First of two games in three days between Boston and Ottawa in Lowell
LOWELL, MA (February 19, 2024) – The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) schedule launches a new week, beginning with a Presidents’ Day / Family Day matinee between Boston and Ottawa, at 4:30 p.m. ET at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell.
WHERE TO WATCH
Fans in the United States can watch live on NESN or stream on the NESN 360 app by logging in with their TV provider or purchasing a direct subscription. Canadian viewers can watch live on TSN4, TSN.ca, and the TSN app. The game is also available on the league’s YouTube channel. Kenzie Lalonde will have the play-by-play call alongside analyst Cheryl Pounder.
SETTING THE STAGE
The stakes couldn’t be higher for these two teams about to face-off in the first of two games in three days against each other. Both teams are at the bottom of the standings and enduring season-high losing streaks. Boston (2-2-2-3) is in fifth place with 12 points and have lost three straight games, and Ottawa (2-0-4-3) is in sixth place with 10 points and have lost five in a row. For Boston, it’s the fifth of six straight games at the Tsongas Center – a stretch that began with a 4-3 overtime win over Minnesota on Jan. 27. The win was followed with a 2-1 overtime loss to Montréal on Feb. 4, a 5-3 loss to Toronto on Valentine’s Day, and a heartbreaking 2-1 overtime loss to New York on Saturday after scoring the game-tying goal with just over a minute remaining. Ottawa’s losing streak has consisted of five one-goal games, beginning with a 3-2 loss to Boston back on Jan. 24. The next two were in overtime, including a 2-1 final in Montréal on Jan. 27, and a 4-3 home loss to New York on Feb. 4. They dropped both of last week’s games by 2-1 scores in a mini home-and-home series with Minnesota on Feb. 14 and 17. This will be Ottawa’s fourth road game of the season, with their only road victory coming in Toronto by a 5-1 score on Jan. 13. Boston has just one home win in six appearances. This game is a re-scheduled matchup following the Jan. 8 postponement due to inclement weather.
RECAP BEFORE THE REMATCH
Boston’s last regulation win was against Ottawa on Jan. 24 at The Arena at TD Place. The 3-2 victory was powered by a last-minute goal from Theresa Schafzahl to break a 2-2 tie. Boston led 2-0 in the first period with goals by Alina Müller on the powerplay and hometown hero Jamie Lee Rattray. Both notched their first goals of the season. Ottawa’s Kristin Della Rovere also scored her first of the season in the second period, and Lexie Adzija scored on the powerplay early in the third. Shots were 39-31 in favor of Ottawa, including 16 fired at Aerin Frankel in the final frame. She stopped a season-high 37 in the win. Sandra Abstreiter made her first start for Ottawa and stopped 10 of 12 shots before exiting the game due to injury. Emerance Maschmeyer stopped 18 of 19 in 42 minutes of relief.
TOP PERFORMERS
Boston’s Megan Keller is second in scoring among defenders with seven points, including three in her last two games. Her third goal of the season on Saturday provided late-game heroics to force overtime against New York. Alina Müller is tied for third in league scoring with nine points, including seven assists, which is tied for most among skaters. She’s been held off the scoresheet for the past three games after breaking out with a four-game streak that included a multi-point performance in Ottawa. Jamie Lee Rattray (2G, 4A) and Loren Gabel (3G, 2A) are third and fourth in team scoring with five points each. Ottawa’s Amanda Boulier has a two-game point streak after scoring a goal and recording an assist in games against Minnesota. She’s tied for second in team scoring with five points alongside fellow defender Savannah Harmon and forward Emily Clark, who scored the team’s lone goal on Sunday. Lexie Adzija leads the team with six points, including four goals and two assists, in nine games.
WELCOME BACK TO BOSTON
It’s a Boston homecoming for Ottawa forward Becca Gilmore who hails from Wayland, MA. The 26-year-old, who won gold with the U.S. National Women’s Team at the 2023 IIHF Women’s World Championship, also played last season as a member of the PHF’s Boston Pride. She spent her NCAA career at Harvard University where she played with teammates Emma Buckles and Kristin Della Rovere, who also play in Boston for the first time this season. Ottawa goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer is another former member of the Harvard Crimson (2012-16), forward Hayley Scamurra played for the Northeastern University Huskies from 2013-17, and Daryl Watts played two seasons with the Boston College Eagles where she famously became the first freshman to win the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award in 2018. Amanda Boulier spent the 2021-22 season with the Boston Pride and won an Isobel Cup title, while fellow Ottawa defender Aneta Tejralová played for the Pride last season.
BUCKLES TO MAKE DEBUT IN BOSTON
Ottawa defender Emma Buckles will patrol the blue line in her PWHL debut on Monday. The 24-year-old from Toronto, ON, was selected by Boston in the 13th round of the PWHL Draft and began the season with a Reserve Player contract. She signed a Standard Player Agreement with Ottawa on Jan. 31. Buckles attended Harvard University and had her most productive offensive season as a graduate student in 2021-22 with 17 points in 32 games. She spent last season as a member of Team Sonnet in the PWHPA.
DEMERS SIGNS SPA
Ahead of Monday’s game, Ottawa announced the signing of forward Rosalie Demers to a Standard Player Agreement. The 23-year-old from Blainville, QC, began the season with a Reserve Player contract as a free agent out of training camp. She played four seasons at Colgate University from 2018-22, followed by the 2022-23 campaign competing as a member of the PWHPA. In a corresponding roster move, the team announced the release of forward Mikyla Grant-Mentis.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“Going into the next two games against Ottawa we’re focused on playing a full 60 minutes. We have so much talent in our lineup we need to play with urgency and to get goals early. We have six important points on the line and need to come together to propel us into this next big stretch of games.” – Taylor Wenczkowski, Boston
“We need to get traffic in front of the net and be willing to score some dirty goals.” – Courtney Kessel, Boston
“I’m truly excited to come back to Boston where I have tons of family and friends who will be at our next game. I think I have a decent crowd of 20-plus that will be there. I think Boston is a great sports city. I’m so glad that they have an original six team there. That being said, I’m really excited to be representing Ottawa in this one.” – Becca Gilmore, Ottawa
“Looking forward to the opportunity of spending some time, together, on the road. Obviously, in our industry, being on the road allows you to have different opportunities, whether it be to have good times away from the rink where you get to know each other better. Certainly, when you get to the rink, you continue to build to what we’re doing. Excited to have a week here when we’re in our own little world. Keep growing what we’re doing.” – Carla MacLeod, Ottawa
QUICK HITS
Ottawa (-1) is tied for fourth in goal differential and Boston (-4) ranks sixth…Boston (2.33) is third in goals-per-game average and Ottawa (2.22) ranks fourth…Ottawa (2.33) allows the third most goals-per-game and Boston (2.78) allows the most on average…Ottawa has scored the first goal in six of their nine games, Boston just twice…Scoring by regulation periods is Boston (5-5-9) and Ottawa (9-4-7)…Boston has four wins in seven one-goal games, Ottawa has lost all seven of its one-goal games…Ottawa (+44) is first in the PWHL in shot differential and Boston (+22) ranks third…Ottawa (30.89) is first in shots-per-game average and Boston (28.22) ranks third…Boston (25.78) allows the fewest shots-per-game and Ottawa (26.0) allows the second fewest on average…Ottawa (40 PIM) and Boston (46 PIM) are the least penalized teams in the PWHL…Ottawa (7/26) is first in powerplay efficiency at 26.9%…Boston (2/23) is fourth on the PP at 8.7%…Boston (19/21) is second in penalty kill efficiency at 90.5%…Ottawa (15/19) ranks fifth on the PK at 78.9%…Alina Müller (BOS) is tied for the league-lead with seven assists…Megan Keller (BOS) is second in scoring among defenders with seven points…Ottawa’s Lexie Adzija and Hayley Scamurra are tied for second in the league with two powerplay goals each…Adzija and Boston’s Hannah Brandt and Taylor Girard are tied for the league-lead with one shorthanded goal…Girard leads the league with a 33.3% shooting percentage…Hilary Knight leads Boston with 34 shots on goal…Scamurra leads Ottawa with 30 shots…Susanna Tapani (46/86) leads Boston with a 53.5% face-off efficiency… Müller (43.4%) leads the team with 159 draws…Brianne Jenner (73/133) leads Ottawa with a 54.9% face-off efficiency and is tied with Gabbie Hughes (42.9%) in total draws…Aerin Frankel (BOS) has two wins in five starts with a goals-against-average of 1.92 that ranks fourth and a save percentage of .925 that ranks fifth…Emerance Maschmeyer (OTT) has two wins in eight starts with a 2.16 GAA and a .914 SV%…Emma Söderberg (BOS) celebrated her 26th birthday on Sunday.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
BOSTON:
Rattray | Tapani | Knight
Girard | Müller | Gabel
Schafzahl | Brandt | Marvin
Isbell | Darkangelo | Pelkey
Keller | Fratkin
Brown | DiGirolamo
Healey | Morin
Cook
Frankel | Söderberg
Scratches: Kronish, Shirley, Wenczkowski
OTTAWA:
Clark | Hughes | Scamurra
Watts | Mrázová | Jenner
Adzija | Snodgrass | Shiga
Gasparics | Della Rovere | Gilmore
Harmon | Bell
Tejralová | Boulier
Roese | Boyd
Buckles
Maschmeyer | Abstreiter
Scratches: Demers, McQuigge
OFFICIALS:
Referees: Jared Cummins (Norwalk, IA) and Sydney Harris (Monument, CO).
Linespersons: Antoine Bujold-Roux (Ottawa, ON & Albany, NY) and Laura Gutauskas (Woolwich, ON).
Follow the league on all social media platforms @thepwhlofficial plus team accounts @pwhl_boston and @pwhl_ottawa.