Another classic geographic rivalry was renewed on Saturday afternoon at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, Massachusetts when PWHL New York faced off against PWHL Boston for the first time. Despite an overwhelming offensive presence from Boston, outshooting New York 33-19, New York collected the regulation win by a score of 4-1.

               Emma Soderberg got her second consecutive start for Boston, with New York continuing with Corinne Schroeder between the pipes. The opening 17 minutes of play were controlled well by the PWHL Boston group, with Hilary Knight and Megan Keller creating multiple opportunities, but Schroeder was sensational. With less than three minutes remaining in the first, Jade Downie-Landry beat Soderberg with an incredible top shelf snipe. The second period got off to a terrible start for Boston as Jessie Eldrige (from Alex Carpenter and Paetyn Levis) and Downie-Landry (from Kayla Vespa) extended New York’s lead to 3-0 just two minutes into the period. Following Downie-Landry’s second goal of the night, Boston would end Soderberg’s afternoon and put in Aerin Frankel. One minute into the third period, Loren Gabel (From Alina Muller and Emily Brown) cut the New York lead to two with a great skill goal in a dirty area. The rest of the third period saw Boston throw the house at New York, but Schroeder was unbelievable denying bids from everywhere. Downie-Landry would cap off the night by scoring on the empty net to collect her first career hat trick in the PWHL.

               This was the first PWHL game that Damien and I were able to witness in person, and complements go to everyone behind the scenes of the PWHL for creating such a fantastic and inclusive environment that legitimately executes the promise “Hockey is for Everyone.” Beyond my sentimentalities of attending this game, I must continue to extend my purview on the current and future stars of the league. Jade Downie-Landry has been very good all season for New York, and it was great to see her be able to break through and find her goal scoring touch. Loren Gabel has been a standout for Boston offensively in her last two contests and is establishing herself as the next woman up for that team. Finally, Corinne Schroeder has been remarkable this season, and this might have been her best performance so far. I can admit that being a big fan of Aerin Frankel, I look forward to being able to see them face each other for 60 minutes later this season.

– Christian Bergeron