Professional Women's Hockey League Pregame Primer - Ottawa at Boston

February 21, 2024 - Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) News Release

LOWELL, MA - The Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) schedule continues this week with a pair of Wednesday night games, including Boston and Ottawa, at 7:00 p.m. ET at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell. Tonight's game will be a Black History Month celebration.

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. The game is also available on Bally Sports North, Bally Sports Wisconsin Extra, and Sportsnet Pittsburgh. Canadian viewers can watch live on TSN4/5, TSN.ca, and the TSN app. The game will stream live on the league's YouTube channel. Kenzie Lalonde will have the play-by-play call alongside analyst Becky Kellar, and Paige Capistran reporting rinkside.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATION

Tonight will be a celebration of Black History Month at the Tsongas Center with a number of different activations throughout the game. Boston players will be sporting t-shirts designed by Black artist Dana Mclean. The national anthems will be performed by International Award-winning Recording Artist Michelle Brooks-Thompson, who will also perform 'Lift Every Voice and Sing' during the first intermission. Mill City BBQ & Brew, a Black-owned family restaurant in Lowell, will be tabling on the concourse and featured in-game. There will also be in-game recognition of Black hockey players with local ties to Boston.

SETTING THE STAGE

It's the second of two games in three days between teams separated by just one point in the standings. Ottawa (3-0-4-3) is tied for fourth place with 13 points, and Boston (2-2-2-4) is in sixth place with 12 points. Ottawa's 4-2 win on Monday night snapped a season-high five-game losing streak that began with a 3-2 loss to Boston on Jan. 24. The victory was their second in four total road games, and third overall this season. All three of the team's victories have been by two or more goals, while all seven of their losses have been one-goal decisions. This marks Boston's sixth straight home game and fourth in eight days. They have now lost a season-high four straight games and six of seven at home this season. Their only victory at the Tsongas Center came back on Jan. 27, a 4-3 overtime win against Minnesota, that opened the current homestand. This is the last time the two teams will go head-to-head in Boston, with their next scheduled meeting taking place on Mar. 16 at Detroit's Little Caesars Arena, which will count as one of Boston's home games.

THE SEASON SERIES SO FAR

The season series is now tied 1-1 with both teams picking up road wins in regulation. Ottawa's 4-2 win on Monday night was powered by a two-goal performance from Gabbie Hughes, including a powerplay and a shorthanded tally. Brianne Jenner scored a goal and an assist, Emily Clark had two assists, and Daryl Watts scored the game's opening goal. Taylor Girard and Abby Cook both scored for Boston, and Megan Keller chipped in two assists. Ottawa narrowly outshot Boston 33-32, with Emerance Maschmeyer tying a season-high with 30 saves in the win, and Aerin Frankel taking the loss with 29 stops. Boston's last regulation win was against Ottawa 3-2 on Jan. 24 at The Arena at TD Place with a last-minute goal from Theresa Schafzahl. Alina Müller and Jamie Lee Rattray both notched their first goals of the season in that game. Kristin Della Rovere scored her first goal of the season for Ottawa, and Lexie Adzija scored for the team on the powerplay. Ottawa's league-high eight powerplay goals includes two in three opportunities against Boston this season.

TOP PERFORMERS

Boston's Megan Keller is now tied for the scoring lead amongst defenders with nine points, including three goals and six assists, in 10 games. Five of those points, including two assists on Monday, have been recorded as part of a current three-game point streak. Alina Müller remains tied for third in league scoring with nine points, including seven assists, which is tied for most amongst skaters. Jamie Lee Rattray (2G, 4A) and Loren Gabel (3G, 3A) are tied for third in Boston scoring with six points each, and Taylor Girard has been contributing offensively this homestand with three goals and one assist in her last five games. Emily Clark's two helpers on Monday brings her season point total to seven, including two goals and seven assists, which leads Ottawa through 10 games. Five of her points have been recorded in her last four games. Monday's two-goal performance by Gabbie Hughes puts her in a tie for second in team scoring with Lexie Adzija, both with six points, counting four goals and two assists. Defender Savannah Harmon also has six points, including two goals and four assists, to lead the league's highest scoring blue line that's now contributed 23 points among their top-six corps.

BEHIND ENEMY LINES

Ottawa took advantage of a full day off on Tuesday to explore downtown Boston. The coaches, led by Carla MacLeod, were keen to enjoy the local gastronomy. MacLeod even polled the sports journalists who covered Monday's game for the best places to enjoy a bowl of clam chowder. Other members of the group decided to do a little sightseeing. Some players were spotted on the famed sidewalks of the Newbury Street shopping district. Japanese forward Akane Shiga took a tour of the legendary Fenway Park. The team is never short of support in Massachusetts. Again tonight, between 20 and 30 fans of the team are expected at the Tsongas Center, large-in-part courtesy of forward Becca Gilmore and defender Amanda Boulier. Gilmore is a pure New Englander who grew up in Wayland, spent five years on the campus of Harvard University, and played last season with the PHF's Boston Pride. Boulier can count on the support of her fiancée's family, who live in the Greater Boston area. Her own relatives, from Watertown, CT, also never hesitate to travel hundreds of miles to attend some of her games.

OLYMPIC MEMORIES

On this day, Feb. 21, 2002, Canada captured its first Olympic gold in women's hockey with a 3-2 victory over the United States in Salt Lake City. Jayna Hefford, PWHL Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations, scored Canada's winning goal, assisted by tonight's color analyst Becky Kellar. Playing in late February surely brings countless memories for the 20 Olympians playing in tonight's game with a combined 27 medals. For Boston, Olympians include Hannah Brandt (2018 Gold, 2022 Silver), Megan Keller (2018 Gold, 2022 Silver), Hilary Knight (2010 Silver, 2014 Silver, 2018 Gold, 2022 Silver), Gigi Marvin (2010 Silver, 2014 Silver, 2018 Gold), Sidney Morin (2018 Gold), Alina Müller (2014 Bronze, 2018, 2022), Amanda Pelkey (2018 Gold), Jamie Lee Rattray (2022 Gold), Emma Söderberg (2022), Susanna Tapani (2014, 2018 Bronze, 2022 Bronze). Olympians on Ottawa include Ashton Bell (2022 Gold), Emily Clark (2018 Silver, 2022 Gold), Savannah Harmon (2022 Silver), Brianne Jenner (2014 Gold, 2018 Silver, 2022 Gold), Emerance Maschmeyer (2022 Gold), Kateřina Mrázová (2022), Jincy Roese (2022 Silver), Hayley Scamurra (2022 Silver), Akane Shiga (2022), Aneta Tejralová (2022).

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING

"We're looking to commit to our systems and capitalize on our opportunities." - Shiann Darkangelo, Boston

"I think it'll be nice to play the same team back-to-back. You know what you're going to get from Ottawa. They've been playing the same game since the beginning of the year, so we'll just have to make adjustments." - Courtney Kessel, Boston

"We played great (on Monday). I think that we did a lot of good stuff in that game. We focused on hard work and driving the net. We paid a lot of attention to the smaller details and that helped us a lot. We also scored an important goal on the PK. That was a big one for us." - Aneta Tejralová, Ottawa

"We've had a unique scheduling here in the last week or two. We've had back-to-back opponents two times in a row now. We had a home-and-home series against Minnesota before coming here to play two games in a row. I think it's a positive challenge for both teams. It allows you to go in with a game plan. Heading into game two, you can make subtle adjustments that are required. For our group, it has been really nice to have a home base here in Boston for a few days. We look to go into the game tonight and continue to build off on what we did on Monday." - Carla MacLeod, Ottawa

QUICK HITS

Ottawa (+1) is tied for third in goal differential and Boston (-6) ranks sixth...Ottawa (2.40) is tied for first in goals-per-game average and Boston (2.30) ranks fourth...Ottawa (2.30) allows the third most goals-per-game and Boston (2.90) allows the most on average...Ottawa has scored the first goal in seven of their 10 games, Boston just twice...Scoring by regulation periods is Boston (5-7-9) and Ottawa (10-6-8)...Boston has four wins in seven one-goal games, Ottawa has lost all seven of its one-goal games...Ottawa (+45) is first in shot differential and Boston (+21) ranks third...Ottawa (31.10) is first in shots-per-game average and Boston (28.60) ranks third...Boston (26.50) allows the second fewest shots-per-game and Ottawa (26.60) allows the third fewest on average...Ottawa (44 PIM) and Boston (50 PIM) are the least penalized teams in the PWHL...Ottawa (8/28) is first in powerplay efficiency at 28.6%...Boston (2/25) is fourth on the PP at 8.0%...Boston (20/23) is fourth in penalty kill efficiency at 87.0%...Ottawa (17/21) ranks fifth on the PK at 81.0%...Megan Keller (BOS) is tied for the league-lead in scoring among defenders with nine points...Alina Müller (BOS) is tied for the league-lead with seven assists...Ottawa's Lexie Adzija, Gabbie Hughes, and Hayley Scamurra are tied for second in the league with two powerplay goals each...Adzija, Hughes, and Boston's Hannah Brandt and Taylor Girard are tied for the league-lead with one shorthanded goal...Girard leads the league with a 36.4% shooting percentage...Susanna Tapani (BOS) and Amanda Boulier (OTT) share the league-lead with a plus-7 rating...Hilary Knight leads Boston with 36 shots on goal...Scamurra leads Ottawa with 35 shots...Tapani (57/106) leads Boston with a 53.8% face-off efficiency...Müller (43.4%) leads the team with 166 draws...Brianne Jenner (74/134) leads Ottawa with a 55.2% face-off efficiency...Hughes (43.0%) leads the team in total draws with 151...Aerin Frankel (BOS) has two wins in six starts with a goals-against-average of 2.08 that ranks fifth and a save percentage of .922 that ranks fifth...Emerance Maschmeyer (OTT) leads the league with 588:00 minutes played, 233 saves, and has three wins in nine starts with a 2.14 GAA and a .917 SV%...Ottawa is dressing the exact same lineup as it did for Monday's win.

PROJECTED LINEUPS

BOSTON:

Gabel | Müller | Knight

Rattray | Tapani | Schafzahl

Girard | Brandt | Darkangelo

Wenczkowski | Marvin | Pelkey

Keller | Fratkin

Brown | Morin

Healey | DiGirolamo

Cook

Frankel | Söderberg

Scratches: Isbell, Kronish, Shirley

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: Andrew Bell (Dowington, PA) and Hillary Brennan (London, ON).

Linespersons: Joanie Duchesneau (Montréal, QC) and Jérémy Faucher (Cowansville, QC).

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