Fleet vs Charge: Battle of the USA Goaltenders

The Montreal Victoire selected the Minnesota Frost, leaving the Boston Fleet to play the Ottawa Charge. 

Both Boston and Ottawa have had one prior playoff appearance where they advanced to the Finals, where they ultimately fell to Minnesota. The matchup will feature a battle of the goaltenders with Aerin Frankel on one end and Gwyneth Philips on the other. Both goalies have been strong all year both in the PWHL and with USA Hockey. Frankel does hold the edge with a record 8 shutouts this season.

So far this season in their head-to-head matchups the Charge are 3-1 against the Fleet, however 3/4 of their matchups have been decided in a shootout, and the fourth decided in overtime. In the playoffs, there are no shootouts, just unlimited overtime, which the Charge became familiar with last season with the record breaking quadruple-overtime match against the Victoire, and a triple overtime against the Frost. Boston previously held the record with their triple-overtime matchup against Montreal in the inaugural season. 

The teams are pretty evenly matched on offence with the Fleet finishing with 74 goals and the Charge ending with 71. While the Fleets leader in goals is Jessie Eldrige who was traded from the Seattle Torrent earlier this year. Eldridge has 14 goals this season, 7 of which are with the Fleet. While on the other side, hometown hero Rebecca Leslie has 14 goals this season including 4 game winners. 

Other standouts for the teams have been rookies Haley Winn and Fanuza Kadirova. Fleet defender Haley Winn recorded 19 points this season paired with 45 blocks, and is among the top candidates for Rookie of the Year. While Charge forward, Fanuza Kadirova recorded 12 points, with 10 goals this season, including what ultimately became the playoff clinching goal in their last game against the Toronto Sceptres. 

This matchup is going to be electric, so stay tuned for more on the playoffs, and be sure to follow @beckpointmedia on all platforms to get the latest news.