The Boston Fleet made a handful of roster moves Sunday, placing two players on long-term injured reserve. As a result, they promoted two familiar faces from their reserve list.

Rookie defender Riley Brengman and forward Sophie Shirley both landed on LTIR, though the team didn’t share any details about their injuries. To fill those spots, Boston signed forward Loren Gabel and defender Mia Biotti to Standard Player Agreements on January 26.

Loren Gabel gets another chance

Gabel’s story is pretty wild when you think about it. This is a player who won the Patty Kazmaier Award in 2019 as the best player in women’s college hockey during her time at Clarkson, where she also picked up two NCAA national championships.

Then she went out and absolutely dominated the PHF in 2022–23 with the Boston Pride, leading the league in scoring with 20 goals and 40 points in just 22 games. She won MVP and Newcomer of the Year that season.

Boston drafted her 22nd overall in the inaugural PWHL Draft, and she’s been with the Fleet ever since. Here’s the weird part. Gabel signed with Boston in the offseason, then got sent to the reserve list after training camp.

For a former MVP, that had to sting. But injuries happen, and now she’s back on a standard contract with another shot to show what she can do.

Biotti earned the promotion

Biotti’s road to a standard contract took a bit longer. The Harvard captain spent four years with the Crimson, playing 123 games and putting up six goals and 32 assists from the blue line. 

Before that, she won gold with Team USA at the 2020 U18 Women’s World Championship.

She didn’t get drafted but earned a free agent invite to Fleet camp. Boston liked what they saw enough to keep her around. Earlier this month, they gave her a 10-day contract on January 3, and she played three games, including appearances at the Takeover Tour stops in Detroit and Halifax, plus a home game.

Clearly, she did enough to impress. When roster space opened up, the Fleet didn’t hesitate to upgrade her to a standard deal.

Roster Updates 🚨

Defender Mia Biotti and forward Loren Gabel have been activated off of our Reserve Player List. In a corresponding move, defender Riley Brengman and forward Sophie Shirley have been placed on long-term injured reserve (LTIR).

📰: https://t.co/3SDGPLmaWO pic.twitter.com/dm8brXajgg

— Boston Fleet (@PWHL_Boston) January 26, 2026

Boston has made the right moves

Both moves make sense for the Fleet. They’re bringing in players who already know the system and don’t need time to adjust. Gabel brings offensive punch and championship experience. Biotti gives them solid defensive play and the kind of hunger you get from a player still fighting to establish herself in the league.

With the season rolling and playoff spots on the line, Boston needed players ready to contribute right away. They got that with Gabel and Biotti, two players who’ve already shown they belong and are ready to make the most of this opportunity.