The Boston Pride are back on their home ice this weekend after a much-deserved All-Star Break when they welcome the Montreal Force to town.
“We have a Boston-Montreal rivalry from NHL hockey, Canadiens and Bruins that goes way back,” captain Jillian Dempsey told NESN.com
The Pride sit atop the Premier Hockey Federation standings with a 14-2-1 record and go into Saturday’s game against Montreal having won seven of their last eight games. Everything has been going right for Boston this season as it searches for its third straight Isobel Cup title.
The Force, the PHF’s newest expansion team, are 7-10-1 on the season and sit seven points out of a playoff spot. The Pride and the Toronto Six already have clinched playoff berths with the Isobel Cup semifinals taking place in the Boston area and Toronto.
But just because they’ve punched their ticket to the postseason doesn’t mean the Pride are getting complacent. They know Montreal is a strong, hungry team wanting to make an impact in its inaugural year.
“They have some very good talent up front,” Kaleigh Fratkin told NESN.com “… They’re gonna be a team we’re gonna have to be strong defensively against.”
Boston taking on Montreal adds to the historic rivalry the two cities have in the NHL between the Bruins and Canadiens. It’s always bound to be a battle when these two cities clash. The first time the Pride and Force met was last month and the former took the first game of the weekend series 5-0, but the Force bounced back the following night with a hard-fought 2-1 overtime win.
This weekend will be the final time they meet in the regular season and the Pride know they have a tough opponent ahead of them.
“They just work hard, they get in the corners and they’re physical and gritty,” Dempsey said. “I think for us we know to focus on what our strengths are and not get too caught up in what they do, make sure we’re having a net-front presence and cashing in on the opportunities.”
Time is running out for the Force to clinch one of the final two playoff spots, which only adds extra motivation for them to come into Warrior Ice Arena this weekend and battle.
“They’re going to be ready to go, they want to win, they want to climb the standings,” Sammy Davis told NESN.com. “I think what we have to do — we just have to work together as a team and just keep playing hard and playing hard on those pucks, doing all those little things and winning all the battles.”
Puck drop for Pride-Force on Saturday is set for 8 p.m. ET. The game will air on NESN+ and switch over to NESN at the conclusion of Bruins-New York Islanders coverage. Sunday’s puck drops at 3 p.m. with the game airing on NESN.
