The PWHL playoffs get underway on Thursday as the Boston Fleet battle the Ottawa Charge in their first-round series from Tsongas Center in Lowell, Mass.
Boston finished tied for the best record in the PWHL with the Montreal Victoire, but are the second seed with Montreal holding one more overtime victory.
The Fleet enter the postseason having won seven of their past 10 games to cement home ice in their best-of-five series with Ottawa.
They are led by goaltender Aerin Frankel who had a 19-4-3 record this season with a 1.17 goals-against average and .953 save percentage. She also led the PWHL with eight shutouts.
Frankel has been the backbone of the Fleet throughout the season and head coach Kris Sparre believes she should be this year’s PWHL MVP.
“I don’t know if it’s a case as it is, just give her the damn thing,” Sparre told reporters in March. “What more do you want? She’s the backbone of our team. She keeps us in hockey games. We’re at the top of the league right now and … we wouldn’t be there without how good she’s been every game.
“And so, she is the most valuable player in my opinion.”
On the backend, the Fleet have Megan Keller who led all defenders in the PWHL with seven goals and 22 points.
Keller was named captain of the team prior to the season, replacing Hilary Knight and was also a key performer for the United States at Milano Cortina 2026.
The Fleet are led up front by centre Alina Muller and forward Jessie Eldridge.
Muller was the primary playmaker for the team, recording four goals and 17 assists for 21 points this season.
Eldridge was a key trade deadline acquisition after she was brought in from the Seattle Torrent in exchange for forward Theresa Schafzahl on March 16.
The 5-foot-9 forward finished tied for second in goal scoring this season with 14 goals and her 23 points tied her for fifth in PWHL scoring split between the Torrent and Fleet.
Ottawa enters Thursday’s game after squeaking past the Toronto Sceptres for the final playoff spot in the PWHL.
They won six of their last 10 games to clinch the playoffs, including a four-game winning streak to end the season.
The Charge are looking to make a return to the Walter Cup Final after falling to the Minnesota Frost last season in four games.
This Ottawa squad will be playing for more than themselves as they are looking to for head coach Carla MacLeod, who was diagnosed with cancer earlier this season.
MacLeod had to step away from the team earlier in April while getting treatment, but returned before the regular season ended.
“In a long season there’s always kinds of different emotions that come up and obviously this is one that’s different than we’re used to,” said Charge captain Brianne Jenner when MacLeod took her leave. “It’s fair to say that there’s added emotion with this because (MacLeod is) part of our family and we care a lot about her, but the best thing we can do is our preparation and let her know we’re behind her and take care of our business at the rink.”
Jenner and forward Rebecca Leslie have led the way offensively for the Charge, finishing fourth and sixth in league scoring, respectively.
Leslie finished tied for second in goal scoring with 14 goals to go along with her 23 points while Jenner put up 12 goals and 26 points in 30 games.
Gwyneth Philips guards the net for Ottawa and finished 16-11-1 this season and finished fifth in the league with a 2.12 GAA and fourth with a .931 save percentage.
Game 2 of this series is set for Saturday at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT and all five games of this series can be watched LIVE on TSN.
