Sirens Shutout Charge to Get First Win of the Season
Courtesy of the PWHL
The 2025-26 PWHL season officially kicked off with two games on Friday, November 21, but the only game on the schedule for the second day of action on opening weekend was a contest between the New York Sirens and Ottawa Charge. For the third straight season, the Sirens opened their season on the road while the Charge were looking to secure a win in their home opener for the first time in franchise history.
After player introductions, which were met with loud cheers from the crowd, and the anthems, it was time to drop the puck. New York’s second line of Kristyna Kaltounkova, Kristin O’Neill and Paetyn Levis lined up against Ottawa’s second line of Emily Clark, Gabbie Hughes and Mannon McMahon. Sirens rookie goaltender Kayle Osborne got the start and was facing Gwyneth Philips at the other end of the ice.
The game got feisty and entertaining fast. It looked like Ottawa’s Fanuza Kadriova scored the first goal of the game, but it was waived off due to too many players on the ice. The Charge served the bench minor penalty and then Sirens captain Micah Zandee-Hart got into quite the scuffle with Hughes, which saw her receive a five-minute major for cross-checking and a game misconduct. Once all the fireworks passed, both teams had decent scoring chances, but the first period ended without anyone putting the puck in the back of the net.
The second was more of the same. New York came out strong to start and killed off a penalty a little over halfway through the middle frame, but Philips stopped every shot that came her way. Osborne kept it locked down in the Sirens net and both teams went back and forth exchanging shots in hopes one would light the lamp. No such luck as the second period also came to an end with the score remaining the same, 0-0.
The final 20 minutes is when the game really opened up. Taylor Girard got the Sirens on the board at 7:49 in the third and did not stop scoring from there. She added two more goals to complete her first PWHL hat trick to make the score 3-0 late in the period. To seal the win, Maja Nylen Persson scored the empty netter to make the final score 4-0 Sirens.
Kayle Osborne made 28 saves to record her second career shutout. Girard became the first player in PWHL history to record a hat trick in one period and rookie Maddi Wheeler set the record for most points in a PWHL debut as she collected three assists in the win. Kaltounkova, Casey O’Brien and Anne Cherkowski were all held off the scoresheet in their PWHL debuts, but combined for a total of eight shots on goal. The Sirens have now won all three of their season openers while the Charge remain winless in their home openers.
The Sirens continue on their road trip and are back in action on Tuesday, November 25 at 7 PM EST when they take on the Montreal Victoire. The Charge will host the Vancouver Goldeneyes on Wednesday, November 26 at 7 PM EST.