SEATTLE, WA.—Boston and Montreal kicked off the takeover tour in Seattle at Climate Pledge Arena. Climate Pledge Arena was one of nine hosts for the takeover tour this year. This would be the second matchup between Boston and Montreal. Fans of the league were gifted a ceremonial puck drop from Jessica Campbell, the assistant coach of the Seattle Kraken.
First Period
Victoire forward Laura Stacey:
“It’s a pretty big honor to come into rinks like this, cities like this, and have 12,000 fans cheering for two teams that don’t even belong to their own city. I think it’s amazing to see. It’s a privilege for every single one of us to step on that ice today in front of Seattle. We don’t take it for granted.”
At 13:32 of the first period, Laura Stacey found a rebound from a shot off Jennifer Gardiner. She buried it to give Montreal the lead on the powerplay.
Abby Boreen scored her third goal of the season off a backhanded pass from Kirstin O’Neill and gave Montreal the two-goal lead before the first period came to an end.
Second Period
Boston found themselves on a 2 woman advantage, and Hannah Bilka sniped a shot past Desbiens and got the Fleet on the board to cut Montreal’s lead in half. This was Bilka’s second goal of the season.
Third Period
At 8:56 in the third period, Megan Keller ripped a shot that was tipped in by Susanna Tapani. This was Tapani’s second equalizer goal this week.
Overtime
Fleet forward Hannah Bilka on Aerin Frankel’s impact in net:
“I think it just gives us so much confidence as a group. We know that she’s going to come up with a big save and really keep us in the game. She’s our anchor back there and can’t say enough great things about how good of a goaltender she is.”
60 minutes was not enough for these teams, and this game went into overtime and eventually went to a shootout.
Round 1:
BOS: Hannah Brandt (Goal)
Montreal: Marie Philip-Poulin (Goal)
Round 2:
BOS: Hilary Knight (No goal)
Montreal: Mikyla Grant-Mentis (No goal)
Round 3:
BOS: Hannah Bilka (Goal)
Montreal: Erin Ambrose (No goal)
Round 4:
BOS: Susanna Tapani (Goal)
Montreal: Laura Stacey (No goal)
The Boston Fleet won in the shootout and got their first win on the road this season.
Boston Fleet Final Notes
Boston completed the comeback to win in a shootout and earn 2 points. They now sit at 5th in the league standings. Their next game is on Wednesday, January 8th, against the Frost at 7:30 p.m. EST. While this was technically a home game for the Fleet, it was their first win outside of Tsongas Center this season.
The crowd of 12,608 is the highest attendance figure of the 2024-25 PWHL season and is the fifth-largest single-game crowd in the league’s regular season history.
Hannah Bilka’s multi-point performance was the first of her PWHL career. The fourth overall draft pick is tied for second in rookie scoring with six points (2G, 4A) in eight games.
Susanna Tapani’s goal was her third in two games and brings her to a four-way tie for second in the PWHL with four goals in eight games.
Megan Keller recorded two assists to extend her point streak to four straight games (5A). She now leads the Fleet in scoring, ranks second among PWHL defenders, and is tied for fourth among all skaters with eight points (2G, 6A) in eight games.
Boston Goal Scorers:
Hannah Bilka (2)
- Megan Keller (5), Amanda Pelkey (2)
Susanna Tapani (4)
- Megan Keller (6), Hannah Bilka (4)
Montreal Goal Scorers:
Laura Stacey (3)
- Jennifer Gardiner (3), Cayla Barnes(2)
Abby Boreen (3)
- Erin Ambrose (2), Kristin O’Neill (3)
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