Minnesota Frost spoil Fleet’s home opener on same ice it clinched PWHL’s inaugural Walter Cup

LOWELL — It was only six months ago that Boston skated off its home ice as Minnesota celebrated the PWHL’s inaugural Walter Cup championship after dominating a decisive Game 5.

For the players who were on the ice for that game, the memory is fresh. Of the 19 skaters on the ice Wednesday for Boston’s home opener, 15 played in that game, but once again, they departed the Tsongas Center hungry for more.

Hilary Knight’s goal and Aerin Frankel’s 26 saves weren’t enough, as the Fleet fell to 0-2 on the season with a 2-1 loss to Minnesota.

“It doesn’t matter if we’re not winning games,” Knight said.

Frankel, fresh off a 38-save performance in the Fleet’s season-opening loss to Toronto, made nine saves in the first period and 10 in the second.

The Fleet, which scored the fewest goals in the league last season, made it a point of emphasis in the offseason to add scoring weapons in hopes of taking some of the load off Frankel. Through two games, both losses, Frankel’s .941 save percentage leads the league.

The Frost, scored first when Taylor Heise carried the puck behind the net then popped a behind-the-back pass to Michela Cava, who beat Frankel on her glove side. It was a result of a relentless forecheck from the Frost, who spent the majority of the first two periods in the offensive zone and peppered Frankel with shots.

The Fleet equalized four minutes into the third. Emily Brown sent a wrister toward the net from the top of the circle, and captain Hilary Knight tipped the puck in behind Frost goaltender Maddie Rooney to make it 1-1.

The Frost’s Melissa Channel-Watkins fired a near identical shot four minutes later, and Dominique Petrie tipped the puck in through traffic to beat Frankel, giving the visitors a 2-1 lead.

The Fleet felt the effects of the league’s new “no escape” rule early, when Daniela Pejsova went to the box for tripping just over one minute into the first period. It was the first of three penalties called against the Fleet in the first frame.

With the Fleet stuck with three forwards on the ice, Minnesota controlled the first shift of the power play as the Fleet had to wait for a line change to bring on their penalty kill unit. Frankel bailed them out on the long first shift with four saves, including three in rapid succession as a scrum formed in her crease during the first minute of the penalty kill.

Ten minutes later, Jessica DiGirolamo went to the box for interference, again leaving Boston with three forwards for the first shift of the power play, but the Fleet got a quick clearance to bring out their penalty kill unit.

“It’s great to see people adding different skills to their toolbox,” said Fleet coach Courtney Kessel. “It was good for us to kill those penalties even though we didn’t have some of our top PKs out there.”

Boston stayed perfect on the penalty kill when, in the waning seconds of the first period, Emily Brown went to the box for delay of game, and the Fleet played the first two minutes of the second period a player down.

The Fleet had their first power play late in the second period when Alina Muller, who led the team in scoring last season, took a hit to the head and neck area late in the second period and headed straight to the locker room.

Minnesota’s Maggie Flaherty was initially given a five-minute major penalty and game misconduct for the hit, but after a review, officials downgraded it to a two-minute minor penalty, which Minnesota killed.

“You never want to see anyone get hit like that, and you don’t want to see anyone get hurt,” Kessel said. “Hopefully it’ll be reevaluated, and really, our hands are kind of tied at that point.”

The Fleet will return to the Tsongas Center Sunday to face the New York Sirens at 4 p.m.