Twelve months have made all the difference for the Boston Fleet.
In January, the Fleet, then known simply as “PWHL Boston,” made its regular season debut at the Tsongas Center in Lowell for the Professional Women’s Hockey’s League’s inaugural season.
On Wednesday, the Boston Fleet made their home opener with their proper title in a 2-1 loss to the Minnesota Frost in a rematch of the PWHL Finals that Boston lost in five games.
Now, the Fleet are looking forward to building on momentum they and the rest of the PWHL created in a shoot-from-the-hip first season.
When the league launched in August 2023 — and for the full inaugural season — none of the six teams had an official name. Joining the Frost, New York Sirens, Montréal Victoire, Ottawa Charge and Toronto Sceptres, the Fleet came into this season with a new name, enhanced colors and a big “B” logo that doubles as an anchor.
Players were excited about the needed update.
“Having the Fleet logo, I think it’s one of a lot of favorites out there, so I’ve heard,” said forward Amanda Pelkey at media day last month. “So, really exciting to have an identity and create that fan base. And also [to] wear the jersey will be pretty cool.”
Rachel Muriph, a fan from Pembroke, got one of the Fleet’s new jerseys as soon as possible. She believes having team names and individual branding adds another layer of authenticity.
“I love the look, I love the jersey, the colors,” Muriph said. “I mean, the name’s whatever, it’s cool. But I dig the logo, I dig the meaning behind it that they gave it.”
Changes this year go beyond just the aesthetic. The PWHL drew some big interest from fans in its first year. And that may be continuing to head in a positive direction.
Fleet general manager Danielle Marmer told reporters last month that season tickets sales at the time had jumped from around 600 for last season to about 1,500 this go around.
“That’s almost triple, if my math is correct,” Marmer said. “Which is just an indicator of the success that this league has had, the impact this league has had and then just the impact that we’ve had in Boston.”
Last season was a bit of a learning experience for just about everyone in the league. Speaking with GBH News earlier this week, Fleet head coach Courtney Kessel talked about the stark contrast between getting ready for this year and last.
“And just you know, not really knowing what to expect from a travel standpoint and facilities. You’re kind of building this thing from the ground up last year,” she said. “So I think just knowing what to expect and especially for the players, the expectation of being a professional athlete. And so I think we’ve all been able to prepare a lot different coming into this season.”
There’s still room to grow for Boston. Through two games this season, the Fleet are getting outworked when it comes to shots on goal 69 to 39.
But now that the jitters of the Fleet’s home debut are out of the way, the Fleet are looking to right the ship.
“We’ve got great fans, and we really want to win in front of our fans. And we came up really short tonight,” said Fleet captain Hilary Knight.
