Boston Fleet edged by Ottawa in Game 2 thriller in Lowell

LOWELL — It won’t be for its lack of chances, but the Boston Fleet is headed to Ottawa in a 1-1 series.

The best-of-five Professional Women’s Hockey League Walter Cup semifinals against the Ottawa Charge are now a race to two wins as Boston dropped Game 2 by a score of 3-1 on Saturday in front of a sellout crowd of 6,017 fans at the Tsongas Center.

Boston outshot the Charge by a 31-21 margin and dominated most of the third period but couldn’t solve Gwyneth Philips (30 saves) in an attempt to take a commanding 2-0 series lead. Game 3 is slated for Friday at the Canadian Tire Centre (7 p.m.).

“I just think this season and this series is going to be so tight,” said Charge head coach Carla MacLeod. “We’ve seen it. I said it (last game). It’s going to be hard-fought. Obviously, (Philips) had a great game and helped us work our way through some of the moments. But our group is resilient, and we believe. And we keep building and keep going at it.”

The Fleet benefited from a huge goal from Megan Keller in the final 9.5 seconds of the second period to cut into Ottawa’s 2-0 cushion, but Boston wouldn’t get any closer than that despite a handful of high-danger scoring opportunities.

“The encouraging part is I think that we have not played our best hockey in the series,” said Fleet head coach Kris Sparre. “So we’re going to try and find some time here in the next few days to iron those things out.”

Susanna Tapani had a breakaway at the halfway marker of the third. Alina Müller, Abby Newhook and Jessie Eldridge were all over the attacking zone. Boston deployed an extra attacker in the final two minutes with Aerin Frankel pulled.

No dice, as Gabbie Hughes converted an empty-netter with 1:30 remaining to send many Fleet fans to the exits with the possibility of a deciding fifth game back in Massachusetts.

“The opportunities are there, and we had a ton all game, so if we could just bury our chances when we get them going into the rest of the series, then we’ll be just fine,” Newhook said. “Getting opportunities is what you want to see. We’re happy to have that on our side.”

Establishing inside position in front of the blue paint is pivotal for beating a goalie of Frankel’s caliber. The Charge has seemingly figured that out.

Ottawa struck first with 6:44 remaining in the period on a sequence that resembled its lone tally in Game 1.

Only this time, the initial shot from the point wasn’t tipped. It beat Frankel entirely, as Ronja Savolainen whizzed a wrist shot to the top right corner with the help of a net front screen.

Boston held a 14-8 advantage in shots on goal and whiffed on two power plays in the frame.

The Charge stayed with its scoring recipe to take a 2-0 lead just 1:54 into the second period when Rebecca Leslie’s shot-pass found a cutting Fanuza Kadirova for a tap-in.

Ottawa again took advantage of a slip in coverage in front of the crease to score.

“You got to box out,” Sparre said. “We talk a lot about it. I wouldn’t call it a small detail, it’s a detail, and it’s an important one at this time of year. We got a good goaltender, so people are going to be trying to get in front of her. We have to do a good job of clearing space so she can get eyes on the puck.”

But the Fleet started to build its game from there — successfully killing two Charge power plays — before scoring a huge goal with 9.5 seconds left in the period.

Picking up a loose puck in what looked to be a broken play after Müller carried the puck into the attacking zone, Keller unleashed a perfectly-placed shot off the right post and in to give the Fleet a burst of momentum heading into the third period.

Keller, one of the league’s most reliable blueliners, logged an eye-popping 30:29 in ice time in Game 1. She was just behind Haley Winn (30:08) on Saturday, with 29:11.

“I think it comes down to burying our chances and being tough in front of our net and at the danger zones and at the blue lines,” Keller said on what makes the difference in a close series. “That’s playoff hockey. Not everything is pretty, and you’re going to have to grind teams down. It’s a five-game series for a reason.”

Boston had plenty of chances late in the third to force overtime but couldn’t find twine, setting the table for Hughes to ice the game with 1:30 left.

And this time, Ottawa didn’t require any traffic in front of Frankel to light the lamp.

“If you play this game that we played tonight 10 times, you should win it eight or nine times,” Sparre said. “The amount of opportunities we had to score and did not score, there’s not a lot that needs to change.”