The Boston Fleet became the first team to clinch a spot in the 2026 PWHL playoffs today with a 4-2 win over the Minnesota Frost. They are the quickest team in PWHL history to do so, with six games remaining on their schedule.
“It feels amazing,” Fleet forward Sophie Shirley told reporter Kevin Gorg during her postgame walk-off interview. “For us, it’s always been to just kind of stick with our process, and that’s what we’ve done throughout this whole year. So, just super happy to be a part of it and proud of this team.”
Fleet rookie goaltender Amanda Thiele made her debut between the pipes in today’s decisive win. Boston selected the Ohio State alumna in the sixth round of the 2025 PWHL draft. Thiele stopped 21 of 23 shots to secure the win against the league’s most potent offense, which has scored 10 more goals (69) than the Fleet and Montréal Victoire, who are tied for second.
This will be Boston’s second trip to the playoffs, and first since their 2024 run. They swept PWHL Montréal in the first round, with all three games requiring overtime. They then won the first game of the finals against PWHL Minnesota, but dropped the next two and had to win Game 4 on the road to force the decisive Game 5.
The Fleet clinched a playoff spot two games faster than anyone else in PWHL history. They also had to do so by securing the most points. The Victoire were the first team to clinch a playoff spot last season with 48 points in 26 games. Meanwhile, PWHL Toronto punched the first-ever ticket to the PWHL playoffs in 2024 with 38 points in 21 games. Boston needed 49 points to secure their spot today.
The Fleet now have 51 points in the standings. They sit five points ahead of the second-place Victoire, who have a game in hand.