2023–24 PWHL Boston season

The 2023–24 PWHL Boston season was the team's inaugural season as a member of the newly created Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). They played their home games at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, Massachusetts.

PWHL Boston finished third overall in the league standings and drew a match-up against PWHL Montreal in the playoff semifinals. Boston defeated Montreal in three straight games—with all three games decided in overtime—to advance to the finals, where they faced PWHL Minnesota for the Walter Cup championship. Minnesota won the series in five games, leaving Boston as the runners up.

Offseason

On September 1, 2023, Boston hired Danielle Marmer as its general manager. The team hired Courtney Kessel as its first head coach on September 15. In November, it was announced that the team would play its home games at the Tsongas Center in Lowell.

On September 7, Boston announced the signings of its first three players, American national team members Hilary Knight, Aerin Frankel, and Megan Keller. Knight was named team captain, with Keller and Jamie Lee Rattray named assistant captains.

Standings

Schedule and results

Regular season

Boston hosted its inaugural game on January 3, 2024, against PWHL Minnesota. Theresa Schafzahl scored the team's first goal in the second period; however, Minnesota went on to win the game by a score of 3–2. Boston secured its first win in its second game, defeating PWHL Montreal in overtime by a score of 3–2 on a goal by Amanda Pelkey. Boston sat outside of the playoff picture for much of the season; however, the team won four of its final five games, clinching a playoff spot in its final regular season game, a 4–3 win over Montreal.

Regular season schedule

The regular season schedule was published on November 30, 2023.

|- | 1 || January 3 || PWHL Minnesota || 2–3 || || Frankel || Tsongas Center || 4,012 || 0–0–0–1 || 0 || |- style="background:#ccc;" | – || January 8 || PWHL Ottawa || colspan="8"|Postponed due to inclement weather. Moved to February 19. |- | 2 || January 13 || @ PWHL Montreal || 3–2 || OT || Frankel || Verdun Auditorium || 3,245 || 0–1–0–1 || 2 || |- | 3 || January 17 || @ PWHL Toronto || 3–2 || || Söderberg || Mattamy Athletic Centre || 2,491 || 1–1–0–1 || 5 || |- | 4 || January 20 || PWHL New York || 1–4 || || Söderberg || Tsongas Center || 4,007 || 1–1–0–2 || 5 || |- | 5 || January 24 || @ PWHL Ottawa || 3–2 || || Frankel || TD Place Arena || 5,208 || 2–1–0–2 || 8 || |- | 6 || January 27 || PWHL Minnesota || 4–3 || OT || Söderberg || Tsongas Center || 4,059 || 2–2–0–2 || 10 || |-

|- | 7 || February 4 || PWHL Montreal || 1–2 || OT || Frankel || Tsongas Center || 4,210 || 2–2–1–2 || 11 || |- | 8 || February 14 || PWHL Toronto || 3–5 || || Söderberg || Tsongas Center || 1,791 || 2–2–1–3 || 11 || |- | 9 || February 17 || PWHL New York || 1–2 || OT || Frankel || Tsongas Center || 4,002 || 2–2–2–3 || 12 || |- | 10 || February 19 || PWHL Ottawa || 2–4 || || Frankel || Tsongas Center || 2,849 || 2–2–2–4 || 12 || |- | 11 || February 21 || PWHL Ottawa || 3–1 || || Frankel || Tsongas Center || 1,889 || 3–2–2–4 || 15 || |- | 12 || February 25 || @ PWHL Minnesota || 2–0 || || Frankel || Xcel Energy Center || 10,186 || 4–2–2–4 || 18 || |-

|- | 13 || March 2 || @ PWHL Montreal || 1–3 || || Frankel || Verdun Auditorium || 3,232 || 4–2–2–5 || 18 || |- | 14 || March 6 || @ PWHL Toronto || 1–3 || || Frankel || Mattamy Athletic Centre || 2,479 || 4–2–2–6 || 18 || |- | 15 || March 10 || PWHL New York || 3–2 || OT || Söderberg || Tsongas Center || 4,607 || 4–3–2–6 || 20 || |- | 16 || March 13 || @ PWHL Minnesota || 0–4 || || Frankel || Xcel Energy Center || 4,669 || 4–3–2–7 || 20 || |- | 17 || March 16 || PWHL Ottawa || 2–1 || SO || Frankel || Little Caesars Arena || 13,736 || 4–4–2–7 || 22 || |- | 18 || March 20 || @ PWHL Toronto || 1–2 || || Söderberg || Mattamy Athletic Centre || 2,525 || 4–4–2–8 || 22 || |- | 19 || March 25 || @ PWHL New York || 2–3 || || Frankel || UBS Arena || 2,834 || 4–4–2–9 || 22 || |-

|- | 20 || April 18 || PWHL Toronto || 2–1 || || Frankel || Tsongas Center || 4,084 || 5–4–2–9 || 25 || |- | 21 || April 20 || @ PWHL New York || 2–1 || || Frankel || Prudential Center || 5,132 || 6–4–2–9 || 28 || |- | 22 || April 24 || @ PWHL Ottawa || 2–3 || SO || Frankel || TD Place Arena || 7,686 || 6–4–3–9 || 29 || |- | 23 || April 27 || @ PWHL Minnesota || 2–1 || || Söderberg || Xcel Energy Center || 9,977 || 7–4–3–9 || 32 || |-

|- | 24 || May 4 || PWHL Montreal || 4–3 || || Frankel || Tsongas Center || 5,964 || 8–4–3–9 || 35 ||

|- style="text-align:center;" |

Playoffs

On May 6, 2024, PWHL Toronto announced that it had elected to play PWHL Minnesota in the first round of the playoffs, leaving PWHL Montreal and PWHL Boston matched up for the second semifinal.

Boston went on to win their semifinal series with three straight wins over Montreal, with all three victories coming in overtime, including a triple-overtime win in Game 2. This sent Boston to the final, where they faced Minnesota. Boston won the first game, on home ice, to take an early series lead. However, they lost the next two, before forcing a fifth and deciding game with a double-overtime win in the fourth game. Boston lost the deciding game by a score of 3–0 as Minnesota captured the inaugural Walter Cup championship.

|- | 1 || May 9 || @ Montreal || 2–1 || OT || Frankel || Place Bell || 9,135 || 1–0 || |- | 2 || May 11 || @ Montreal || 2–1 || 3OT || Frankel || Place Bell || 10,172 || 2–0 || |- | 3 || May 14 || Montreal || 3–2 || OT || Frankel || Tsongas Center || 2,781 || 3–0 ||

|- | 1 || May 19 || Minnesota || 4–3 || || Frankel || Tsongas Center || 4,508 || 1–0 || |- | 2 || May 21 || Minnesota || 0–3 || || Frankel || Tsongas Center || 4,543 || 1–1 || |- | 3 || May 24 || @ Minnesota || 1–4 || || Frankel || Xcel Energy Center || 9,054 || 1–2 || |- | 4 || May 26 || @ Minnesota || 1–0 || 2OT || Frankel || Xcel Energy Center || 13,104 || 2–2 || |- | 5 || May 29 || Minnesota || 0–3 || || Frankel || Tsongas Center || 6,309 || 2–3 ||

Player statistics

Skaters

Goaltenders

Awards and honors

Milestones

Transactions

Boston has been involved in the following transactions during the 2023–24 PWHL season.

Signings

Trades

Draft picks

Below are the PWHL Boston's selections at the 2023 PWHL draft held on September 18, 2023.

References

Recaps

External links