In anticipation of this afternoon’s game against the Montréal Victoire, the Fleet practiced at Boston University’s Agganis Arena yesterday afternoon. It meant I was finally able to get to my first Fleet practice (as a BU student without a car, getting to their usual facility in Wellesley during my main class hours is not feasible), so here are some notes and stories from practice.
Hartmetz a Full Practice Participant, Bilka Did Not Skate
Part of the beauty of getting to a practice is I got an eye on some of the Fleet’s injured players. In positive news, defender Hadley Hartmetz was a full participant in practice and appeared to be skating quite well. I’m not sure how long she’s been practicing, but clearly she’s progressing well in her rehab. She’s yet to make her PWHL debut after suffering a serious knee injury in the NCAA championship game at the end of March 2024, but after seeing her practice, we could be seeing her sooner rather than later.
When asked about it, head coach Courtney Kessel said that both Hartmetz and Hannah Bilka were still day-by-day, which was unsurprising given how tight-lipped the PWHL is about injuries. However, Bilka was not on the ice for practice and was spotted in a fairly significant, albeit bendable, knee brace, so it stands to reason that she’s a lot more than day-to-day. It all but confirmed my suspicions that her absence from the USA Worlds roster is because she’ll be out with this injury at least through then.
Agganis Holds Fond Memories for Knight
Hilary Knight may not have been part of the fabric of Boston hockey until she joined the CWHL’s Boston Blades in 2012, but she’s one of the few Fleet players who has played a game at Agganis Arena.
“I won a national championship there I think, and then [played] a U.S.-Canada rivalry game,” Knight said postgame on Wednesday. “Very fond of that building, watch concerts in it, played in it, and just fortunate to be able to represent Boston in it.”
Knight’s national championship at Agganis came back in 2009 with the University of Wisconsin, during which she potted a goal and an assist in a 5-0 win over Mercyhurst University. As for other Fleet players with experience at Agganis, Hannah Brandt, Megan Keller, Amanda Pelkey, and Jill Saulnier were also there for the 2017-18 Time is Now Tour game between the US and Canada. No one has played at Agganis since despite numerous Hockey East alums on the roster, as BU women’s ice hockey plays their games at BU’s Walter Brown Arena.
However, there is one other Fleet player with good memories at Agganis. Jillian Dempsey has never played there, but she was invited by BU legend Mike Eruzione to attend that 2009 NCAA championship game, although she seemed unaware her now-teammate was on the ice.
“I came and watched one of the national championship women’s games at Agganis when I was in high school,” Dempsey said. “…Mike Eruzione had reached out to me because Mark Johnson was in town with Wisco, and Mike Eruzione was going to meet up with them for a dinner or something. Because Mike’s from my hometown too, he’s always been so excellent, reaching out and being supportive of women’s hockey and especially of me in our small town too. So he had reached out and was trying to see if I could be part of that too, and it didn’t work out, but it was the thought that mattered.”
Kessel and BU Women’s Hockey Head Coach Tara Watchorn Go Way Back
In May 2023, Kessel joined Boston University women’s ice hockey as an associate head coach. The former University of New Hampshire, CWHL, and Canadian national team player shared that it was Tara Watchorn taking over as the head coach that drew her to Boston and BU.
“The biggest reason that my family moved up to Boston [was] Tara Watchorn took the job,” Kessel said. “We played together and against each other our entire lives, so our paths crossed quite a bit. [It was also] a great opportunity to be in a Hockey East school where there’s not so much travel, so I wouldn’t be on the road as much with having a family. But the biggest reason was, I think Tara Watchorn and I had the opportunity to coach together at the Under-18 World Championships in Östersund, Sweden. It went really well, we hit it off, and we thought, let’s do this at an NCAA school.”
Kessel never coached an actual game with BU, as she took the Fleet job in September 2023. Obviously, it’s worked out well for her, as the Fleet were one win away from the inaugural Walter Cup last season, and currently find themselves in third place by raw points and second by points percentage. Meanwhile, Watchorn has been instrumental in turning the BU program around after several rough seasons. Now in her second season as head coach, her Terriers made the Hockey East championship game for the first time since 2016 this season, which is set for noon today in Storrs, CT. With such a deep connection, perhaps we’ll see Kessel and Watchorn together again behind a bench someday.
Fleet Are Most Excited to See Crowd, Reach New Fans
After Wednesday’s game, Knight was asked what she was most looking forward to about playing at Agganis, and without hesitation, she said the crowd.
“I think being close to the city, it’s gonna be interesting to see how the crowd shows up,” Knight said. “I know it’s far from the south shore to get up here to Lowell. Obviously, [some] people fly in to see our games, but really excited to get that building rocking…really, really fortunate to be able to be a part of the PWHL and do these different [games], whether it’s a Takeover Tour or be able to play in the city of Boston.”
Kessel soon added that they planned to harness the crowd’s electricity after seeing Montréal do it at the Bell Centre last week.
“I think we have some payback to give Montréal,” Kessel said. “I mean, our crowd will be not as big as it was at the Bell Centre, but we have a special group here…I think we’re going to embrace the crowd and take their momentum, their energy, and run with it.”
After practice yesterday, Dempsey added her excitement to play this game in Boston given last week’s matchup in Montréal, and her hopes this will help open the door for new fans.
“For us getting to have this game in the city of Boston, I think we’ll add a little bit extra [excitement] too, and bring in some different fans that we maybe didn’t get being more north of the city this season,” Dempsey said. “So hopefully open up the eyes of some new fans, and get some people into the arena and seeing the product on the ice, and get them in for the long run, hopefully with how much of a great contest it’s going to be tomorrow.”
