How Fleet Has Brought ‘Community’ To New Fans Of Hockey

LOWELL, Mass. — The Boston Fleet are not only in their sophomore PWHL season, but the franchise has brought new fans to the sport of hockey.

Ashlyn Harris from Clinton, Conn., became a fan of the Fleet last season when she attended her first women’s hockey game last season when Boston hosted the Women Empowerment game.

“It was the most welcoming environment I’ve ever been in, the most exciting and empowering,” Harris told NESN.com during the first intermission of the Fleet’s tilt with the New York Sirens at the Tsongas Center on Wednesday night. “So, I decided I wanted to join the hockey family as much as I could.”

Harris had attended men’s games before, but the feeling of being at a women’s game hit home for the MGH Institute of Health Professions student.

“Just the feeling of warmth and community is very different at a women’s sporting event,” she said. “I feel safe and invited everywhere I go, especially as queer woman. I feel like everyone has welcoming open arms, even not knowing much about the sport when I first became a fan.

“Since then, I’ve made numerous lifelong friends, and it’s just amazing. I haven’t had that experience at any other sporting event before.”

Harris met Niki Lavin through Instagram when they noticed each other commenting on Fleet and its player’s posts. They didn’t even realize more often than not, they were standing next to each other along the glass during warmups before games. Lavin reached out to Harris via the social media outlet and they struck up a friendship.

Like Harris, Lavin,17, feels comfortable attending games at the Tsongas Center, especially since she’s still a teenager.

“It’s just the community,” the Sandown, N.H. native said. “I feel safe coming here alone. I don’t feel like I need to bring somebody with me just to feel safe. I look around and it’s a community surrounded by people of the LGBTQ+ community and you feel safe here.”

Kaelyn Mills already knew Harris through the MGH Institute of Health Professions program, but met Lavin, Kaelyn Mills, Caitlyn Curry and Rebecca Walc, who travel from Natick for home games, simply because they are Boston Fleet fans.

One thing Mills cherishes about attending Fleet games is the experience she has in the stands with the families that sit around her.

“My favorite Fleet memory is the first game we came to in January of last year,” Mills recalled. “There was a family sitting in front of us. It was a mom, dad and a little girl. We were playing Minnesota and Minnesota scored. The dad went to boo them and the mom said, ‘Hey, we don’t boo women.’ And it was just the best thing ever, and it lived in my mind.

“I think that is exactly what it is. Everyone is committed to women’s sports and supporting women in general.”

Curry, who lives in Chelmsford, discovered the Fleet when she stumbled upon Boston captain Hilary Knight on TikTok.

“I’ve never watched hockey before, but I really got into it and just really love the atmosphere,” Curry said. “… I love that I can drag so many different people to games and get them hooked on it. I feel like I’ve created a little ‘Fleet Army’ with all of our friends.”

The Fleet certainly didn’t disappoint the home crowd. Boston swept its season series with New York by defeating the Sirens 5-2. Hilary Knight propelled the offensive with the team’s first ever hat trick and Aerin Frankel returned aside 38-of-40 shots to secure the three points and move into second place in the standings with nine games remaining in the regular season.