LOWELL — The good news for the Boston Fleet is that three games remain in the regular season slate to clinch a Professional Women’s Hockey League playoff berth.

The bad news is that 24 days lie between Wednesday’s 4-0 loss to the Ottawa Charge and its next contest due to the looming league-wide break for the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Czechia from April 9-20. The Fleet return to action on April 26 for a matchup with the Toronto Sceptres in Lowell trying to snap a three-game slide.

Until then, Boston will sit on Wednesday’s hiccup at the Tsongas Center.

Shiann Darkangelo netted a hat trick for Ottawa behind a 17-save shutout from Gwyneth Philips to hand the Fleet its first blanking of the season in front of 3,807 fans.

“We have to be better,” said Fleet head coach Courtney Kessel. “Took our foot off the pedal here.”

Boston (8-6-4-9) remains in third place and stays in position for a postseason appearance with 40 points, trailing Toronto (45 points) and Montreal (48 points).

“I thought the group stuck together throughout the whole game,” Ottawa head coach Carla MacLeod said. “There were some variables we tried to amplify in this game that we didn’t see in the previous and certainly we thought executed really well today.”

The Fleet was assessed a penalty only 31 seconds into the game and subsequently relinquished a goal just 13 seconds into the Ottawa (11-1-4-11) power play.

Sydney Bard’s interference infraction provided a statistical advantage for the hosts in the ensuing special teams battle. Ottawa’s league-worst power play (15.2%) didn’t need much time to solve Boston’s league-leading penalty kill (85.4%) to take a 1-0 lead.

Anna Meixner wheeled the puck around the offensive zone before finding Darkangelo in the low slot, slipping a shot under Aerin Frankel’s pad to light the lamp.

Darkangelo, who was traded to Ottawa from Boston last March, enjoyed a memorable performance in a familiar environment.

“Obviously it’s kind of exciting being traded from here and being able to do that in the same building,” Darkangelo said.

Boston tested Philips in the frame with a handful of high-danger scoring opportunities but skated to the dressing room facing a 1-0 hole. The Charge carried its momentum into the middle frame, doubling its lead at 7:42. Darkangelo’s shot beat Frankel clean, firing a wrist shot in stride from the top of the right circle.

Then, the Charge took a 3-0 advantage with 4:31 left in the period when Jincy Roese fired a shot from the point through traffic to add an insurance tally ahead of the third period.

Kessel opted to deploy Emma Söderberg in the Boston goal in the third to replace Frankel, who allowed three goals on 16 shots.

But it took only five shots for Darkangelo to beat Söderberg and complete the final leg of her hat trick during four-on-four action with 13:31 left in the third period on a booming slap shot from the high slot.

Boston Fleet center Susanna Tapani, rear, and forward Hilary Knight (21) pressure Ottawa Charge defenseman Ashton Bell as they battle for the puck along the boards during the first period of Wednesday’s PWHL game at the Tsongas Center. (James Thomas photo)
Boston Fleet goaltender Aerin Frankel blocks a shot on net during the second period of Wednesday’s PWHL hockey game at the Tsongas Center. (James Thomas photo)