Although the Boston Fleet are in their third season of representing Boston in the Professional Women’s Hockey League, so far their time actually playing within the city limits has been minimal.
The Fleet’s usual home venue is the Tsongas Center in Lowell. Last season, they played in Boston twice, at Agganis Arena on Boston University’s campus. They’ll play at Agganis again four times this season.
But on Tuesday, the team announced that they’ll take the ice at Boston’s biggest arena — TD Garden — for the first time ever on April 11 to host the Montréal Victoire.
It’s a moment that Fleet GM Danielle Marmer said marked a special moment in the club’s history.
“Hopefully we can create a fanbase that’s a little bit bigger than what Tsongas and Agganis can hold combined for this game,” she said. “So, they deserve to be able to watch our team play in an atmosphere like that.”
The announcement comes as women’s hockey continues to draw bigger crowds, both at the Garden and across the PWHL.
The Seattle Torrent’s home opener against the Minnesota Frost at Climate Pledge Arena last week set a new attendance record for a women’s hockey game in a U.S. arena with a crowd of 16,014. And the Women’s Beanpot championship, an annual showdown between Boston College, Boston University, Harvard and Northeastern, moved to the Garden for the first time last year. The event drew record-setting attendance earlier this year and it will return again to the Garden in 2026.
Fleet captain Megan Keller said that it will be special to skate at the Garden.
“It’s a place that I think a lot of us have always wanted to play,” she said. “And especially representing the city of Boston and playing for the Boston Fleet, I think we’re really excited to get the opportunity to play at TD Garden and hopefully pack the place.”
Marmer said that playing at the Garden is something the franchise has been talking about since its inaugural season. But trying to align the Garden’s busy schedule of Bruins and Celtics games along with other events it hosts with the PWHL schedule wasn’t something they were able to nail down. Marmer said it was a priority for season three.
Glen Thornborough, president of TD Garden and COO of the Boston Bruins, said in a statement that the arena is honored to welcome the Fleet.
“TD Garden is built to give world-class athletes and fans a world-class stage, and we’re proud to bring the PWHL onto a platform that delivers the full NHL-level experience they deserve,” Thornborough said. “The growth of women’s sports is inspiring, and adding more premier women’s events to our calendar is something we’re energized to champion.”
For now, Marmer said the priority is to get more fans to experience Fleet hockey. As far as playing more in Boston proper or at the Garden, she’s not trying to look too far ahead. But she’s looking forward to this opportunity to get more eyes on the game.
“And then based off of that, we’ll see how things materialize beyond that. But those are decisions that are made by much smarter people than myself,” she said. “So we’ll just have fingers crossed that we’ll get to play there a few more times.”
