LOWELL, MA (March 24, 2026) – Aerin Frankel backstopped the Boston Fleet to consecutive shutouts in their 2-0 victory over the Vancouver Goldeneyes Tuesday night at the Tsongas Center. Frankel turned away a season-high 35 shots to increase her single-season shutout record to six and all-time record to eight, also earning her league-leading 15th win in 20 games. Kristen Campbell did everything she could in the Goldeneyes crease, stopping 27 of 28 shots in her fifth straight start. The only shot to beat Campbell was off the stick off Laura Kluge, her first in the PWHL, with a tip off a rip from Megan Keller, following a pass from first-time point-scorer Mia Biotti at 9:03 of the second period. Susanna Tapani sealed the Fleet’s victory with under a minute remaining in the third period, scoring an empty-netter from center ice off a pass from Haley Winn. With the win, Boston moved into sole possession of first place in the PWHL standings with 45 points, breaking a tie with Minnesota who sits at 42 points with one game in hand and a matchup against Montréal tomorrow night. Vancouver remains seven points back of Toronto, who holds the fourth and final playoff spot.
Both teams will head to Toronto for their next games, with Boston opening a three-game road trip on Friday, while Vancouver will make their second stop of a five-game road swing on Sunday at Coca-Cola Coliseum.
QUOTES
Boston Assistant Coach Jordan LaVallée-Smotherman on the Fleet's overall game and power play performance: “It was an interesting one. Obviously, happy to come out with a win and they're not always going to be easy or pretty. Our group seems to find a way to win in close games, step up, and get the three points we need. Right now [on the power play], I think it's about getting one to go. When it goes on from game to game, it can wear on the group mentally and we can make little adjustments here and there, but it's about finding that one. We've liked our looks, we had a couple we're really happy with tonight. Sometimes in hockey it's just about getting that lucky bounce.”
Fleet forward Laura Kluge on scoring her first PWHL goal: “Honestly, I'm super excited about it. I think I was kind of getting closer to actually scoring in the last couple games, so I'm really happy. Glad I finally got that out of the way. I struggled a lot coming back [from the Olympics]. The transition was really hard, but I think I found my [way back to my] game a bit the last couple games and feel like I'm in a pretty good spot now.”
Vancouver Head Coach Brian Idalski on his team’s recent string of close losses: “That's five in a row that I felt we're executing, we're competing, we're giving ourselves a chance and opportunities to win hockey games. We're just falling short. I really think some of it now is flipping the switch mentally, expecting good things to happen, expecting somebody to make a play. Once that gets rolling, it kind of feeds itself, and so we're still struggling to break through in that area where confidence-wise we know we're going to get it done. We're not hoping, we're not guessing, we're not thinking maybe. We know that we're going to make the plays necessary. Right now, that's still the last little thing for me that we have to kind of break through – the mental component as the group – that we know that we're going to do what we need to do to win a close game like that.”
Goldeneyes captain Ashton Bell on goaltender Kristen Campbell’s 27-save performance: “[Kristen Campbell] has been solid for us the last five games. Tonight she was key in the special teams. When we had some light kills there, she kept us in it, she made some huge saves for us and gave us a chance to win that game. We're very lucky to have her and she's a character on and off the ice.”
NOTABLES
Boston has 45 points for the first time in team history, surpassing the 44 points they recorded in 30 games during the 2024-25 campaign.
The Fleet have earned 23 of 27 possible points in games played in Massachusetts this season, remaining undefeated in five games at the Tsongas Center (4-1-0-0).
Tonight marked Boston’s sixth shutout of the season and ninth in team history, good for a tie with New York for the most regular-season shutouts all-time.
Vancouver has been shut out in four of their 11 road games this season, most in the PWHL, including twice at Boston.
The Goldeneyes outshot the Fleet for the first time in four games (35-29) after being held to 22.7 shots on goal per game in the season series before tonight, the team’s lowest mark against any PWHL team.
Boston has scored the first goal 17 times in 22 games this season, most in the PWHL, with a record of 10-4-1-2 in those games. Vancouver has surrendered the first goal 17 times in 22 games, most in the PWHL, with a record of 1-1-4-11 in those games.
The Goldeneyes shut down the Fleet power play on all three opportunities tonight and hold the league’s best penalty kill on the road with an 88.9% efficiency.
Fleet defenders have combined for more than 40 points in a season for the first time in team history, reaching 42 tonight, most in the PWHL.
Boston leads Vancouver 8-4 in points through four games of the season series, with each game played in a different venue. They’ll finish the season series in a fifth different venue on Apr. 7 at Edmonton’s Rogers Place.
Aerin Frankel has posted back-to-back shutouts for the first time in her career and is just the third goaltender in PWHL history to achieve the feat. Her 35 saves tonight are the most in any of the league’s 19 shutouts this season and brings her season save total to 500, becoming the second netminder in 2025-26 to reach the milestone. It’s the second time the Olympic gold medalist has recorded a 35-save performance this season, with the last in a shootout win in Seattle on Jan. 18. She’s the first goaltender to win 15 games this season, one shy of tying the single-season record, and has been victorious in nine of her last 10 starts.
Laura Kluge recorded her first PWHL goal in her 34th career game, bringing her season point total to two in 21 games and matching her two points (2A) in 13 games during the 2024-25 season with Toronto. The Fleet forward set a German Olympic tournament record with seven points (3G, 4A) in five games in Milan.
Susanna Tapani’s empty-net goal was her fourth goal in five games and eighth of the season, bringing her to 15 points and three shy of her career-high. Her seven points (4G, 3A) in eight post-Olympic games is tied for the most since the PWHL resumed play.
Megan Keller tallied her 11th assist in 22 games of the 2025-26 campaign, matching her career-high for helpers across 24 games in the inaugural season. The Boston captain’s first point in four games against Vancouver gives her a second assist streak this season, after a three-game stretch in December, and 17 total points to lead all Fleet skaters and all league defenders.
Mia Biotti’s first period assist marked her first career PWHL point, coming in her ninth game. The defender from Cambridge, MA, who finished her collegiate career with 38 points (6G, 32A) in 123 games for Harvard, is the sixth Fleet rookie to record a point this season, tied with New York for most in the PWHL.
Haley Winn reached double digit assists with the primary helper on Tapani’s goal, joining Keller and Kendall Cooper (12A) as the only defenders to hit the milestone this season. The second overall pick has moved into a tie with Cooper for the second-most points among rookies with 13. The former Clarkson Golden Knight owns a point streak for the second time this season with one goal and a pair of assists since Saturday.
Kristen Campbell made a fifth consecutive start for the Goldeneyes to bring her season total to 10 games. This was the third time she has allowed one or fewer goals this season and has only allowed more than two goals in one of her five starts this month. Campbell, who set the league record with 16 wins in the inaugural season, improved her goals-against average to 2.10 and save percentage to .916 with tonight’s performance.
Sophie Jaques led all skaters tonight with seven shots on goal, matching her season-high registered twice already on Jan. 11 against Montréal and Mar. 10 when the Goldeneyes hosted Boston. Her shots on goal total is up to 83, a new career-high and second-most in the PWHL.
Sarah Nurse led all centers tonight with a season-high 16 faceoff wins on 22 attempts for the Goldeneyes.
Alina Müller led all Fleet skaters with four shots on goal and went 13-for-16 on faceoffs, reaching at least 80% efficiency for the third game this season.
Jill Saulnier was scratched from the Fleet lineup for a third consecutive game with a concussion.
Emerance Maschmeyer was left off the Goldeneyes lineup for a fifth straight game and remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
THREE STARS
1. Aerin Frankel (BOS) 35/35 SV
2. Laura Kluge (BOS) GWG
3. Mia Biotti (BOS) 1A
STANDINGS
Boston: 45 PTS (11-5-2-4) – 1st Place
Vancouver: 24 PTS (6-1-4-11) – 7th Place
UPCOMING SCHEDULES
Boston: Friday, Mar. 27 at Toronto at 7 p.m. ET
Vancouver: Sunday, Mar. 29 at Toronto at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT