# 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

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Toronto (Y) | 24 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 69 | 50 | +19 | 47 |
| 2 | Montreal (X) | 24 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 60 | 57 | +3 | 41 |
| 3 | Boston (X) | 24 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 50 | 57 | −7 | 35 |
| 4 | Minnesota (X) | 24 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 54 | 54 | 0 | 35 |
| 5 | Ottawa (E) | 24 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 62 | 63 | −1 | 32 |
| 6 | New York (E) | 24 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 53 | 67 | −14 | 26 |
* 1 2 Greater number of games won, excluding games won by Shootout: Boston 11 wins, Minnesota 10 wins

## 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.
Regular season schedule (Home: 3–3–2–4; Road: 5–1–1–5) :
January: 2–2–0–2, 10 points (Home: 0–1–0–2; Road: 2–1–0–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
1January 3PWHL Minnesota2–3FrankelTsongas Center4,0120–0–0–10
–January 8PWHL OttawaPostponed due to inclement weather. Moved to February 19.
2January 13@ PWHL Montreal3–2OTFrankelVerdun Auditorium3,2450–1–0–12
3January 17@ PWHL Toronto3–2SöderbergMattamy Athletic Centre2,4911–1–0–15
4January 20PWHL New York1–4SöderbergTsongas Center4,0071–1–0–25
5January 24@ PWHL Ottawa3–2FrankelTD Place Arena5,2082–1–0–28
6January 27PWHL Minnesota4–3OTSöderbergTsongas Center4,0592–2–0–210 :
February: 2–0–2–2, 7 points (Home: 1–0–2–2; Road: 1–0–0–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
7February 4PWHL Montreal1–2OTFrankelTsongas Center4,2102–2–1–211
8February 14PWHL Toronto3–5SöderbergTsongas Center1,7912–2–1–311
9February 17PWHL New York1–2OTFrankelTsongas Center4,0022–2–2–312
10February 19PWHL Ottawa2–4FrankelTsongas Center2,8492–2–2–412
11February 21PWHL Ottawa3–1FrankelTsongas Center1,8893–2–2–415
12February 25@ PWHL Minnesota2–0FrankelXcel Energy Center10,1864–2–2–418 :
March: 0–2–0–5, 4 points (Home: 0–2–0–0; Road: 0–0–0–5)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
13March 2@ PWHL Montreal1–3FrankelVerdun Auditorium3,2324–2–2–518
14March 6@ PWHL Toronto1–3FrankelMattamy Athletic Centre2,4794–2–2–618
15March 10PWHL New York3–2OTSöderbergTsongas Center4,6074–3–2–620
16March 13@ PWHL Minnesota0–4FrankelXcel Energy Center4,6694–3–2–720
17March 16PWHL Ottawa2–1SOFrankelLittle Caesars Arena13,7364–4–2–722
18March 20@ PWHL Toronto1–2SöderbergMattamy Athletic Centre2,5254–4–2–822
19March 25@ PWHL New York2–3FrankelUBS Arena2,8344–4–2–922 :
April: 3–0–1–0, 10 points (Home: 1–0–0–0; Road: 2–0–1–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
20April 18PWHL Toronto2–1FrankelTsongas Center4,0845–4–2–925
21April 20@ PWHL New York2–1FrankelPrudential Center5,1326–4–2–928
22April 24@ PWHL Ottawa2–3SOFrankelTD Place Arena7,6866–4–3–929
23April 27@ PWHL Minnesota2–1SöderbergXcel Energy Center9,9777–4–3–932 :
May: 1–0–0–0, 3 points (Home: 1–0–0–0; Road: 0–0–0–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
24May 4PWHL Montreal4–3FrankelTsongas Center5,9648–4–3–935 :
Regulation Win (3 points)
  Overtime/Shootout win (2 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)
  Regulation Loss (0 points) :

### 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.
2024 PWHL Playoffs :
First round vs. PWHL Montreal: Boston won 3–0
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceSeriesRecap
1May 9@ Montreal2–1OTFrankelPlace Bell9,1351–0
2May 11@ Montreal2–13OTFrankelPlace Bell10,1722–0
3May 14Montreal3–2OTFrankelTsongas Center2,7813–0 :
Walter Cup Finals vs. PWHL Minnesota: Minnesota won 3–2
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceSeriesRecap
1May 19Minnesota4–3FrankelTsongas Center4,5081–0
2May 21Minnesota0–3FrankelTsongas Center4,5431–1
3May 24@ Minnesota1–4FrankelXcel Energy Center9,0541–2
4May 26@ Minnesota1–02OTFrankelXcel Energy Center13,1042–2
5May 29Minnesota0–3FrankelTsongas Center6,3092–3 :

## Player statistics

    As of May 29, 2024

### Skaters

Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | SOG | +/− | PIM |
| Alina Müller | 24 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 56 | +7 | 6 |
| Megan Keller | 24 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 53 | +9 | 12 |
| Hilary Knight | 24 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 84 | +8 | 6 |
| Jamie Lee Rattray | 24 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 65 | 0 | 8 |
| Hannah Brandt | 24 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 39 | –4 | 4 |
| Susanna Tapani | 17 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 38 | +8 | 6 |
| Loren Gabel | 17 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 46 | –1 | 2 |
| Taylor Girard | 23 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 30 | –7 | 4 |
| Theresa Schafzahl | 20 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 23 | +5 | 0 |
| Sophie Shirley | 20 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 25 | –4 | 6 |
| Emily Brown | 24 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 20 | +3 | 12 |
| Gigi Marvin | 24 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 21 | –3 | 6 |
| Sidney Morin | 24 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 69 | –2 | 2 |
| Kaleigh Fratkin | 24 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 11 | +5 | 26 |
| Lexie Adzija | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | +2 | 2 |
| Nicole Kosta | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | +1 | 2 |
| Jess Healey | 22 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 14 | +3 | 8 |
| Jessica Digirolamo | 24 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 25 | –7 | 8 |
| Amanda Pelkey | 23 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 20 | –5 | 8 |
| Abby Cook | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| Kelly Babstock | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Taylor Wenczkowski | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | +1 | 2 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | SOG | +/− | PIM |
| Susanna Tapani | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 0 | 2 |
| Megan Keller | 8 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 12 | +2 | 10 |
| Alina Müller | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 19 | +1 | 0 |
| Amanda Pelkey | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Gigi Marvin | 8 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Theresa Schafzahl | 8 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | +2 | 0 |
| Taylor Wenczkowski | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | +1 | 2 |
| Hannah Brandt | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | –1 | 4 |
| Sophie Shirley | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| Emily Brown | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | –2 | 0 |
| Sidney Morin | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 20 | +5 | 0 |
| Lexie Adzija | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 | –2 | 7 |
| Jess Healey | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Jamie Lee Rattray | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 4 |
| Abby Cook | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nicole Kosta | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Loren Gabel | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | –2 | 0 |
| Kelly Babstock | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | –1 | 4 |
| Jessica Digirolamo | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | –2 | 2 |
| Kaleigh Fratkin | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | –3 | 8 |
| Hilary Knight | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | –6 | 2 |

### Goaltenders
## Awards and honors
### Milestones

Regular season :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| Theresa Schafzahl | 1st career PWHL goal | January 3, 2024 |
| Theresa Schafzahl | 1st career PWHL game | January 3, 2024 |
| Megan Keller | 1st career PWHL goal | January 3, 2024 |
| Megan Keller | 1st career PWHL game | January 3, 2024 |
| Jamie Lee Rattray | 1st career PWHL assist | January 3, 2024 |
| Jamie Lee Rattray | 1st career PWHL game | January 3, 2024 |
| Sophie Shirley | 1st career PWHL assist | January 3, 2024 |
| Sophie Shirley | 1st career PWHL game | January 3, 2024 |
| Alina Müller | 1st career PWHL assist | January 3, 2024 |
| Alina Müller | 1st career PWHL game | January 3, 2024 |
| Sidney Morin | 1st career PWHL assist | January 3, 2024 |
| Sidney Morin | 1st career PWHL game | January 3, 2024 |
| Emily Brown | 1st career PWHL game | January 3, 2024 |
| Taylor Wenczkowski | 1st career PWHL game | January 3, 2024 |
| Kaleigh Fratkin | 1st career PWHL game | January 3, 2024 |
| Amanda Pelkey | 1st career PWHL game | January 3, 2024 |
| Taylor Girard | 1st career PWHL game | January 3, 2024 |
| Sophie Jaques | 1st career PWHL game | January 3, 2024 |
| Gigi Marvin | 1st career PWHL game | January 3, 2024 |
| Hannah Brandt | 1st career PWHL game | January 3, 2024 |
| Hilary Knight | 1st career PWHL game | January 3, 2024 |
| Jessica DiGirolamo | 1st career PWHL game | January 3, 2024 |
| Shiann Darkangelo | 1st career PWHL game | January 3, 2024 |
| Loren Gabel | 1st career PWHL game | January 3, 2024 |
| Jess Healey | 1st career PWHL game | January 3, 2024 |
| Aerin Frankel | 1st career PWHL game | January 3, 2024 |
| Aerin Frankel | 1st career PWHL loss | January 3, 2024 |
| Taylor Girard | 1st career PWHL goal | January 13, 2024 |
| Hannah Brandt | 1st career PWHL goal | January 13, 2024 |
| Amanda Pelkey | 1st career PWHL goal | January 13, 2024 |
| Amanda Pelkey | 1st career PWHL overtime goal | January 13, 2024 |
| Gigi Marvin | 1st career PWHL assist | January 13, 2024 |
| Theresa Schafzahl | 1st career PWHL assist | January 13, 2024 |
| Aerin Frankel | 1st career PWHL win | January 13, 2024 |
| Aerin Frankel | 1st career PWHL overtime win | January 13, 2024 |
| Loren Gabel | 1st career PWHL goal | January 17, 2024 |
| Loren Gabel | 1st career PWHL assist | January 17, 2024 |
| Emily Brown | 1st career PWHL assist | January 17, 2024 |
| Emma Söderberg | 1st career PWHL game | January 17, 2024 |
| Emma Söderberg | 1st career PWHL win | January 17, 2024 |
| Alina Müller | 5th career PWHL assist | January 20, 2024 |
| Emma Söderberg | 1st career PWHL loss | January 20, 2024 |
| Alina Müller | 1st career PWHL goal | January 24, 2024 |
| Jamie Lee Rattray | 1st career PWHL goal | January 24, 2024 |
| Megan Keller | 1st career PWHL assist | January 24, 2024 |
| Kaleigh Fratkin | 1st career PWHL goal | January 27, 2024 |
| Hilary Knight | 1st career PWHL goal | January 27, 2024 |
| Jessica Digirolamo | 1st career PWHL assist | January 27, 2024 |
| Shiann Darkangelo | 1st career PWHL assist | January 27, 2024 |
| Nicole Kosta | 1st career PWHL assist | January 27, 2024 |
| Hilary Knight | 1st career PWHL assist | January 27, 2024 |
| Sophie Shirley | 1st career PWHL goal | February 4, 2024 |
| Hanna Brandt | 1st career PWHL assist | February 4, 2024 |
| Taylor Girard | 1st career PWHL assist | February 14, 2024 |
| Madison Packer | 1st career PWHL assist | February 17, 2024 |
| Megan Keller | 5th career PWHL assist | February 19, 2024 |
| Jess Healey | 1st career PWHL assist | February 21, 2024 |
| Kaleigh Fratkin | 1st career PWHL assist | February 21, 2024 |
| Gigi Marvin | 1st career PWHL goal | February 25, 2024 |
| Jamie Lee Rattray | 5th career PWHL assist | February 25, 2024 |
| Jess Healey | 1st career PWHL goal | March 6, 2024 |
| Amanda Pelkey | 1st career PWHL assist | March 6, 2024 |
| Alina Müller | 10th career PWHL assist | March 10, 2024 |
| Susanna Tapani | 5th career PWHL assist | March 10, 2024 |
| Sidney Morin | 1st career PWHL goal | March 20, 2024 |
| Emily Brown | 1st career PWHL goal | April 18, 2024 |
| Nicole Kosta | 1st career PWHL goal | April 20, 2024 |
| Lexie Adzija | 5th career PWHL assist | April 20, 2024 |
| Megan Keller | 10th career PWHL assist | April 20, 2024 |
| Kelly Babstock | 1st career PWHL game | April 20, 2024 |
| Hilary Knight | 5th career PWHL goal | April 24, 2024 |
| Hannah Brandt | 5th career PWHL goal | April 27, 2024 |
| Alina Müller | 5th career PWHL goal | May 4, 2024 |
| Hilary Knight | 5th career PWHL assist | May 4, 2024 |
| Hannah Brandt | 5th career PWHL assist | May 4, 2024 |
| Kelly Babstock | 1st career PWHL assist | May 4, 2024 |

## Transactions

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

### Signings

| Date | Player | Position | Term | Previous Team |
| September 7, 2023 | Aerin Frankel | G | 3 years | Team Adidas |
| September 7, 2023 | Megan Keller | D | 3 years | Team Scotiabank |
| September 7, 2023 | Hilary Knight | F | 3 years | Team Sonnet |
| October 27, 2023 | Sophie Jaques | D | 3 years | Ohio State |
| October 30, 2023 | Alina Müller | F | 3 years | Northeastern |
| October 31, 2023 | Emma Söderberg | G | 2 years | Minnesota Duluth |
| October 31, 2023 | Jamie Lee Rattray | F | 3 years | Team Harvey's |
| November 1, 2023 | Theresa Schafzahl | F | 2 years | Vermont |
| November 2, 2023 | Sophie Shirley | F | 1 year | Wisconsin |
| November 2, 2023 | Emma Buckles | D | 1 year | Team Sonnet |
| November 3, 2023 | Hannah Brandt | F | 1 year | Team Sonnet |
| November 3, 2023 | Jess Healey | D | 1 year | Buffalo Beauts |
| November 6, 2023 | Emily Brown | D | 1 year | Team Sonnet |
| November 7, 2023 | Kaleigh Fratkin | D | 1 year | Boston Pride |
| November 8, 2023 | Taylor Girard | F | 2 years | Connecticut Whale |
| November 8, 2023 | Jessica DiGirolamo | D | 2 years | Team Adidas |
| November 9, 2023 | Shiann Darkangelo | F | 1 year | Toronto Six |
| November 9, 2023 | Loren Gabel | F | 2 years | Boston Pride |
| November 10, 2023 | Nicole Kosta | F | 1 year | Team Scotiabank |
| December 11, 2023 | Cami Kronish | G | 1 year | Wisconsin |
| December 19, 2023 | Taylor Wenczkowski | F | 1 year | Boston Pride |
| December 19, 2023 | Sidney Morin | D | 1 year | Minnesota Whitecaps |
| December 20, 2023 | Gigi Marvin | F | 1 year | Team Adidas |
| December 20, 2023 | Amanda Pelkey | F | 1 year | Metropolitan Riveters |

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details | Ref |
| February 11, 2024 (2024-02-11) | To MinnesotaSophie Jaques | To BostonSusanna Tapani Abby Cook | |

## Draft picks

Below are the PWHL Boston's selections at the 2023 PWHL draft held on September 18, 2023.
| Rd | Pick | Player | Nationality | Position | Previous team |
| 1 | 3 | Alina Muller | Switzerland | Forward | Northeastern Huskies (Hockey East) |
| 2 | 10 | Sophie Jaques | Canada | Defence | Ohio State Buckeyes (WCHA) |
| 3 | 15 | Jamie Lee Rattray | Canada | Forward | Team Harvey's (PWHPA) |
| 4 | 22 | Loren Gabel | Canada | Forward | Boston Pride (PHF) |
| 5 | 27 | Hannah Brandt | United States | Forward | Team Sonnet (PWHPA) |
| 6 | 34 | Jessica DiGirolamo | Canada | Defence | Team Adidas (PWHPA) |
| 7 | 39 | Theresa Schafzahl | Austria | Forward | Vermont Catamounts (Hockey East) |
| 8 | 46 | Emily Brown | United States | Defence | Team Sonnet (PWHPA) |
| 9 | 51 | Taylor Girard | United States | Forward | Connecticut Whale (PHF) |
| 10 | 58 | Emma Söderberg | Sweden | Goaltender | Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs (WCHA) |
| 11 | 63 | Sophie Shirley | Canada | Forward | Wisconsin Badgers (WCHA) |
| 12 | 70 | Shiann Darkangelo | United States | Forward | Toronto Six (PHF) |
| 13 | 75 | Emma Buckles | Canada | Defence | Team Sonnet (PWHPA) |
| 14 | 82 | Tatum Skaggs | United States | Forward | Team Scotiabank (PWHPA) |
| 15 | 87 | Jess Healey | Canada | Defence | Buffalo Beauts (PHF) |