On Jan. 3, the Boston Fleet and Vancouver Goldeneyes met for the second time this season as part of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) Takeover Tour. This one was in Detroit, Michigan, at Little Caesars Arena, with the Fleet taking the role of hosts. In their previous matchup a month ago, the Fleet walked away with a 2-0 victory, with Aerin Frankel recording the shutout. However, this was a different story, as they scored four on the PWHL’s top goaltender and left Detroit with a surprising 4-3 comeback victory after falling behind 3-1 early in the third.
Hannah Miller, Claire Thompson, Sophie Jaques, and Izzy Daniel scored for the Goldeneyes. Emerance Maschmeyer made 24 saves.
Olivia Mobley, Susanna Tapani, and Jamie-Lee Rattray scored for the Fleet. Frankel made 17 saves.
Game Recap
The Fleet opened the scoring quickly, a little over four minutes into the game. Ella Huber fed Mobley from along the boards, and she one-timed her third of the season upstairs past Maschmeyer as she was deep in her net. The Goldeneyes responded 27 seconds later, as Miller fired home her first as a Goldeneye from the slot at 4:45.
The Fleet regained the lead before the halfway point of the period at 7:38. Sophie Shirley stripped the puck off Goldeneyes’ captain Ashton Bell and fed Tapani, who busted in on a breakaway and wristed it by Maschmeyer for her third of the season. Overall, the Fleet dominated the opening period, outshooting the Goldeneyes 16-4 and entered the first intermission up 2-1.
The Goldeneyes had two glorious chances to tie the game in the second period, but both times, the best goaltender in the PWHL, Frankel, shut the door. Jenn Gardiner got the final chance of the period, as she busted down the left wing and took a hard shot, which hit Frankel’s glove and popped over her shoulder towards the back of the net. Unfortunately for the Goldeneyes, it didn’t go in as Frankel dove back and punched it wide, preserving the Fleet’s 2-1 lead heading into the third.
The Fleet were denied for the entire 20 minutes of the second, but got on the board quickly in the third, 19 seconds in. Rattray did the damage, as she gathered the puck in the slot and fired it top corner on Maschmeyer for her first of the season and a 3-1 lead. But then, the Goldeneyes’ comeback was on.
The Goldeneyes seemingly flipped a switch and improbably scored three goals on Frankel over the next eight minutes. Thompson started the onslaught at 4:21, banging in a rebound off a Michela Cava shot, then it was Jaques with a slapper from the point at 8:01 on the power play, and finally, Daniel, after a brilliant pass from Gardiner, to complete the comeback.
The Fleet pressed in the final four minutes, but couldn’t get the equalizer, and the Goldeneyes beat the top team in the PWHL, 4-3, for their first road win of the season and their second straight PWHL Takeover victory as well.
What’s Next
The Goldeneyes will continue their road trip in Ottawa on Friday, Jan. 9, against the Charge. The Fleet, meanwhile, will return to their actual home at Agganis Arena for a matchup with the Seattle Torrent on Wednesday, Jan. 7.
