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Boston Fleet cinch berth in Walter Cup Playoffs with win over Minnesota Frost
The Boston Fleet clinched a spot in the Walter Cup Playoffs with six games left on the regular-season slate.
A year after being on the outside looking in at the Walter Cup Playoffs, the Boston Fleet will be back in the postseason this spring.
Boston clinched a playoff berth on Sunday after defeating the Minnesota Frost, 4-2, at Grand Casino Arena.
The Fleet — who have won four games in a row — are the first team to clinch a spot in the 2026 Walter Cup Playoffs, and are the fastest team to earn a playoff berth in league history.
Boston — boasting a record of 13-5-2-4 (51 points) — still has six games remaining on its regular-season schedule.
It’s been an impressive turnaround for the Fleet under first-year head coach Kris Sparre, with Boston relying on elite goaltending, balanced scoring, and a dynamic D corps to earn a spot back in the playoffs.
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“Coach Sparre spoke at the start of the year in our training camp that we had something to prove. I think that’s the mentality that we come into every building with and address every game with,” Fleet assistant coach Stefanie McKeough said. “From top down in our lineup tonight, we showed that we wanted to do that here in Minnesota and it was a pretty complete game for us. We want to keep rolling; we know that the job’s not done.”
While Boston’s success this season has been rooted in the sterling play of netminder Aerin Frankel (1.17 GAA, .954 save percentage, seven shutouts), Amanda Thiele earned the nod in net on Sunday. She stopped 21 of the 23 shots that came her way in her PWHL debut.
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“I was a little nervous, but I knew my team and coaching staff had my back from the beginning,” Thiele said of her first game with Boston. “As the game went on, I felt like I settled in and it was a lot of fun. I didn’t want it to end. I was super stoked and just grateful to have the opportunity to play alongside everyone.”
Rookie defender Haley Winn opened the scoring for Boston 9:11 into the game off a nice feed from fellow rookie Abby Newhook, while forward Sophie Shirley doubled the Fleet’s lead with a tip-in tally off a point shot from Hannah Brandt at 16:45 in the first.
Minnesota stormed back in the second, knotting the game up at 2-2 off goals from Lee Stecklein and Taylor Heise.
But, Liz Schepers gave Boston the lead for good at 11:28 in the second — pouncing on a turnover and tucking the puck past Frost goalie Nicole Hensley to give the Fleet a 3-2 advantage going into the final 20 minutes.
Shirley gave the Fleet some much-needed insurance in the third with the first two-goal game of her career, wristing a puck over Hensley’s shoulder at 5:16.
The Fleet will continue play on April 7 when they take on the Vancouver Goldeneyes on the road in Edmonton.
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