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Thursday’s game was the first between these teams decided in regulation after all four regular-season matchups went to overtime or a shootout.
Alina Müller beat Ottawa goaltender Gwyneth Philips late in the second period, as the Fleet went from 1-0 down to 2-1 up with a pair of goals in 91 seconds. Barry Chin/Globe Staff
May 1, 2026 | 7:58 AM
3 minutes to read
LOWELL — The Fleet have said all season the only win that really matters is the one that secures the Walter Cup. They got one game closer to that Thursday night.
After going down a goal in the first period, the Fleet scored two in quick succession late in the second to take the lead and beat Ottawa, 2-1, in Game 1 of the Walter Cup semifinals.
Ottawa’s Jocelyne Larocque scored on the power play 18:06 into the contest, but Alina Müller and Jamie Lee Rattray each scored to give Boston the lead, and Aerin Frankel kept Ottawa off the board in the third to hold off the Charge.
The series will return to the Tsongas Center at 7 p.m. Saturday for Game 2, followed by Game 3 in Ottawa on May 8.
Both sides knew to expect a physical game, but both Fleet coach Kris Sparre and Ottawa coach Carla McLeod — back on the bench after missing five games for breast cancer treatment — said there is only so much they can say to prepare the players for the playoff environment.
“The truth is, players have to go through that side of the game, the grind of playoffs,” Sparre said.
Thursday’s game was the first between these teams decided in regulation after all four regular-season matchups went to overtime or a shootout. The Charge took three of four — including the most recent meeting, a 2-1 overtime win on April 22.
As was the case throughout the regular season, the matchup was fast, physical, and heavily penalized. The announced Tsongas Center crowd of 4,285 took exception to a number of penalties and rained boos down on the officials when they took the ice between periods.
“Physicality is not something that we haven’t seen. We love it. We embrace it,” Sparre said. “It’s part of our DNA as a hockey team and I thought we set the tone early.”
Fleet left wing Jill Saulnier and Charge forward Sarah Wozniewicz made heavy contact during the second period. – Barry Chin/Globe Staff
The teams combined for six penalties in the first period, including a five-minute major and game misconduct for Boston’s Rylind MacKinnon for her check to the head of Gabbie Hughes at 15:32. Hughes returned to the ice to start the second.
With the Fleet on the extended penalty kill, Rory Guilday fired a one-timer from the blue line. Larocque got her stick on it in front of the crease to tip it past Frankel and give the Charge a 1-0 lead with 1:54 left in the first.
Officials called two more penalties before the period expired — including one on Ottawa goaltender Gwyneth Philips, who tripped Müller behind the net. The second period started with 33 seconds of four-on-three, followed by 36 seconds of five-on-three and 30 seconds of five-on-four in the Fleet’s favor, but Ottawa killed off the advantages.
The Fleet held Ottawa to just five shots in the second period and peppered Philips with 15, an effort that paid off in the waning minutes of the frame.
Müller blocked a shot in the defensive zone, and the puck landed on the stick of Jessie Eldridge, who carried it into the zone and dished it back to Müller. The Swiss forward made a move around Ottawa’s Ronja Savolainen and beat Philips high on her glove side to tie it up with 2:04 remaining in the period.
On her next shift, Eldridge added another assist — her ninth point in five games — with a pass to Rattray in the slot that the alternate captain cashed in for the lead. Rattray corralled the puck and dropped to a knee as she forced a backhand shot around Guilday to give the Fleet the lead with 33 seconds on the clock.
Rattray’s goal marked her first playoff goal and first points since April 7.
“In the playoffs, every goal means a little bit more, any play means a lot more,” Rattray said. “You want to make sure you keep even-keeled, too, because there’s still a lot of game left.”
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