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As her team stands at the halfway point of its inaugural Professional Women’s Hockey League season, Boston general manager Danielle Marmer feels her squad has accomplished quite a bit, but still has plenty to prove.
Fresh off a big 2-0 road win last weekend in Minnesota, Boston (4-2-2-4) has posted back-to-back regulation wins for the first time. They have 18 points, moving them into sole possession of fourth place, two points ahead of Ottawa and New York, and just three shy of third-place Toronto.
As they hit the road against Montreal on Saturday at Verdun Auditorium, Boston will look to maintain its winning ways.
“I think we’re getting into a groove,” said Marmer. “We’re excited about the team we have. We’ve got an awesome group of hockey players. It’s a special group and I’m excited about the second half.”
It hasn’t been easy. Boston has struggled to find its identity, especially on home ice. The team has just two victories at the Tsongas Center in eight games, including a 4-3 overtime win against Ottawa on Jan. 27. But the squad is hoping their back-to-back wins, including its stellar 3-1 road victory over Ottawa on Feb. 21, will serve as a springboard in the month ahead.
“We’ve had a tough stretch at home for a bit,” said Marmer. “February was a long month for us with the all-star break and rivalry series, so to cram in a bunch of games for that month with no breaks and not get the outcome that we wanted was hard at times. But I think that those are moments in seasons that define teams. You learn a lot from the losses. I’m happy with how we bounced back the past two games.”
According to Boston defenseman Kaleigh Fratkin, the team has been working hard at turning things around.
“We’ve had some highs and lows over those wins and overtime losses,” said Fratkin. “We’ve run the gamut in all outcomes, but overall we’ve been doing a good job building on each game.”
“Like all the teams, we’re trying to find our footing in this league,” said assistant captain Jamie Lee Rattray. “I think we’re finally starting to hit our stride. We’ve had our ups and downs in terms of consistency, but I really think we’re starting to figure out what works for our group. The two wins in two games definitely helps.”
Goaltender Aerin Frankel made 41 saves for her first shutout of the season, as Boston blanked Minnesota, 2-0, last Sunday in front of 10,186 PWHL fans at the Xcel Energy Center.
Frankel’s shutout came despite Boston being outshot in all three periods, including a 15-7 blitz in the third with Minnesota trailing by a goal. The 24-year-old Northeastern product has now posted back-to-back regulation wins, sporting a 1.72 goals against average, third best in the league, and .940 save percentage.
“She’s been phenomenal,” said Marmer. “That’s why we took her in free agency, because we knew how valuable she would be for this group. We believe in all the goaltenders. We wanted to give everyone an opportunity to show what we had with her and Emma (Soderberg). Aerin has just been so solid that it’s hard not to go back with her. It’s exciting to see her take her game to where we know it could be.”
Forward Alina Müller and defenseman Meghan Keller lead Boston’s attack with 10 points each. The pair are tied for fourth overall among the PWHL scoring leaders.
A Northeastern University product and Boston’s top overall draft pick, Müller is also tied for the league lead with eight assists. She has adapted well to the pro game.
“Alina has stepped in and has been able to make an impact right off the bat,” said Marmer. “Her confidence and composure with the puck on her stick is so impressive for her age. We have high expectations for her to continue to develop her game.”
Meanwhile, Keller continues to loom large on the Boston blueline. The former Boston College Eagle is tied for the scoring lead among PWHL defenders with 10 points. She has three goals and seven assists in her first 12 games.
“I think Megan the best defenseman in the world,” said Marmer. “She just dominates. I wouldn’t want to go into a corner with her. I think she makes other players feel that same way. They don’t want to end up in a battle with her, which is a special quality. She’s just a generational player in my opinion.”
Forwards Loren Gabel, new acquisition Susanna Tapani and Rattray round out the top five Boston scorers with seven points each.
Sunday’s game at Xcel Energy Center in Minnesota generated the third-highest attendance figure of the season (10,186). More than one-third of all first-half games were sold out.
The league set a women’s hockey attendance record with a crowd of 19,285 on Feb. 16 at Scotiabank Arena for the Battle on Bay Street featuring Montréal at Toronto. Their total first-half attendance is 183,925 for an average of 5,109 per game.
“It’s exceeded expectations by a long shot,” said Marmer. “We felt the product was exciting enough, but just didn’t know if we were going to get it in front of enough people. You can see the success in the numbers.”
“A lot of us were pretty optimistic about what the league could do in the first year,” said Rattray. “I’ve been really happy with the people that have shown up everywhere. The buzz is there.”
A man stole financial documents and credit cards from an elderly person’s apartment in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood Tuesday, police said as they asked for the public’s help identifying the burglary suspect.
Boston police say the incident occurred between 1:15 p.m. and 3 p.m. in the area of 11 Woodcliff Street, the Cardinal Medeiros Manor Apartments.
According to police, the suspect allegedly entered the victim’s apartment, which is located in an elderly housing community, and convinced them to turn over financial documents before stealing several personal documents and credit cards.
The suspect is described as a man wearing glasses with a red shirt and black pants. He also had a lanyard around his neck, a tattoo on his right arm, and a brown backpack, police said.
An investigation into the incident is underway, and anyone with information is asked to call detectives at 617-343-4275. Anonymous tips can also be called into the CrimeStoppers tip line at 1-800-494-TIPS, or texted to CRIME (27463) with the word ‘TIP’.
Boston police are looking for a man they say inappropriately touched several students at a small high school near Copley Square.
Officers responded around 11:30 a.m. to the Snowden International School on Newbury Street in Back Bay after reports that the man had touched students as they were walking in and out of the building.
“That’s scary, that it’s happening right here,” one woman said.
According to a police report, the man had been seen in the area before, approaching two students. Documents state at one point, a student stated the man “touched his chest and asked, ‘Yo bro, do you work out?’”
Police said photos of the man were captured and sent out to other law enforcement officials.
The department said in a statement that it is “encouraging families to remind students about the importance of being aware of their surroundings and reporting any concerning behavior to their school.”
Boston Public Schools will have an increased Safety Services presence around the campus for the next few days.
Local News
A Boston man who allegedly assaulted a transgender woman at a Blue Line MBTA station on Halloween is facing charges of assault and violating the victim’s civil rights, officials said.
Gregory Burnett, 53, pleaded not guilty to assault and battery causing serious bodily injury, assault and battery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (his foot), and a civil rights violation with injury, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said.
The woman, 41, told police that another passenger boarded the train at Maverick, immediately approached her, and shouted “derogatory terms” at her, the DA said. Burnett allegedly said statements including “you’re not a woman, you’re a man.”
Burnett then punched and kicked her, including in the crotch area. The woman tried to defend herself, the DA said, but Burnett grabbed her foot and caused her to fall and fracture her wrist.
Other passengers helped the woman defend herself against Burnett and get him off the train, officials said.
The woman reported the incident to police the next day and said “she felt targeted due to her gender identity based on Burnett’s remarks during the assault,” the DA said.
MBTA police used witness descriptions and surveillance video to identify Burnett and apprehend him at Maverick last Tuesday, according to Hayden’s office.
Burnett was initially held in jail after being found dangerous in court, but was released last week on conditions to stay at home outside of work hours, according to court records. With a GPS, he is confined to his home outside of 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. He is also required to maintain employment, stay away from any witnesses, not commit any further offenses, and not possess any firearms.
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