Troiani Rink Report

The Boston Fleet are off to their best start in franchise history.

Granted, the sample size is rather small with only two previous PWHL seasons, but nonetheless, Boston is leading the league with 28 points.

The Fleet hold an overall record of 8-1-2-2 in 13 games, and have been nothing short of exceptional in the 2025-26 campaign.

Here are three key factors contributing to Boston’s continued success.

Aerin Frankel
Leading the Fleet’s climb to the top of the standings from the crease is goaltender Aerin Frankel.

Frankel’s eight wins are the most of any netminder in the PWHL this season, and her statistics spell out just how valuable she is between the pipes for first-year head coach Kris Sparre and her teammates.

She is boasting a 1.23 goals-against average and a .950 save percentage in 12 games. Frankel has allowed 15 goals while stopping 288 shots with three shutouts already this season.

Her goalier partner, Abby Levy, has played just one game for the Fleet. Levy backstopped Boston to a 3-1 victory over the Seattle Torrent on Dec. 21.

Despite having two capable goalies, Sparre is inclined to ride Frankel as long as he and the team can.

“If you’re in my shoes, okay, and you have the best goalie in the world, every time I walk past her, I’m like, ‘Yeah, you’re playing tomorrow,’” Sparre said after Boston’s win over the Toronto Sceptres on Jan. 14. “We have a very good goaltending tandem. And when I mean tandem, I mean Abby Levy; Amanda Thiele is amazing, too. Like, I see her in practice every day, and I’m like, ‘This goalie is incredible.’

“So we have three great goalies right now. We’re finding ways to win hockey games. We’re pushing into a point in the season where it’s going to be critical. These games are getting tighter and tighter. So having Aerin in the net has given us some stability, but we also know that we have two other goalies that can get it done as well.”

Special Teams
The Fleet leads the league with a 96.7% success rate on the penalty kill this season. Boston has surrendered just one goal in the 30 times the club was shorthanded.

Sparre attributes his team’s success on the kill to two key elements — goaltending and coaching.

“Your best penalty killer is your goaltender, number one,” Sparre said. “So, we have Aerin Frankel in the cage most nights, and that helps a lot.

“I think (Stefanie) McKeough, our penalty kill coach, has done a wonderful job of having a system in place, but also having, within the system, a real identity to the penalty kill. And the identity is we want to pressure and not let (our opponents) set up.”

Sparre continued: “I think that those trigger points on the penalty kill are clear. They’re concise. Our players know when to go, and I think she’s done a wonderful job with that, and credit to our players for buying in.”

Boston was called for five infractions against the Ottawa Charge on Jan. 11 at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, but also had three games in which the team remained penalty-free.

“I think it’s the system overall that we play,” Fleet star forward Alina Müller said. “(It’s) very aggressive, a lot of skating, and Kris instilled it in us since day one. I think a lot of penalties just come if you stop skating, stop moving your feet. But, if you’re on top of the players and play disciplined, that’s the result.”

Balanced Offense
The Fleet established a highly balanced, top-tier offense that has helped position them at the top of the standings.

Their scoring depth is a key strength, with 15 players having recorded multiple points through 13 games.

Megan Keller leads all Boston skaters with five goals and six assists for 11 points. Keller is also the leading all defenders across the league in points and power-play goals (four). Behind their captain, Susanna Tapani and Müller are tied for second in scoring for Boston with eight points each.

The Fleet rank fourth in the league, having lit the lamp 30 times in 13 games, and are tied for first, with the Montreal Victoire, for fewest goals allowed — 20.

Boston has one game remaining before the Olympic break when they host the New York Sirens at the Tsongas Center on Jan. 28.

There will be a ceremonial puck drop conducted by members of the 1998 U.S. Winter Olympics women’s ice hockey team who made history by capturing the first-ever Olympic Winter Games gold medal for women’s ice hockey with a 3–1 victory over Canada in Nagano, Japan.

The Fleet have seven players representing their countries in the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina.

Frankel, Keller and defender Haley Winn will play for Team USA, Tapani will suit up for Finland, Müller is slated to play for Switzerland, defender Daniela Pejšová will represent her native Czechia, and forward Laura Kluge has been named to the German squad.

Puck drop from the Tsongas is slated for 7 p.m. ET on NESN and the league’s YouTube channel.