PWHL Boston tops Ottawa in shootout, 2-1, at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday night

DETROIT -- Growing up, Farmington Hills, Mich., native and current PWHL Boston defenseman Megan Keller waited every four years to watch the U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey team on television. Keller never pictured that one day, she would be able to take the ice in front of thousands of fans like her childhood idols.

But Keller’s hockey dream was realized at the PWHL MotorCityTakeover on Saturday night, when Boston outlasted Ottawa in a shootout, 2-1, in front of a record-breaking crowd of 13,736 at Little Caesars Arena.

“To be able to come back and play in a professional setting at home is pretty special,” Keller said. “Hopefully, there are a lot of young girls here in the crowd tonight and now, they have a dream that’s something to look up to and look forward to once they’re our age.”

Boston got off to a hot start, jumping ahead at 3:05 in the first period. Captain Hilary Knight put a rebound off a shot from Keller past Ottawa goalie Emerance Maschmeyer (25 saves on 26 shots) for a 1-0 lead. Forward Hannah Brandt earned the secondary assist.  

Later in the first period, Ottawa answered with a power-play goal off the stick of forward Emily Clark. After colliding with Keller, Clark gained control of the puck and finished a shot just under the crossbar at 15:20 of the frame to tie the game at 1-1.

The PWHL Original Six clubs battled through a scoreless second and third period before exchanging several close shots in overtime. Neither team lit the lamp in the extra frame, leading to a shootout. Knight scored the game-winner in the third round of the shootout.

Boston goalie Aerin Frankel, who also finished with 25 saves, turned away two penalty shots.

“I think we needed to match their [Ottawa’s] energy,” Boston head coach Courtney Kessel said. “They were playing a pretty physical game and at the end of the third we kind of allowed them to play physical. Heading into overtime, it was making sure we matched their energy, trying to get good changes and catch them tired. You saw some back-and-forth changes in the 3-on-3, so I think we were lucky to get away and go into the shootout and then it was just great to put that away.”

Saturday’s historical turnout at Little Caesars Arena raises the question of PWHL expansion and, according to Clark, should put Detroit on the league’s radar.

“I think that there’s such an appetite for what we do all across North America,” Clark said.  “Obviously, Detroit’s known to be a men’s hockey town. I don’t see why it can’t be just a hockey town and have both.

“I think you can say the same for a lot of cities in North America. It’s exciting that we get to do these games and it will be different tomorrow in Pittsburgh and Montreal again gets the NHL venue with Bell Centre. I think it’s just great to show there’s a demand for what we do and it’s fun for us to be a part of.”

Frankel said she believes the fan reception from Saturday’s game signals the potential of the PWHL.

“We knew that if we built it the fans would come and that’s exactly what we have proven this year,” Frankel said. “We’re in these NHL venues, and even Tsongas Center back at home, and we’re getting thousands and thousands of people every night. I think it lives up to all our expectations and exceeds them, so it’s just a great thing to be a part of.”