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Boston Fleet’s Jill Saulnier got into what may have been the PWHL’s ‘first real fight’ in win vs. Ottawa
The Fleet emerged with an overtime win after Saulnier's fisticuffs with league penalty minutes leader Tereza Vanišová.
Fleet have a hand in possible PWHL history: The Boston Fleet got a 3-2 overtime win on the road in Ottawa on Thursday, and managed to snag what appears to be a notable piece of PWHL league history in the process.
During the third period of a tightly-contested matchup with the Charge, Fleet forward Jill Saulnier and Ottawa’s Tereza Vanišová got into a fight. It was, as the broadcast noted, the “first real fight” that the league has seen.
The clash built up over time after Vanišová took exception to a series of hits. Saulnier did not hesitate, responding with some punches of her own.
The first legitimate fight in the #PWHL. 🥊 @PWHL_Boston’s Jill Saulnier & @PWHL_Ottawa’s Tereza Vanišová square off. #PWHL@jill_saulnier @VanisovaTereza pic.twitter.com/L6fr5biVmv
— Melissa Burgess (@_MelissaBurgess) February 21, 2025
According to PWHL Rule No. 46, “‘Fighting’ is not part of PWHL’s game.”
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“Players who willingly participate in a ‘brawl/fight,’ so–called ‘willing combatants,’ shall be penalized accordingly by the Referee(s) and may be ejected from the game,” per Rule No. 46. “Further Supplementary Discipline may be imposed.”
In reality, both players were given roughing penalties, but were not ejected. For Vanišová, it added to her league-leading penalty minutes total. As she was also involved with the scoring (and assisting), Vanišová can claim to be the first in PWHL history to record a “Gordie Howe hat-trick” (a goal, an assist, and a fight all in the same game).
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And while Ottawa responded by scoring two goals to force overtime, Boston walked away with the win after Susanna Tapani scored the decisive goal with less than a minute remaining.
Scores and schedules:
Canada won the 4 Nations Face-Off championship 3-2 after Connor McDavid scored an overtime winner at TD Garden on Thursday night.
Elsewhere, the Celtics defeated the 76ers 124-104 thanks to Jayson Tatum’s triple-double (15 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists).
And the Boston Fleet also got a win, downing the Ottawa Charge 3-2 in overtime.
More from Boston.com:
- Connor McDavid’s OT winner lifts Canada over USA in 4 Nations title game
- Singer of Canadian anthem at 4 Nations Face-Off changes lyric to protest Trump’s 51st state remarks
- Watch: TD Garden crowd sings US national anthem before 4 Nations championship vs. Canada
- Brad Marchand twists the knife against Tkachuk brothers, Team USA after Canada’s win
- Susanna Tapani scores in overtime to give the Boston Fleet a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Charge
- Pritchard and Tatum lead Celtics to 124-104 win over 76ers
- Jayson Tatum’s triple-double leads Celtics to dominant win over Sixers: 7 takeaways
- NESN to launch ‘NESN Nation,’ free streaming channel
- Jayson Tatum is entitled to his opinion on Bird being the ‘best Celtic ever,’ but what about Bill Russell?
- One-armed basketball player makes women’s Division III history with basket in Mass.
A Celtics-Cavaliers Eastern Conference Final? The Inside the NBA panel discussed the exciting potential matchup.
On this day: In 1995, the Celtics upset the 40-12 Suns 129-121 behind Dee Brown’s 41 points.
Daily highlight: Hanson, Mass. native Ally Sentnor scored an absolute rocket in a 2-0 U.S. win over Colombia on Thursday.
This is how Ally Sentnor scored her first USWNT goal.
— B/R Football (@brfootball) February 21, 2025
WOW 🚀
Watch every SheBelieves Cup game on TBS and Max 📺 pic.twitter.com/tvRS5WCOWZ
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