The PWHL returned on Saturday afternoon and picked up right where it left off in its first season. The Boston Fleet visited the Toronto Sceptres and both teams showed that rivalries remain and games will be fiercely contested.

In the first period at 3:01, Boston's captain Hilary Knight scored the first goal of the new season with Toronto's Noemi Neubauerova and Victoria Bach trapped on the penalty kill thanks to the new “No Escape “ rule. Hannah Bilka notched her first point in the PWHL with an assist.

Last year Boston’s power play was successful only 7.5% of the time so the goal was a welcome sight for coach Courtney Kessel.

Play was choppy but the rivals had some feisty exchanges after the whistle that showed the animosity from last season hasn’t diminished. Boston had long stretches in the offensive zone and Toronto struggled to clear the puck.

The “old” jailbreak rule from the first season had an impact as well, after Toronto’s Izzy Daniel took a tripping penalty. Sarah Nurse took off and grabbed a Watts hard clearing pass, and went in alone. Nurse shot low; the rebound from Frankel’s pads bounced right back to her stick and she buried the puck in the open side.

Daniel went to the bench and celebrated her release from the box.

Assists went to rookie Rylind MacKinnon (her first in the league) and Daryl Watts (her first as a Sceptre).

Shots favored the Fleet 11-7 after the first.

The teams traded chances again in the second, but nothing materialized. Toronto’s power play had several chances, with Daryl Watts showing off her skills.

The action intensified and momentum seemed to shift toward the home team. A hard hit by Taylor Girard midway through the frame on Neubauerova created a skirmish that had both teams exchanging shoves, and Girard went to the box with a double minor, while Allie Munroe served two minutes for roughing.

Toronto had a five-on-three advantage after Keller took a penalty for interference but couldn't score. Shots turned heavily in the Sceptres’ favor as they led 16-6 in the second

The third period was tense and saw chances both ways. A slick pass from Izzy Daniel set up Sarah Nurse for a back-door goal, but Frankel was there.

The home team moved firmly ahead on shots and continued to pressure the Fleet. Boston registered only one shot on goal in the final period compared to Toronto’s 16.

Coach Troy Ryan said, “With us being able to put 40 plus shots on goal, it's hard not to think of the the pucks that [injured forward Natalie] Spooner would collect in that position at net front when we’re getting that many at the net. But we'll learn as a group as well that if we put that many pucks on net, if someone gets to that Spooner area, there'll be some goals there for them as well. ”

Frankel continued to stand on her head and made outstanding save after outstanding save, including robbing Jocelyne Larocque at point-blank range.

Kessel said, "We saw that in the playoff push as well, she is the best goalie in the world. Game after game, we’ve seen that and hopefully we can be a bit better around her.”

Another power play for the Sceptres finally proved to be the difference after Hilary Knight's shove on Renata Fast sent her off for boarding. (Fast appeared to be shaken up but was able to return for the player advantage).

Daryl Watts took a hard shot on goal and the rebound went straight to Hannah Miller who fired it home with just 1:38 remaining. The goal stood up after a challenge for goalie interference.

“There's nothing better than a hit like that against a key player on your team– she's safe, she's okay, she gets up and you go right back and you score a power play goal to win a hockey game – those are team-building things that you want to have happen as much you can in the year,” said Ryan.

The Fleet pulled Frankel but it was Maltais who capitalized and grabbed a puck that was bobbled by Knight at the blue line, skated across center and sealed the win with an empty net goal.