Wednesday, January 8, 2025 | 6:30 p.m. CT | Xcel Energy Center
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Clay Matvick (Play-by-Play), Alexis Pearson (Analyst), Audra Martin (Reporter).
BOSTON FLEET
2-1-1-4 | 9 PTS | 5TH PLACE
Top Scorer: Megan Keller – 8 GP, 2-6-8 PTS
Last Game: 3-2 SOW vs. MTL in Seattle on Jan. 5
MINNESOTA FROST
3-2-1-2 | 14 PTS | 1ST PLACE (TIED)
Top Scorer: Claire Thompson – 8 GP, 1-9-10 PTS
Last Game: 5-0 L vs. NY on Jan. 4
2024-25 SEASON SERIES: MINNESOTA LEADS 5-1 IN POINTS (BOSTON WON 8-7 IN 2024)
Dec. 4 at BOS: 2-1 MIN | Jan. 2 at MIN: 4-3 MIN (OT) | Jan. 8 at MIN | Jan. 26 at MIN | Feb. 16 at BOS | May 3 at BOS
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Both meetings between these teams this season have resulted in one-goal wins by Minnesota, once in regulation and once in overtime. Boston had two wins in Minnesota last season, the only team with two road wins against the Frost.
Boston beat Montréal, 3-2, in a shootout in Seattle on Sunday. While they were the designated home team in that game, it was the first time in five games the Fleet won outside of Massachusetts since their 1-0 double-overtime win in Minnesota in Game 4 of the PWHL Finals.
Hannah Bilka had a goal and an assist on Sunday, her first multi-point game as a professional. Her last such game came on Mar. 16 for Ohio State against Minnesota-Duluth in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. Bilka’s six points this season are tied with Minnesota’s Britta Curl-Salemme for second most among rookies (Sarah Fillier, 9).
Hilary Knight and Susanna Tapani are in a four-way tie with Fillier and Curl-Salemme for second in the league with four goals, behind Alex Carpenter (5). Knight and Tapani each have two goals in two games this season against the Frost.
Megan Keller has the league’s longest active point streak at four games (5A). She ranks second in scoring among defenders with eight points (2G, 6A), trailing only Minnesota’s Claire Thompson (1G, 9A).
Tapani, Keller, Knight swept the PWHL 3 Stars of the Week - the first time in regular season history for any single team.
Minnesota’s 5-0 loss at home to New York on Saturday is tied for the most goals the Frost have ever allowed (5-2 loss to New York on May 4), and it’s just the third time Minnesota has failed to score a goal in a regular-season game (4-0 loss to Ottawa on Apr. 20, 2-0 loss to Boston on Feb. 25).
Thompson has assisted seven different teammates this season, and her teammate Taylor Heise has assisted five different players. The only other PWHL player with at least five teammates assisted is New York’s Micah Zandee-Hart (six).
Minnesota has scored 80.0% of its goals at even strength this season – only Ottawa (89.5%) has a higher such percentage, and the Frost’s 20 even-strength goals are three more than any other team. Boston has scored 41.2% of its goals on the power play, the most in the PWHL.
Thompson and fellow defender Sophie Jaques currently occupy the home of Boston forward Hannah Brandt, a Minnesota native, for the season.
The Frost will be without forward Grace Zumwinkle who is day-to-day with an upper body injury. Goaltender Nicole Hensley is also day-to-day with a lower body injury.
Minnesota leads the PWHL with an average of 3.25 goals-per-game, one more than Boston who ranks sixth with a 2.25 average. When these teams met on Jan. 2, the Frost recorded a season-low 22 shots on goal, and the Fleet recorded a season-high three goals in the third period.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“I’m excited to see our team get back on the ice and play our game. The players had good energy in practice this week, and they understand that they need to bring that to every game all season long. We’re familiar with Boston, every game is close with them because they have talent up and down the roster. I don’t expect tonight’s game to be any different.” – Frost Head Coach Ken Klee.
“Heading down the stretch here, we’ve been on a long road trip, looking for a puck to find the back of the net for us and see the light at the end of the tunnel. The biggest key is to stick to our game plan.” - Fleet Head Coach Courtney Kessel.
WEDNESDAY’S GAME: Tonight’s contest wraps up a four-game homestand in Minnesota and is the second of three appearances at Xcel Energy Center for Boston in January. This is the longest homestand of the season for the Frost, who will travel to Denver next for Sunday’s Takeover Tour matchup with Montréal. The Frost return to St. Paul for three more home games in a span of eight days from Jan. 21-28. This is the longest road trip of the season for the Fleet, who are playing their fifth of six games away from home since Dec. 27. From here, they’ll head to Ottawa for a Sunday afternoon game against the Charge.