PWHL

PWHL Boston gears up for a re-match against Minnesota

"I think we’ve been able to grow as a team over these past five or six games, so we’re definitely looking forward to playing them.”

Amanda Pelkey of PWHL Boston, right, celebrates her overtime goal in a 3-2 win against PWHL Montreal on Jan. 13 at Verdun Auditorium in Verdun, Que. (Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

By Faith Pinnow

January 26, 2024

2 minutes to read

Jamie Lee Rattray cheers, hoisting her stick above her head as she skates towards the far side of the Boston Sports Institute rink in Wellesley. Hollering and high-fiving her teammates, the forward from Ontario gets set for the first drill of her Professional Women’s Hockey League team’s practice.

Rattray, who scored her first PWHL goal in Wednesday night’s 3-2 win against Ottawa, is setting the tone on the ice. Her energy is infectious, just one example of the camaraderie shared amongst the Boston team.

What a pass, what a finish, what a moment for Ratty! pic.twitter.com/3EfuAgZf8b
— PWHL Boston (@PWHL_Boston) January 25, 2024

Friday’s practice is the team’s first one back after a successful week on the road. They’re now ranked No. 3 in the league, sitting just behind Montreal and Minnesota with 8 points.

Boston is gearing up for a tough game Saturday against No. 2 Minnesota, who they lost to during their season opener on Jan. 3.

Now, however, they know what to expect.

“I think definitely a lot has changed, I think we’ve been able to grow as a team over these past five or six games, so we’re definitely looking forward to playing them,” defender Megan Keller said.

Keller, among Boston’s first signings during the league’s initial free-agency period, scored one of the two goals against Minnesota earlier in the month.

“They’re ahead of us in the league, so it’s a big three points for us to grab,” she said.

Boston’s biggest hurdle so far this season has been playing through games with consistent intensity. They tend to come out strong initially but fade away by the third period or — like in their game against New York — are slow at the beginning of periods and unable to make up deficits later in the game.

“I think for us, a huge emphasis has been playing a full 60,” Keller said. “We’ve had some great first periods, we’ve had some great third. So just stringing that all together and staying at it for a full 60 is going to be huge for us going into the rest of the season and into Minnesota.”

Like Rattray, Keller’s energy on the ice is impossible to overlook. But it’s not just her physicality and speed that commands attention on the ice. Her leadership and focus in practice exemplify the ferocity that this Boston team needs in order to beat Minnesota.

Boston is 4-0-1 and winless at home so far this season. With only 24 games slated for the inaugural PWHL season, each match matters. And so does each practice.

“The energy we had out here today was awesome. You can feel it — that the momentum is kinda shifting around. If we can attack each practice, each lift, whatever we do together, with the same attitude, I think that’s just going to translate to the games,” Keller said.

Boston faces off against Minnesota on Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell.