On January 24^th, PWHL Boston and PWHL Ottawa were able to play each other for the first time following their previously postponed matchup that was slated for January 8^th. Ottawa was looking to extend their point streak to 5 games, while Boston was looking to get back to winning following a 4-1 loss at home against New York on January 20^th. Following the loss to New York, Boston went back to Aerin Frankel as their starting goaltender, while Ottawa looked to Sandra Abstreiter for the first time this season following their game against Toronto the previous night.

               Just over 8 minutes into the first period, Alina Müller scored her first goal of the season from an assist by Megan Keller (her first point of the season) on the power play to get Boston out to an early lead. With just under 3 minutes remaining in the first, Ottawa-native Jamie Lee Rattray scored an incredible goal off the rush with an unbelievable primary assist from Sophie Shirley, and an additional tap up from Sidney Morin. Due to the sharp lateral pass on the play, and aggressive stretch required to pursue a save attempt, Abstreiter (Ottawa’s goalie) appeared to suffer a lower-body injury on the play that required her to leave the game. Abstreiter was then replaced by usual starter Emerance Maschmeyer. The second period was all Ottawa, with the home team outshooting Boston 16-8 in the frame. Frankel was absolutely incredible making several highlight reel saves (you can see a few on their Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pwhl_boston/reels/). Just past the 15-minute mark, Kristin Della Rovere scored an incredible tip in goal off a great cross ice pass from Natalie Snodgrass. The third period would also be tilted in Ottawa’s favor in terms of shots on goal with a 16 to 11 advantage. Fan-favorite Lexie Adzija would score the equalizer less than 4-minutes into the period with helpers from Hayley Scamurra and Brianne Jenner. This game was hurtling toward overtime to extend Ottawa’s point streak until Theresa Schafzahl found twine with assists from Gigi Marvin and Müller with 52-seconds left on the clock.

               This was a critical bounce back game for PWHL Boston, who certainly needed a win for their confidence following the tough loss against New York. Alina Müller has begun to make a serious case for herself as Boston’s biggest star in the skater group after recording 7 points in her first 5 games. Additionally, Gigi Marvin has demonstrated that she’s an ageless wonder who will leave her mark on this league no matter what anyone might think or say. Aerin Frankel continues to establish herself as the best goaltender in all of women’s hockey, and with each passing game, this narrative (that we’re at the forefront of admittedly) only becomes more objective in its nature. On the other side of the bench, Lexie Adzija’s recent play and strong social media presence have been great for the league, and it has been a joy seeing her star power coming to life in Canada’s capital. Next up for Ottawa is a rematch with Montreal on Saturday, and Boston will play host to Minnesota (I will be in attendance for the second home game in a row for Boston).