Fleet Sink Sirens To Depths Of The PWHL Standings

Aerin Frankel and the Boston Fleet have torpedoed the New York Sirens into the depths of midseason despair in the PWHL.

Frankel stopped 35 of 36 shots in a second straight sensational performance in net, and Fleet captain Hillary Knight spearheaded a four-goal onslaught -- also a second such effort by Boston in a span of five days visiting the Prudential Center -- in sending the hosts to their fifth straight defeat with a 4-1 victory.

Frankel's effort on the heels of shutting out New York 4-0 last Wednesday -- she now has stopped 60 of the 61 shots by the Sirens in those last two games between the rivals -- simply brought more frustration to the Sirens' squad.

New York did manage some quality opportunities in the offensive zone at points throughout the game, but Frankel stood tall and continued her dominance against New York.

It's been a tough but successful stretch of games for the Fleet, who were playing their fourth game in the last six days but won three of them.

Boston Head Coach Courtney Kessel loved the willpower and determination.

"A little bit of a gritty win on our side," Kessel said. "We've been on the road -- trains, planes and buses ... so I think coming in here, we knew we were going to have to grind it out a little bit. I think that's what our team did and it shows the character to every single player we have in it.

When Jamie Lee Rattray's unassisted backhander from behind the goal line caromed off New York goalie Kayle Osborne's skate blade and into the net to put the Fleet ahead 3-1 with an insurance tally just under eight minutes into the third period, it epitomized the Sirens' misfortune.

Even Boston's first goal was outside the norm for the snakebitten Sirens.

The Sirens had not given up a power-play goal in its previous 14 kills before Alina Müller converted a rebound from the low slot off an initial shot by Hillary Knight at the 11:40 mark of the first period. After Jessie Eldridge knotted the score at 1-1 early in the second period and during a five-minute major and game misconduct to Boston forward Sophie Shirley, Knight and Müller reversed roles this time around with Knight scoring off a perfect cross-ice board pass from her linemate to go back ahead 2-1 heading into the final 20 minutes.

The goal by Eldridge -- her sixth this season -- was made more special by the fact that she received a stretch pass from Osborne, who was credited with the primary assist and the first point of her pro career.

Eldridge took advantage of a line change and some disorganization by Boston -- in the neutral to beat Frankel between the pads and tie the game.

Knight, who now has two goals and four assists in all four games against the Sirens this season, added an empty netter off a feed from Shay Maloney to seal the deal. She now has seven goals this season.New York had six shots on Frankel but failed to capitalize on a full two-minute 5-on-3 advantage -- the second huge opportunity in the second period after Shirley's major midway -- but came up empty as Boston's netminder was up to the challenge. New York Head Coach Greg Fargo said it wasn't for lack of trying that the Sirens couldn't come away with the 'W."

"We get our chances, and our opponent was great tonight," Fargo said. "I think we are squeezing our sticks a little bit right now and there are a couple of those shots that are going in but then we forget about our chances. We are going to keep doing a lot of the same things and I know that it will return in our favor.

"The two teams meet again this Sunday afternoon in Buffalo at the KeyBank Centre. Puck drop is 4 p.m.

Müller's goal was her fourth to go along with seven assists in her past eight games. She was held without a point over Boston's first eight games.

Monday's setback was a microcosm of New York's plight since Jan. 27, when they traveled to TD Place and skated off with a 3-0 win. Since then, it's been a downward spiral for a team that began the season with 14 goals enroute to a 3-1 record.

Fast forward to the present which is looking eerily similar to the past. Last season, PWHL New York came out strong but wound up finishing in last place to earn the top draft pick. This season, the Sirens also looked sold at the outset but have since spiraled into last place.

With forward Alex Carpenter still out of the New York lineup with an upper-body injury and the goals piling up at the defensive end, there is little to be optimistic about right now as the season rounds the turn into the homestretch.

Losers of three to the Fleet and two to first-place Montreal in the past five games, the Sirens have only scored twice while surrendering 14 goals in their last three games.