“It just shows how much this game is growing, and getting into these neutral sites is a way to grow our game even more and our fan base,” Fleet coach Courtney Kessel said after a training camp session Monday.
The Fleet will open the “Takeover Tour” against Montreal on Jan. 5 at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena, home to the NHL’s Kraken. They’ll also play New York at Buffalo’s KeyBank Center (Feb. 23) and will close out the tour against Ottawa at St. Louis’s Enterprise Center (March 29).
WELLESLEY — The PWHL on Monday announced a slate of nine neutral-site games for the upcoming season, three of which will feature the Boston Fleet.
The neutral-site games during the league’s inaugural season shattered women’s hockey attendance records.
Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena hosted a game last season between Ottawa and Boston that set the US professional women’s hockey attendance record with 13,736. The home of the NHL’s Red Wings, Little Caesars Arena will host another PWHL game this season, welcoming the Minnesota Frost and New York Sirens on March 16.
Though it wasn’t a bona fide neutral-site game, a contest last April 20 between Montreal and Toronto at Montreal’s Bell Centre (home of the Canadiens) set the overall attendance record of 21,105.
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“I think any neutral-site game you play is a chance to grow women’s hockey, and ultimately, that’s what we’re trying to do here,” said Fleet forward Lexie Adzija. “The more places we can go and show people what we bring on the ice, I think it’s exciting.”
Tickets for the neutral-site games will be available starting with pre-sales Thursday, followed by the general sale Friday at 10 a.m. Tickets can be purchased at thepwhl.com/tickets.
Here’s the full slate of neutral-site games:
Jan. 5: Montreal vs. Boston, at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena (4 p.m.)
Jan. 8: Montreal vs. Toronto, at Vancouver’s Rogers Arena (10 p.m.)
Jan. 12: Montreal vs. Minnesota, at Denver’s Ball Arena (3 p.m.)
Jan. 19: Ottawa vs. Montreal, at Quebec City’s Videotron Centre (1 p.m.)
Feb. 16: Toronto vs. Ottawa, location and time TBA
Feb. 23: Boston vs. New York, at Buffalo’s KeyBank Center (4 p.m.)
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March 7: Ottawa vs. Minnesota, at Raleigh’s Lenovo Center (7 p.m.)
March 16: Minnesota vs. New York, at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena (7:30 p.m.)
March 29: Ottawa vs. Boston, at St. Louis’s Enterprise Center (2 p.m.)
Camp chronicles
The Fleet had their first five-on-five action of training camp Monday at the Boston Sports Institute in Wellesley.
The team spent the first few sessions of training camp working on skill drills and tactical practice before a scrimmage Monday. For some players, it was a welcome shock to the system.
“It’s been a while since we’ve all played a game, so even playing each other, it’s great to be out there and getting up to game speed,” Adzija said.
With half the team in white and half in black, the Fleet played four 10-minute periods with rotating lines, pairings, and goalies. Aerin Frankel and Emma Söderberg played in net the first two periods, followed by camp invites Cami Kronish and Klára Peslarová in the latter periods.
“I feel ready to go, and I’m excited to be back,” Frankel said. “You can only train and practice so much until you’re really itching to get back in a game setting.”
The team in black won, 4-0, as Söderberg allowed three goals in the first period and Peslarová let one through in the fourth.
Two goals came from the forward line of Alina Muller, Hannah Bilka, and Loren Gabel, who impressed Kessel with their speed. The coach said she plans to tinker with lines and pairings when the Fleet head to Montreal for scrimmages against the Victoire (Wednesday) and Charge (Thursday).
“We have a plan in place, but it’s nice to give everyone an opportunity up the line, down the line to figure out what we’re going to do heading into the year,” Kessel said.
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On the mend
The Fleet on Friday signed rookie defender Hadley Hartmetz to a one-year standard contract.
Hartmetz was a seventh-round pick out of Ohio State after spending two years at Boston College.
“She fits nicely into our physical, hard defending style, while also providing transportability and offensive involvement,” Fleet general manager Danielle Marmer said in a release. “She brings a competitiveness and work ethic that will push her teammates and make us better.”
While playing for Ohio State during the 2024 NCAA championship game, the defender sustained a lower-body injury from which she is still recovering.
Hartmetz was in the building Monday wearing exercise clothes but was not on the ice.
“We’re still working on what her timeline looks like,” Kessel said. “But we’re excited to have her part of the group.”
Emma can be reached at emma.healy@globe.com or on X @_EmmaHealy_.