LOWELL – Courtney Kessel was torn between two options without her starting goaltender. In the coach’s mind, there was plenty of reasons to give either of them the nod.
But she didn’t overthink an unprecedented decision to call on Klára Peslarová.
“It was a gut feeling, and we kind of went with it,” Kessel said.
Peslarová hadn’t started a game all season and appeared only once. She’s only known the bench otherwise – watching game after game play out with no impact on each outcome.
She thrived in a moment she had long awaited.
Returning from the IIHF World Championships break in a blaze, Boston (15-9-4-0) handled Toronto (14-9-3-2) by a 3-0 score Saturday afternoon at the Tsongas Center. The Fleet are back in the win column for the first time since March 18 after punctuating a three-game losing streak – tied for their longest this season – last time out.
Peslarová saw 29 shots. Not one passed her.
“I was waiting for this opportunity basically the whole season,” Peslarová said. “I’m just grateful for this opportunity, because you never know when it’s going to come again.”
The 24-day break in the PWHL regular-season schedule treated her well. While some teammates stayed behind and practiced in Boston, she started in net for the Czech Republic at IIHF worlds, getting all the way to the semifinals.
As Saturday’s game began, she crouched into the crease that Aerin Frankel calls home – having started 22 of the Fleet’s 27 contests thus far. Frankel was unavailable with an upper-body injury sustained in the USA’s gold-medal game against Canada.
Kessel could’ve gone with usual backup Emma Söderberg, but she opted for Peslarová.
“Not an easy decision – we have three of the best goalies in the world,” Kessel said. “But Klára stepped in and played tremendous.”
The Fleet had over three weeks to sit in the mess they made. The sting of their first shutout loss all season last time they took the ice would have to linger.
Lexie Adzija helped free them from the quagmire.
Just over two minutes into the first period, she battled for the puck behind the Sceptres’ net, then peeled away from the boards and toward the right post. Jame Lee Rattray saw her fellow forward camping out and connected with her.
Puck met nylon. The horn – not heard once last time here – blared. It would many times more.
Later on in the opening frame, Kristen Campbell’s eyes darted back and forth with a sea of green and teal in front of her. The Sceptres’ goaltender lost sight of the puck and forward Hannah Brandt didn’t need to do much to capitalize on the chaos.
She tapped it in all the way from the slot and watched the puck slowly slide past the goal line untouched by Campbell.
The crowd erupted after being sentenced to silence for the duration of their last visit here.
“I thought our start was great. You leave a period up by two goals and you’re excited, but you’ve got to continue with that momentum,” Kessel said. “We weathered the storm a little bit in the second period.”
Toronto controlled the shots-on-goal battle 19-13 entering the second intermission, but often settled for quantity rather than quality. As the PWHL’s No. 1 power play unit, the Sceptres were limited to three opportunities and delivered on none of them.
That only made Peslarová’s outing easier between the pipes.
“I think the first period gained her confidence,” said Toronto forward Emma Maltais. “We were hitting a lot of easy shots on her with zero traffic and zero second effort.”
Insurance wouldn’t be necessary, but forward Theresa Schafzahl offered some anyway.
With less than 10 seconds remaining in an otherwise-quiet second period, the Fleet stormed into the zone. The puck went from forward Loren Gabel, to Rattray and then to Schafzahl for a one-timer all alone.
Boston got its production from atypical sources and in an efficient manner. Each of its three scorers carried no more than two goals on their respective season resumes coming into the afternoon. The team needed just 13 shots to build a commanding lead.
That was enough to shrug off unfavorable history with Toronto, which had won four of their five previous meetings in 2024-25.
“I don’t think it was in anyone else’s head, really. We just knew that the standings are really close right now, so it really comes down to getting points,” Schafzahl said.
Ottawa defeated Montreal in regulation earlier on Saturday, further complicating the playoff picture. Ottawa briefly jumped Boston with a two-point lead for third place, but the Fleet’s victory sling-shotted them back into that spot, now up by one point themselves.
Only two regular-season games remain for the group to solidify its positioning, and just three points separate second place from fourth place.
They’ll need more of Saturday’s offensive fire. Performances like Peslarová’s can only help.
Read the original article on MassLive.
LOWELL – Courtney Kessel was torn between two options without her starting goaltender. In the coach’s mind, there was plenty of reasons to give either of them the nod.
But she didn’t overthink an unprecedented decision to call on Klára Peslarová.
“It was a gut feeling, and we kind of went with it,” Kessel said.
Peslarová hadn’t started a game all season and appeared only once. She’s only known the bench otherwise – watching game after game play out with no impact on each outcome.
She thrived in a moment she had long awaited.
Returning from the IIHF World Championships break in a blaze, Boston (15-9-4-0) handled Toronto (14-9-3-2) by a 3-0 score Saturday afternoon at the Tsongas Center. The Fleet are back in the win column for the first time since March 18 after punctuating a three-game losing streak – tied for their longest this season – last time out.
Peslarová saw 29 shots. Not one passed her.
“I was waiting for this opportunity basically the whole season,” Peslarová said. “I’m just grateful for this opportunity, because you never know when it’s going to come again.”
The 24-day break in the PWHL regular-season schedule treated her well. While some teammates stayed behind and practiced in Boston, she started in net for the Czech Republic at IIHF worlds, getting all the way to the semifinals.
As Saturday’s game began, she crouched into the crease that Aerin Frankel calls home – having started 22 of the Fleet’s 27 contests thus far. Frankel was unavailable with an upper-body injury sustained in the USA’s gold-medal game against Canada.
Kessel could’ve gone with usual backup Emma Söderberg, but she opted for Peslarová.
“Not an easy decision – we have three of the best goalies in the world,” Kessel said. “But Klára stepped in and played tremendous.”
The Fleet had over three weeks to sit in the mess they made. The sting of their first shutout loss all season last time they took the ice would have to linger.
Lexie Adzija helped free them from the quagmire.
Just over two minutes into the first period, she battled for the puck behind the Sceptres’ net, then peeled away from the boards and toward the right post. Jame Lee Rattray saw her fellow forward camping out and connected with her.
Puck met nylon. The horn – not heard once last time here – blared. It would many times more.
Later on in the opening frame, Kristen Campbell’s eyes darted back and forth with a sea of green and teal in front of her. The Sceptres’ goaltender lost sight of the puck and forward Hannah Brandt didn’t need to do much to capitalize on the chaos.
She tapped it in all the way from the slot and watched the puck slowly slide past the goal line untouched by Campbell.
The crowd erupted after being sentenced to silence for the duration of their last visit here.
“I thought our start was great. You leave a period up by two goals and you’re excited, but you’ve got to continue with that momentum,” Kessel said. “We weathered the storm a little bit in the second period.”
Toronto controlled the shots-on-goal battle 19-13 entering the second intermission, but often settled for quantity rather than quality. As the PWHL’s No. 1 power play unit, the Sceptres were limited to three opportunities and delivered on none of them.
That only made Peslarová’s outing easier between the pipes.
“I think the first period gained her confidence,” said Toronto forward Emma Maltais. “We were hitting a lot of easy shots on her with zero traffic and zero second effort.”
Insurance wouldn’t be necessary, but forward Theresa Schafzahl offered some anyway.
With less than 10 seconds remaining in an otherwise-quiet second period, the Fleet stormed into the zone. The puck went from forward Loren Gabel, to Rattray and then to Schafzahl for a one-timer all alone.
Boston got its production from atypical sources and in an efficient manner. Each of its three scorers carried no more than two goals on their respective season resumes coming into the afternoon. The team needed just 13 shots to build a commanding lead.
That was enough to shrug off unfavorable history with Toronto, which had won four of their five previous meetings in 2024-25.
“I don’t think it was in anyone else’s head, really. We just knew that the standings are really close right now, so it really comes down to getting points,” Schafzahl said.
Ottawa defeated Montreal in regulation earlier on Saturday, further complicating the playoff picture. Ottawa briefly jumped Boston with a two-point lead for third place, but the Fleet’s victory sling-shotted them back into that spot, now up by one point themselves.
Only two regular-season games remain for the group to solidify its positioning, and just three points separate second place from fourth place.
They’ll need more of Saturday’s offensive fire. Performances like Peslarová’s can only help.
