Fleet place Riley Brengman, Sophie Shirley on long-term injured reserve
A couple of players are going to miss an extended period of time.
On Monday, the Boston Fleet announced that forward Sophie Shirley and defender Riley Brengman have been placed on long-term injured reserve. In response, the team has signed forward Loren Gabel and defender Mia Biotti to standard contracts.
According to the team, Shirley suffered a lower-body injury during practice last week, while Brengman has been taken out of action with an upper-body injury. Both players were in the lineup for the Fleet’s last game on Jan. 18, a 2-1 shootout win over the Seattle Torrent.
With Brengman’s placement on LTIR being retroactive to Jan. 19, and Shirley being listed inactive starting Jan. 23, both players will be out through the start of the Olympic break, which begins on Thursday. However, since the days on LTIR count during the pause, both will be able to return to play when the Fleet plays the Charge on Feb. 28, the team’s first game out of the break.
Shirley has been with Boston since the team’s inaugural season. After posting five points in each of the first two seasons, the Saskatoon native has posted three assists in the 12 games thus far. She’s averaged just under 11 minutes of ice time per game, posting a plus/minus of -3.
Brengman has been finding her footing in her season in the PWHL. The Ohio State product has appeared in each of the Fleet’s first 13 games of the season, scoring a pair of goals, including the game-winner against the Torrent back on Dec. 21. She has a +1 rating while averaging over 19 minutes of ice time per game.
Gabel has been a part of the Fleet since year one. Yet, despite signing a one-year contract extension this past summer, she was cut from the main roster during training camp, starting the 2025-26 campaign on the reserve list. The one-time PHF MVP scored two goals and three points in 20 games last season. In 37 regular-season games, the Clarkson product has notched six goals and four assists for 10 points.
Biotti signed a 10-day contract with Boston earlier this month when Daniela Pejsova was out with an upper-body injury. She ended up appearing in three games, but didn’t register a point. The former Harvard blueliner had a +1 rating while averaging close to seven minutes of ice time.
The Fleet (8-1-2-2) are first in the PWHL, three points ahead of the second-place Minnesota Frost. Boston faces the New York Sirens in its final game before the break on Wednesday.