LOWELL, MA (March 21, 2026) – Aerin Frankel led the Boston Fleet to a 3-0 shutout win over the Seattle Torrent Saturday afternoon in the final matchup of the season series in front of 6,164 fans at the sold-out Tsongas Center, the largest regular-season home crowd in Fleet history. Frankel stood on her head in goal, turning away 21 shots for her 14th win and record fifth shutout in 19 games this season. Corinne Schroeder kept the Torrent within one-goal through two periods but suffered defeat in a 30-save performance. Abby Newhook put Boston ahead with the lone goal of the first period at 8:06 when she found open space and buried a quick net-front shot from a Megan Keller wraparound pass. The second period was scoreless, with Boston outshooting Seattle 14-6, and Riley Brengman creating the best scoring chance for either team with a wrist shot that hit the crossbar and deflected out of play. Susanna Tapani extended the Fleet lead to 2-0 less than five minutes into the third period when she beat Schroeder off a centering feed from Sophie Shirley, created by a Jamie Lee Rattray offensive zone takeaway. Haley Winn closed out Boston’s attack by walking in and wiring a wrister after an offensive faceoff win at 9:18 of the final frame.
Boston’s win keeps pace with Minnesota, who won earlier today in Vancouver, to stay tied atop the PWHL standings and move three points ahead of Montréal. The Fleet will host a west coast team for back-to-back games as the Goldeneyes visit on Tuesday. Seattle will face New York on Wednesday when they head to Chicago’s Allstate Arena to play in the 13th of 16 stops on the 2025-26 PWHL Takeover Tour™.
QUOTES
Boston Head Coach Kris Sparre on the Fleet's ability to win despite power-play struggles: "It was probably our most complete game that we've played since the break. I really liked a lot of parts of that game from start to finish and obviously, it was great to see the puck go in the net more than once. Sometimes it goes in, sometimes it doesn't, but you can't ask for better opportunities than some of the ones we had tonight. Megan Keller taking a one timer from below the top of the circle, you can't ask for a better shot. We had pretty good looks and certainly encouraging to be able to get three tonight without having one on the power play."
Boston forward Sophie Shirley on how it felt being back on the ice tonight: "It feels really good. Took a little bit to get into it out there, but after weeks you can kind of expect that. I was trying to get my feet moving as best as I could and it felt good. I’ve always seen my speed as my superpower and anytime I can use that to my advantage, I try to do that to help out the team. For this being my first game back, that was the one thing I wanted to focus on."
Torrent Head Coach Steve O’Rourke’s overall thoughts on the game: “I thought our opening shift was really good. We know we’re having some challenges scoring goals here and we could have gotten that first one off the hop there. I think it just kind of sets the tone and we got out of that first period even. It’s a challenge and we had some looks, but going up against a goaltender of that caliber is challenging. Our group competes and has that will to compete every night and we’re going to keep pushing into that.”
Seattle forward Theresa Schafzahl’s reflections on the trade and returning to Boston: “It’s been good, honestly. I feel like trades are never easy, especially when you don’t expect it, but I’m excited for some challenge and it was nice to get to play here and see all the familiar faces. I feel like it was a pretty good game for us, and if we’re able to put a few pucks in the net and avoid some mistakes, we’re doing pretty well. It was still fun.”
NOTABLES
Boston wins the head-to-head season series over Seattle 11-4 in points, outscoring them 12-6 in five games.
The Fleet have 10 regulation wins for the first time in team history, surpassing last year’s nine in nine fewer games. Their 15 total wins also ties last season’s mark that produced 44 points.
Boston remains undefeated at the Tsongas Center with their fourth win (3-1-0-0) this season. They won eight of 11 games at their primary home venue in 2024-25, including a streak of seven straight.
Seattle’s 13th loss in regulation tied New York (2024-25) for the most in a single season. The Torrent lost its eighth consecutive game on the road, continuing a streak that started on Jan. 7.
The Torrent have scored just two goals on their current four-game road trip after beating the Fleet 3-2 at Climate Pledge Arena on Mar. 11.
The Fleet have scored first 16 times in 21 games this season, more than any other team in the league, and their 13 wins in such games is tied with Minnesota for most in the PWHL.
Boston killed four Seattle power plays, holding onto their position as the second-best penalty kill unit in the league with a 90.7% rating behind Montréal’s 93.3%.
Aerin Frankel set a new single season record with her fifth shutout in 19 games, surpassing the previous mark shared by Ann-Renée Desbiens (2025-26) and Corinne Schroeder (2024-25). She picked up her league-leading 14th win of the season and remains ranked second with a 1.29 goals-against-average and .949 save percentage.
Susanna Tapani recorded her first multi-point game since the season opener with her 13th and 14th points of the season, eclipsing her total of 13 during the inaugural season in 26 games split between Boston and Minnesota (4G, 9A), and four back of last season’s 18 (11G, 7A) in 30 games with the Fleet. The Finnish forward has five points in her last five games (3G, 2A), and five of her season’s 14 points came in five games against Seattle (2G, 3A).
Haley Winn recorded her second multi-point performance with her third goal and ninth assist of the season, marking four points (2G, 2A) in seven games since returning home with Olympic gold. The Fleet defender, whose eight shots led all skaters tonight, holds the second most points of any rookie at her position with 12 (3G, 9A) behind Kendall Cooper’s 13 (1G, 12A).
Abby Newhook recorded her sixth goal, good for second most among rookies this season while ending a five-game drought. The Fleet forward often scores in bunches, with her previous five scored in a three-game and a two-game streak. She now has eight points in 20 games this season.
Megan Keller’s assist set a new career-high in points with 16 (6G, 10A) through 21 games, surpassing her 15 (4G, 11A) points in 24 games during the inaugural season. The Fleet captain leads her team and all PWHL defenders in points and has reached double digit assists for the second time in the league’s three seasons.
Sophie Shirley notched her fourth assist of the season in her return to Boston’s lineup after being activated from long-term injured reserve, moving her one shy of matching her career-high of five points in each of the league’s first two seasons. She recorded one shot in 9:50 of ice time in her first game since Jan. 18 when Boston won 2-1 over Seattle.
Jamie Lee Rattray tallied an assist for her ninth point in 21 games this season (3G, 6A), after going three games without a point. She sits one away from reaching double digit points in each of the league’s first three seasons.
Daniela Pejšová’s assist marked her third point of the season in 19 games (1G, 2A), matching her rookie total in 28 games (3A). The Czech national has tallied all of her points this season against Seattle, with an assist on Mar. 11 and her lone goal during Boston’s 3-1 win on Dec. 21.
Schroeder suffered her second consecutive loss after picking up the 3-2 win against Boston at Climate Pledge Arena on Mar. 11. She made 30 saves for the third time in 11 starts this season, two of which came in the five-game series against the Fleet she played in its entirety.
Theresa Schafzahl led all Torrent skaters with four shots on goal and played 21:36 in her return to Boston after Monday’s trade. Jessie Eldridge had one shot on goal and played 18:27 for the Fleet in her first game against her former Seattle squad.
Alex Carpenter became the first player to exceed 300 faceoff wins (305) and 500 attempts (510) by going 13-for-28 at the dot.
Jill Saulnier was left off the Fleet lineup for a second consecutive game with a concussion.
Mikyla Grant-Mentis was left off the Torrent lineup for a third consecutive game with an upper-body injury.
THREE STARS
1. Susanna Tapani (BOS) 1G, 1A
2. Aerin Frankel (BOS) 21/21 SV
3. Abby Newhook (BOS) GWG
STANDINGS
Boston: 42 PTS (10-5-2-4) – 1st Place (Tied)
Seattle: 19 PTS (5-1-2-13) – 8th Place
UPCOMING SCHEDULES
Boston: Tuesday, March 24 vs. Vancouver at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT
Seattle: Wednesday, March 25 vs. New York (Allstate Arena) at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT