Aerin Frankel made 24 saves, and Susanna Tapani scored her second consecutive game-winner to lead the Boston Fleet to a 3-1 road victory over the Toronto Sceptres in front of a sold-out crowd of 8,277 fans at Coca-Cola Coliseum on Saturday afternoon. Boston was outshot 25-12 but picked up the win to remain the only undefeated team in the PWHL. Toronto struck first when captain Blayre Turnbull scored shorthanded at 6:26 of the opening period to give the Sceptres a 1-0 lead in their 2025-26 home debut. Rookie Abby Newhook notched her first career goal at 14:10 of the second period to even the score heading into the final frame, despite Toronto outshooting Boston 16-8 through forty minutes. Tapani’s goal at 10:19 of the third proved to be the game-winner, and Alina Müller added her first goal of the season on an empty net with 22 seconds remaining. Sceptres goaltender Raygan Kirk made her second consecutive start to open the season and made nine saves in the loss.
QUOTES
Boston Head Coach Kris Sparre on the game overall: “We got a little bit better as the game went on. I think we were caught off guard a bit by their pressure in the first period. They got on top of us early, but we defended well enough to give ourselves a chance to win the game and obviously our goaltending was outstanding.”
Fleet rookie forward Abby Newhook on scoring her first PWHL goal: “It was awesome to score my first goal, but it was a team effort out there. We just got pucks in behind them and went to work. That’s our game style. It was a great look there, I gave it to Jill (Saulnier), crossed the net hard and got lucky there. It was a cool moment.”
Toronto Captain Blayre Turnbull on the game: “I thought we played well. I think if you look at that game compared to our first game against Minnesota, we made a lot of improvements. Despite the outcome, we’re pretty happy with how we played that game. Structurally, we were really good. We gave up a couple of chances that they buried on, but overall we’re pretty happy with that game, and we know what areas we’ve got to keep working on and improving as we head into our next game.”
Sceptres Head Coach Troy Ryan on the team’s scoring chances: “I’d like to see them a little bit more upgraded [in quality]. I think at this point in the year, the timing, the patience, the composure… maybe to have a grade B [chance] and upgrade it to a grade A [chance] is maybe not there, so you just kind of whack at things and try to get a lucky one.”
NOTABLES
The victory snapped Boston’s five-game losing streak in Toronto, marking their first win since Jan. 17, 2024, when they prevailed 3-2 in their first-ever road game in the city.
Aerin Frankel has allowed just one goal through her first two starts of the season, turning aside 49 of 50 shots. Last season, she allowed one or fewer goals in four of her 23 appearances.
Susanna Tapani’s second game-winner of the season matches her total from the 2024-25 campaign. The forward now has seven career game-winning goals, moving her into sole possession of second all-time in the category.
Abby Newhook’s goal was also her first-ever PWHL point. With the tally, the Fleet’s fifth-round draft pick in 2025 became the first Boston rookie to record a point so far this season.
Alina Müller’s empty-net goal was her first tally of the season. The forward finished the 2024-25 campaign with seven goals in 26 games but didn’t score her first marker until her tenth contest.
Blayre Turnbull scored her first goal of the season, her first PWHL career shorthanded tally, giving Toronto its first home goal of the 2025-26 campaign. The Sceptres’ first home goal last season was also shorthanded, scored by Sarah Nurse in the first period of their home opener, also against Boston.
Jesse Compher earned her first point of the season with an assist, giving her a career total of two shorthanded helpers, tied for the all-time PWHL lead in the category.
Savannah Harmon recorded her second point of the season, an assist, in just her second game this campaign. Last season, the defender didn’t record her second point of the year until her nineteenth game.
Megan Keller notched an assist, giving her two points through two games this season. The Fleet captain led all Boston blueliners in scoring last season with 13 points (5G, 8A) in 30 games.
Jamie Lee Rattray now has two points, both assists, through two games. The forward recorded her second point of the 2024-25 season in her fourteenth game.
Hannah Brandt and Jill Saulnier each hit the scoresheet for the first time this season, recording one assist apiece.
Lauren Messier made her PWHL debut for the Sceptres after being activated from the team’s Reserve Player list on a 10-day contract. The Burlington, ON, native had one shot on goal and one hit in 5:50 of ice time.
Renata Fast made her season debut for the Sceptres after missing the team’s opener with an upper-body injury. The reigning Defender of the Year logged a team-high 25:29 along with one shot on goal and three hits.
Zoe Boyd made her Fleet debut after missing the team’s season opener with a lower-body injury. The Caledon East, ON, native tied for the team lead with four hits.
Laura Kluge and Rylind MacKinnon returned to Toronto for their first game as members of the Fleet after making their PWHL debuts last season with the Sceptres.
Daryl Watts was scratched from Toronto’s lineup for the first time this season and is listed day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Liz Schepers was scratched from Boston’s lineup and is listed day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Boston’s 12 shots on goal are the lowest total in a game by any team this season and their two shots in the first frame are the fewest in a single period.
Toronto went 0-for-3 on the power play and are now 0-for-6 to start the season, after leading the PWHL last year with a 25.8% success rate.
THREE STARS
1. Susanna Tapani (BOS) 1G
2. Aerin Frankel (BOS) 24/25 SV
3. Blayre Turnbull (TOR) 1G
UPCOMING SCHEDULES
Boston: Wednesday, Dec. 3 vs. Vancouver at 7 p.m. ET
Toronto: Thursday, Dec. 4 vs. Ottawa at 7 p.m. ET