WELLESLEY — Saturday night’s sold-out Fleet game at TD Garden is billed as a can’t-miss event, the first PWHL game at Boston’s marquee venue, and a battle for first place with Montreal, but in some ways, it’s also a trial run.
“This is going to be a matchup potentially in the playoffs,” Fleet coach Kris Sparre said early Saturday. “It sets the tone.”
Boston and Montreal have each locked up one of four spots in the Walter Cup Playoffs. The Fleet won the teams’ first two meetings this season, 2-0 and 4-3 in overtime, but the Victoire have been battling for the top spot all season. The matchup features the league’s best goaltenders, Boston’s Aerin Frankel and Montreal’s Ann-Renee Desbiens, who lead the MVP race.
The game is also a test run for PWHL games at the Garden.
“Any time you’re selling out buildings of our size, there is always interest on both sides,” said Bruins COO and TD Garden president Glen Thornborough. “The partnership between the Bruins and Fleet is strong, and with them landing here on Saturday night and doing what they’re about to do, I think that dialogue and communication will continue stronger than ever.”
Saturday’s expected crowd of 17,850 is not the largest game Sparre has been part of, as that crown goes to the 2015 DEL Winter Game outdoors in Germany, when Sparre scored two goals in a win for Dusseldorfer EG in front of 51,125.
But it is the largest crowd for his Fleet and the second-largest on US soil in PWHL history, behind only last Saturday’s 18,006 at Madison Square Garden when the Seattle Torrent visited the New York Siren.
Sparre likened the feeling of anticipation to that before the first game of a playoff series. He knows that if his players build up the game too much in their minds, it can affect performance, so he reminded them to treat it like any other contest.
“The size of the ice sheet is the exact same as it is at Agganis [Arena] and at [Tsongas Center],” Sparre said in reference to the Fleet’s other home venues this season. “The amount of fans is amazing, but it doesn’t change the task at hand and what your job is on the ice.”
The PWHL hosted a fantasy camp Friday and Saturday at the Fleet’s practice facility, giving 24 hockey players ranging from age 18 to 69 the chance to play like a pro for the weekend.
The league arranged a professional-style locker room setup for the campers, a dedicated equipment manager to sharpen their skates and wash their jerseys, and training sessions with a strength and conditioning coach as well as on-ice practices.
“There’s a lot of excitement around not only the Fleet and the league, but around adult hockey,” said PWHL vice president of team operations and grassroots initiatives Annie Camins. “There are a lot of adults who want to learn to play the game who are big fans of the league and our mission.”
Sparre returns to the bench after missing the Fleet’s most recent game against Vancouver to be with his wife, Steph, as they welcomed a second child, a daughter named Quinn, on April 3. … Rookie forward Mia Biotti, who grew up in Cambridge and attended Buckingham Brown & Nichols School and Harvard, is the only player with recent experience on Garden ice. She and the Crimson played in the Beanpot consolation game at TD Garden in 2024 and ’25 … Before the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader at the Garden, some Bruins donned Fleet sweaters for their NHL walk-ins. Morgan Geekie wore Susanna Tapani’s jersey, Charlie McAvoy donned Megan Keller’s with the “C”, and Jeremy Swayman his goalie counterpart, Frankel.
Emma Healy can be reached at emma.healy@globe.com or on X @ByEmmaHealy.
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