The Boston Fleet are on top — and so is women’s hockey. The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) is only in its third official season, but attendance and viewership records are being set left and right. The Fleet celebrated a completely sold-out night at TD Garden last Saturday night, welcoming a 17,850-person crowd to their game against the Montreal Victoire. Although they ended up losing 1-0 to their league rivals, selling out the venue was victory enough for the Fleet. “I think we’ve all felt it after the Olympics, the buzz around women’s hockey and around our league,” said the Fleet’s captain, Megan Keller, who also scored the U.S.A.’s gold-medal winning goal at the 2026 Olympics. “Every venue we’re going into, it’s loud, the seats are filled and the fans are passionate. It’s an exciting time for us.”
This comes a week after the New York Sirens sold out their game at Madison Square Garden, where they beat the Seattle Torrent in a shootout. The Sirens/Torrent matchup broke the U.S. attendance record for a women’s hockey game. The Torrent have also had the highest average attendance per home game during the 2025/2026 season.
Needless to say, women’s hockey is seeing levels of popularity it’s never seen before, and the Fleet are at the front and center of it all. Just last week, the Fleet clinched their spot in the upcoming PWHL Walter Cup playoffs. The Montreal Victoire and Minnesota Frost (the winner of the last two and only Walter Cups) have also just guaranteed their spots, while the New York Sirens, Toronto Sceptres and Ottawa Charge fight for the fourth and final spot. The Fleet and the Victoire are the favorites to win the Cup this year, with Boston trailing Montreal in second place in the current league standings, but this author would not be surprised if the Fleet go all the way this season. Aerin Frankel, the Fleet’s primary goalkeeper and the “Brick Wall of Boston,” holds the record for most shutouts in a season (currently seven), and she became the first women’s hockey player to record three shutouts at an Olympic Games. She is aptly considered the league’s best goalkeeper. The Fleet’s alternate captain, Alina Müller, became the youngest hockey player to ever play at the Olympics at age 15.
Overall, the Fleet are a powerhouse of a team that have talent, power, and clear charisma on and off the ice. With only about four games remaining per team, the Walter Cup playoffs will most likely begin after the regular season ends in late April. For now, you can catch every single PWHL game for free on YouTube. Go Fleet!
Contact the editors responsible for this story: Finley Tipton and Katie McCabe
