it back in the mixture and caught a good bounce. I don't ask how sometimes, I guess.”
New York played a strong game even if the result didn’t show that and Sirens Head Coach Greg Fargo is aware of what might be contributing to the team’s struggles. “We get our chances, and our opponent was great tonight,” said Fargo. “I think we are squeezing our sticks a little bit right now and there are a couple of those shots that are going in but then we start to forget about our chances. We are going to keep doing a lot of the same things and I know that it will return in our favor.”
The Sirens are back in action at the Prudential Center on Wed. Feb. 19 against the Toronto Sceptres. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 PM.
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