The Boston Blades hosted the Brampton Thunder this weekend, the first pair of 6 straight game against the Thunder. Despite grabbing their first lead of the season on Saturday, Boston couldn’t put the thunder away, dropping Saturday’s contest at Boch Ice Center in Dedham 2-1. The Blades then hosted Brampton at New England Sports Center on CWHL Live, which saw the Thunder take a 4-1 decision.

Saturday’s night game saw the Blades deploy a short bench, dressing 11 forwards and 5 defensemen. Despite the limited personnel, Boston got on the board first. Eli Tremblay converted on a pass from Blades captain Tara Watchorn in the second period, beating the Thunder’s Erica Howe to take a 1-0 lead at 8:37 of the second. IT was Tremblay’s second tally of the season, and second while playing as a forward. The Blades followed Tremblay’s goal with a successful 5-3 penalty kill, and headed to the third period with momentum on their side.

However, the Thunder stormed back in the third. Candice Styles was sprung on a breakaway at 8:57 of the third period, beating Genevieve Lacasse on Brampton’s 48th  shot of the game. Lacasse, who made 51 saves overall on the night, sealed off the right side of the goal, forcing Styles to her backhand to convert the tally. Jess Jones then put the Thunder ahead for good off a feed from Jamie Lee Rattray at 11:22 of the third, giving the Thunder a 2-1 advantage that they would maintain for the duration of regulation. Despite additional pressure from the Thunder, Lacasse and the Blades defense kept the deficit at one goal, but were unable to put pressure on the Brampton netminder Howe.

The Blades looked for revenge on Sunday afternoon, hosting the Thunder at New England Sports Center. However, it was Brampton who tallied the first score. Rebecca Vint, a thorn in the side of Tara Watchorn all game, put the Thunder ahead with 57 seconds left in the first period with an unassisted tally. The Blades tied the game in the second, with Watchorn scoring her 2nd goal of the season, beating Brampton goaltender Liz Knox off a feed from Erin Kickham at 9:56 of the second period. However, the Thunder would take the lead again just 2 minutes later, with Jess Jones putting Brampton ahead for good for the second straight game. Jones’ goal came at 11:43 off a Courtney Birchard pass. The Thunder added goals from Jenna McParland and Rattray in the third period to put the game out of reach.  Lacasse saw 47 shots on the afternoon, turning away 43, while Knox made 29 saves for Brampton.

Watchorn was the star of Sunday’s game for the Blades, double and triple shifting for Boston as she tried to rally her team’s offense. By estimates from Blades staff, Watchorn logged over 40 minutes of ice time, including time on both the power play and penalty kill. Blades defenseman Clara St. Germain also played a large role in Boston’s game plan, moving to center for the game to anchor the Blades’ third line.

A major bright spot for the Blades was the performance of their power play this weekend, with the Blades successfully killing all 9 penalties over the 2 contests. Boston leads the CWHL with a 96.5 penalty kill.

Boston will have their chance at revenge against the Thunder this weekend, as they face the Thunder in Brampton Saturday and Sunday. Sunday’s game will be streamed live on CWHLLive.com at 1:30 pm, while Saturday’s puck drop will be at 6:30 PM. Make sure to follow the Blades on Twitter (@BostonCWHL) for all the game action!