TORONTO — Aerin Frankel made 18 saves for her third straight shutout and seventh of the season as the Boston Fleet topped the Toronto Sceptres 4-0 on Friday in the Professional Women's Hockey League.
Liz Schepers, with two goals, Jessie Eldridge and Sophie Shirley scored for Boston (12-5-2-4), which extended its lead atop the standings to five points ahead of second-place Montreal (43 points).
Elaine Chuli stopped 19 shots for Toronto (8-1-5-9), which had its six-game point streak (4-0-2-0) snapped. Three of the Sceptres' four wins during the streak came against Vancouver and Seattle, the PWHL's last-place teams.
The Sceptres last played on March 17, a 2-0 win at Boston. It was the second of back-to-back shutout wins for Toronto, including a 2-0 home win over Seattle on March 15.
Schepers opened the scoring 11:38 into the first period when she put home a rebound after Shirley's point shot was initially tipped by Hadley Hartmetz.
Schepers added her second of the game at 10:54 of the second period after she tipped in a wrist shot from Haley Winn.
Eldridge joined in on the fun with 5:28 remaining in the middle frame.
Shirley put home a rebound with 5:46 left in the third period after Chuli stopped consecutive shots from Jamie Lee Rattray and Mia Biotti.
Takeaways
Sceptres: Toronto's offensive issues from before the Olympic break returned as the team had trouble putting together structured opportunities for most of the game. The Sceptres woke up a bit in the third period but Boston held down the fort.
Fleet: Boston was the more physical side in this tilt and when opportunities came, the Fleet snatched them. The Fleet now hold the best goal-differential in the PWHL at plus-23.
Key moment
Taking a centring pass from Alina Muller, Eldridge's first whack at the puck was deflected into the air by Sceptres defender Savannah Harmon. But Eldridge was able to bring it down and put it past Chuli, taking the air out of Coca-Cola Coliseum late in the second period.
Key stat
The Fleet have scored first in a PWHL-leading 18 games this season.
Up next
Sceptres: Host the Vancouver Goldeneyes on Sunday.
Fleet: Visit the Minnesota Frost on Sunday.