By: Alexis Caines | Follow me on Twitter/X @alexiscaines_
The Boston Fleet fell 2-1 to the Ottawa Charge, now on the brink of elimination. In this best-of-five series, the Charge are up 2-1 on the Fleet and will look to close it out in Game Five.
The two teams had five days off, which included traveling up to Ottawa. The other semifinal series between the Montréal Victoire and Minnesota Frost featured a rare back-to-back, a hot topic of conversation the past few days.
It was once again Gwyneth Philips and Aerin Frankel between the pipes for the heavily anticipated goalie battle. Though the Fleet have made Philips work for it, outshooting in all three games so far.
About halfway through the first period, Jamie Lee Rattray headed to the box for tripping. Despite only scoring one shot on their power-play, Charge forward Fanuza Kadirova cut down the middle and fired one past Frankel for the lead just after the Rattray penalty expired.
Shortly into the second period, Liz Schepers got the equalizer for the Fleet. It was Shay Maloney who shot one on net, and Schepers grabbed the rebound to get the huge goal for her team. It was her first of this postseason.
The Fleet outshot 17-5 in the second period. They were unsuccessful in their two power-play opportunities, a solid concern for Boston lately. They are strong in their penalty kill, but scoring goals on the other end is equally important.
Heading into the third period, Boston held the edge in high danger chances but were still deadlocked with Ottawa at 1-1. Both teams played chippy throughout the entire game, but the pressure was on with the tie game and the forechecking was heavy.
Just when it seemed like overtime was needed, Frankel went to clear the puck and it bounced off her pad and in. Ronja Savolainen was credited with the goal. The Fleet pulled Frankel for a last ditch effort, but it was a heartbreaking 2-1 loss for the Fleet.
Game Four is slated for Sunday at 3pm. The teams will face off at the Canadian Tire Centere once more, where they were treated to a crowd of 13,112 on Friday night, a Professional Women’s Hockey League playoff record. Ottawa will look to win the series and advance to their second straight Walter Cup Final appearance. Boston needs to win to keep their season alive.
Leave a Reply