ANALYSIS – Aerin Frankel made more than 30 saves in a 4-1 victory over the Toronto Sceptres. Franklin made some fantastic stops to keep her team in the game and maintained Boston’s lead, despite the team getting into penalty trouble in the second and third periods.

Aerin Franklin Played a Big Role in Boston Fleet Win

Full Game Summary:

The #TorontoSceptres had a slow start to the game.

Both Alina Müller and Hannah Brandt had a big game.#BostonFleet’s goalkeeper, Aerin Frankel, was the player of the game.#TORvBOS | 1-4 | #PWHL

— Raheem (@bashirra) January 23, 2025

Toronto Sceptres Had a Bad Start to the Game

First Period: Hannah Brandt makes a heads-up player as she keeps the puck in play, before passing the puck to Alina Müller, who scores for the #PWHLBoston team. #BostonFleet#TORvBOS | 0-1 | #PWHL pic.twitter.com/nbBRCpZKmN

— Raheem (@bashirra) January 23, 2025

The Sceptres took a long time to get their first shot on goal, and once they did, Boston already scored the first goal with Alina Müller scoring the first goal. Shortly after, in that same period, from another Sceptres turnover, both Müller and Sidney Morin assisted in Emily Brown’s goal, which made it hard for the Sceptres team to catch up.

The Sceptres head coach, Troy Ryan, talked about the loss, including the early turnovers in the game (Source: Boston Fleet Staff of the PWHL):

“Ourselves… I think it was just–– we made some uncharacteristic turnovers, passive D-zone coverage, I think we were our own worst enemy tonight. I don’t know if it was really anything that Boston was doing, not taking anything away from them, but it’s on us for sure.”

Hannah Brandt and Alina Müller Had Big Games

A lot of the offence on Wednesday came from Brandt and Müller. They both played a big role in the early lead for Boston. Some examples include:

• Müller did a great job finding Shay Maloney in a good scoring position and she capitalized for the third goal.
• Hannah Brandt won the draw that resulted in Megan Keller scoring for the Fleet.

Both players had big games offensively and that was a big reason why Boston came up on top against Toronto. This was especially true for Müller, who had only one point in nine games heading into the game at the Tsonga Center. Müller would end up having the most points for either team as she had three points, including scoring the opening goal of the game.

Aerin Frankel Made Over 30 Saves

What might have been the main reason why Boston won, Frankel was forced to make save after save to maintain Toronto’s lead. In fact, when Boston got into penalty trouble in both the second and third period and Toronto was gaining momentum, Franklin shut the Sceptres down. Some examples of this include:

• Jesse Compher’s shot was spectacularly stopped by Frankel.
• Blayre Turnbull on a breakaway, had her shot stopped by Frankel.

Of course, there were instances when Boston got a bit fortunate, as one of Sarah Nurse’s shot beat Frankel, but hit the post. Still, the number of breakaways, and shots from close range that she had to save was critical in Boston’s win over Toronto.

READ MORE: Toronto Sceptres’ Relentless Pressure Led To Home-Opening Win

Other Factors: Toronto Sceptres Generated Many Scoring Opportunities

READ MORE: 2024-25 Toronto Sceptres Season: Looking for Redemption

The score did not reflect the game. The Sceptres had many breakaways and created many scoring opportunities. The explosive speed of Nurse and Turnbull could be seen in the game and Compher also put her in good opportunities.

Third Period: The Toronto Sceptres (#PWHLToronto) scores! Kali Flanagan delivers a fantastic pass to Blayre Turnbull to cut the deficit to two. #TorontoSceptres#TORvBOS | 1-3 | #PWHL pic.twitter.com/B11o8lZrAh

— Raheem (@bashirra) January 23, 2025

In Toronto’s lone goal in the game, Kali Flanagan made a fantastic play by passing the puck to Turnbull in a prime position to score.

Unfortunately, playing well may not give any consolation to the Sceptres team. Right now, they sit last in the league with 11 points. This is while Boston remains fifth in the league, but getting the three full points was massive. This is because they are one point behind the New York Sirens and two points behind the Ottawa Charge, which are the two bottom playoff positions in the PWHL.

READ MORE: The Montréal Victoire’s Third Line Played Big Role in Win

The Sceptres will host an important game against the New York Sirens at 2:00pm EST on January 25 before travelling to face the Minnesota Frost on January 28 at 7:00pm EST. They will then end the month on January 30 against the Montreal Victoire at the Place Bell at 7:00pm EST.

READ MORE: The Minnesota Frost’s Passing Was Excellent All Game Long

The New York game will be shown live on CBC and MSG at Scotiabank Arena on January 25 before travelling to face the Minnesota Frost at the Xcel Energy Center. The Minnesota game will be on Prime and the FanDuel Sports Network, while the Montreal game will be shown and televised on TSN and RDS.

This is while the Fleet will travel to face the Minnesota Frost at the Xcel Energy Center on January 26 at 3:00pm EST and then will host the New York Sirens on January 31 at 7:00pm EST to end the month at the Tsonga Center.

The Minnesota game will be shown live in FanDuel Sports Network, the New York City game on MSG. All three games will be shown live on NESN and TSN.

Photo Credit: Boston Fleet Facebook Page on April 23, 2024.