A quick glance at the box score of Team USA’s 4-0 victory over Switzerland to open the 2024 IIHF Women’s World Championship would give the impression that it was the same old same old for the defending champions.
But a deeper dive showed a couple of pivotal plays midway through the first period that changed the direction of what could have been an upset in the making into a dominating victory for the home team.
Within the span of two minutes midway through the opening frame, U.S. goaltender Aerin Frankel robbed Swiss captain Lara Stalder not once but twice to keep the score knotted at 0-0.
First, a sprawled-out Frankel made a left toe save to stop Stalder from tucking the puck inside the post. Then, two minutes later, the former University of Minnesota Duluth standout split the U.S. defense and cruised in alone only to be thwarted for a second time by a flashy glove hand of Frankel.
As Stalder looked to the heavens asking what she had to do to sneak one past the 5-foot-5 netminder, Frankel raised her mask and shot her teammates a quick grin to signal that she had things well in hand.
“I’m just such a big fan of Aerin and her competitive nature, her persona and the way that she goaltends,” head coach John Wroblewski said after his team’s first game.
“It’s a bold, fearless style. It has to be with her stature. She is extremely intelligent and athletic. I love seeing that sort of hard work pay off. That competitive nature of her being an underdog is a really inspiring story and one that I’m cheering on.”
There was more than just her coach cheering on the Chappaqua native. Like the other New York natives competing in Utica – Haley Winn (Rochester) and Hayley Scamurra (Getzville) – there was no shortage of supporters who didn’t have to travel far to watch Frankel represent her country on the international stage.
“It’s really exciting for me,” Frankel said after her opening game shutout. “I’ll definitely have some family and friends here throughout the next couple of weeks. I know my parents are here tonight. It’s pretty close to home for me, so any time I can be on home soil, let alone in my home state, is really fun and exciting.”
The first chapters of Frankel’s story began in the Westchester Vipers organization, where she fell in love with the goaltender position. As a 15-year-old she left home to join the storied Shattuck-St. Mary’s program, where she would backstop the Faribault, Minn., prep school to three USA Hockey National Championships.
“I definitely grew a lot as a player at Shattuck being able to practice and take shots from some of those best players, and I got some experience in bigger games because of how much success that team was having,” she said. “I carried it with me into college and obviously it’s a little bit of a bigger stage, but it’s a similar feeling to be playing for a championship.”
Frankel returned to the east coast to continue her hockey journey, attending Northeastern University where, as a four-year starter, she racked up numerous conference and national awards, including the 2021 Patty Kazmaier Award as the top women’s player in college hockey.
Even with all those accolades and an impressive big-game resume, Frankel had a hard time breaking into the goaltending rotation with the U.S. Women’s National Team. With Maddie Rooney, Nicole Hensley and Alex Cavallini firmly entrenched in the U.S. crease, Frankel continued to work hard as she patiently waited her turn.
“I’m my toughest critic, and I’m pretty hard on myself, so that helps me to keep pushing forward and to reach that next step,” said the 24-year-old. “It’s important to never have a fixed mindset, always be growing, looking to get better. It’s that hungry mindset of mine that has allowed me to continue to get better.”
Last year was Frankel’s coming out party as the she backstopped the U.S. to a gold medal in Zug, Switzerland. Appearing in all six games of the tournament, she recorded a 5-0-1-0 record with a 2.00 goals-against average and . 930 save percentage.
Playing in front of a home crowd this year, Frankel once again backstopped the U.S. into the gold-medal game against Canada. She played the bulk of the minutes in goal for the U.S., appearing in all but one game, while setting a single tournament record with four shutouts.
In addition to her work between the pipes with Team USA, Frankel is also plying her trade with the Boston team in the PWHL. Being in on the ground floor to what she hopes will be a viable professional league for years to come, Frankel is grateful to have the chance to earn a living doing what she did such a long time for free.
“It’s just a really exciting time for women’s hockey,” she said. “We have a lot of support all over the world now, and we have so many of the best players playing under one league. I think for the fan experience, it’s incredible and we’re just building more fans as we go, and I think the women’s game is at a point that it’s never been at before, and it’s just going to continue to grow.”
More than just having her family and friends in the stands, Frankel is excited about the prospect of playing in front of so many young girls who will leave the Adirondack Bank Center dreaming about being the next Aerin Frankel. It’s a thought that makes all the long hours of off-ice training, practice, travel and time spent on the road worth it.
“It’s a reason why we play, and we want to inspire them and show them how competitive women’s hockey is and how exciting it is to watch,” she said. “It’s a huge part of the game and it’s continuing to grow, so any time we can see smiling kids in the stands is really special for us.”
And when those kids are fellow New Yorkers, that makes it that much more special.