BOSTON, MA – Aerin Frankel made 21 saves to earn her second shutout of the season and led the Boston Fleet to a 2-0 home victory over the Vancouver Goldeneyes at Agganis Arena on Wednesday night. 
The Fleet remain the only undefeated team in the PWHL and became just the second team in league history to open a season with three regulation wins. Boston rookie Abby Newhook opened the scoring just 5:02 into the game as the Fleet dominated the first period, outshooting Vancouver 19-2.
After a scoreless middle frame, forward Jill Saulnier gave the Fleet an insurance goal at 6:40 of the third period, her first tally of the season.
Frankel held strong in the third period as the Goldeneyes pushed back, outshooting the Fleet 13-5 in the frame. Vancouver goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer made 29 saves in the loss as the Goldeneyes dropped their third straight road game in regulation.
QUOTES
Boston Head Coach Kris Sparre on his team’s strong start and strategy throughout the game: “Our thought tonight was we wanted to jump on Vancouver early. We didn’t start on time in Toronto, it took us a while to get into that game. The message tonight was to get after it early and I thought we did a really good job. When you get that many chances, as we did in that [first] period and they don’t go in the net as many times as you want them to, it’s natural for players to start looking for more, start thinking offense and forgetting the details of the game. I thought that’s where it bit us in the second period, but credit to our group. We fixed it right away and came out in the third with a real strong period.”
Fleet goaltender Aerin Frankel on the team remaining undefeated: “I’m just really excited for our team’s success. Being 3-0 is incredible and obviously it’s a really long season, but if you like how you’re playing at the beginning of the year, it’s a pretty good indication of what this group is capable of. Anytime we can get a win, especially at home, is really exciting. We had such great support from our fans and we’ll be back here on the weekend. We’re all looking forward to keeping things rolling.”
Vancouver Head Coach Brian Idalski on his team’s performance in Boston: “Tough first period. I thought [Emerance Maschmeyer] was terrific for us, gave us a chance, kept us in there. I thought we got our feet going and played a little better there in the second and third, but we’ve got to play a full 60 for sure.”
Goldeneyes captain Ashton Bell on takeaways from the game: “Defensively, we grew a lot today from our first two games on this road trip, and seeing how we rallied in the d-zone today, I think structurally we were a lot better. We had a great second there and had some momentum going into the third. We’ve just got to find ways to bury it. Frankel’s an outstanding goalie, and all the goalies in the league are, so just finding a way to get into the crease and take their eyes away and be harder to play against.”
NOTABLES
Boston tied a PWHL record with three regulation wins in their first three games of the season, matching Minnesota’s three straight to open the inaugural PWHL season.
Aerin Frankel has allowed just one goal through three games this season, stopping 70 of 71 shots. She has already recorded two shutouts this season, matching her total career regular-season shutouts entering 2025‑26.
Frankel recorded her second shutout in the fewest number of games to start a PWHL season. The previous record was held by Minnesota’s Maddie Rooney who needed just six starts to reach two shutouts during the inaugural season.
Emerance Maschmeyer made 18 saves in the first period, tying the most in a single period by any goaltender this season. Minnesota’s Nicole Hensley also recorded 18 saves in a period, doing so in the third against the Seattle Torrent on Nov. 28.
Abby Newhook scored for the second straight game, becoming the first PWHL rookie this season to reach two goals. She is tied with Susanna Tapani for the team lead in goals and remains the only Fleet rookie to record a point through the team’s first three games. Her five shots on goal set a career high.
Hadley Hartmetz notched her first career PWHL point with the primary assist on Newhook’s goal. The helper came in her third game of the season and fifth career game — the defender appeared in two contests for the Fleet in 2024-25 after missing the team’s first 23 games on LTIR.
Theresa Schafzahl recorded her first point of the season — the secondary helper on Newhook’s tally — the second straight season she’s notched her first point in the team’s third game. The third-year Boston forward finished the 2024-25 season with five points (3G, 2A) in 30 games.
With her goal tonight, Jill Saulnier has recorded points in back-to-back games (1G, 1A) for the first time in her PWHL career. Her five shots on goal also set a new career high.
Boston opened the game with the first 17 shots on goal and finished the first period with 19 total — the most by any team in a single period this season. Their 12th shot came at 9:38 of the opening frame, matching their full-game total of 12 shots from their previous outing against Toronto.
Fleet centers controlled the faceoff circle by the largest margin in any game this season, winning 35 of 49 draws (71.4%). Alina Müller was nearly perfect at the dot, winning 10 of 11 (90.9%), Hannah Brandt won 10 of 15 (66.7%), Susanna Tapani won 7 of 12 (58.3%), and Liz Schepers won 6 of 8 (75.0%).
Vancouver didn’t register their first shot until 14:54 of the first period and finished the frame with just two shots on goal, matching the lowest single-period total by any team this season (BOS in first period vs. TOR on Nov. 29).
Vancouver allowed the first goal against for the fourth straight game to open the season and have yet to hold a lead in any contest.
Goldeneyes rookie Madison Samoskevich set a new career high with four hits, the most of any player in the game. She entered the contest with two hits in the team’s first three games.
Fleet rookie Ella Huber, who entered the game without a shot on goal this season, registered five shots in the contest, tying Saulnier and Newhook for the most in the game.
Sarah Nurse was scratched from Vancouver’s lineup for the third straight game and is listed day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
THREE STARS
1. Jill Saulnier (BOS) 1G
2. Aerin Frankel (BOS) 21/21 SV
3. Abby Newhook (BOS) 1G
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