Behind two assists from 2025 ninth-overall pick Anne Cherkowski, the New York Sirens silenced the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) expansion Vancouver Goldeneyes 5-1 in their home opener at the Prudential Center Saturday.
Sirens’ defenseman Nicole Vallario, who was activated from the reserve roster when defenseman Dayle Ross was placed on Long Term Injured Reserve (LTIR), scored the first goal of the game for the home side. Vallario stepped up to the left face-off dot, picked up a loose puck and wristed it into the far upper corner of the net to give the Sirens a 1-0 lead at 4:08.
Despite the Sirens’ positive start, defenseman Allyson Simpson had to be alert when a pass was sent to the backdoor and dove to break up the pass before it got to Goldeneyes’ center Hannah Miller.
Near the end of the first frame, the Sirens’ first line went to work in the offensive zone. 2025 third-overall pick Casey O’Brien received a pass from Cherkowski and ended up making an escape-turn in the corner. O’Brien then passed to Cherkowski, who misfired a one-timer, but the puck ended up going right to Sarah Fillier who whacked it past Goldeneyes’ goalie Kristen Campbell. The goal gave the Sirens a 2-0 lead, was Fillier’s first of the season and assisted by O’Brien and Cherkowski.
The Sirens ended the first period on a high note and continued that momentum in starting the second when veteran center Kristin O’Neill won a race to the puck below the Goldeneyes’ goal-line. O’Neill passed up to Simpson at the point, who then passed over to Jincy Roese. Roese then took a low wrist shot that found its way to veteran winger Paetyn Levis who was open at the backdoor and Levis tapped it in to stretch New York’s lead to three 55 seconds into the period. The goal was Levis’ first of the season and assisted by Roese and Simpson.
About halfway through the period, Levis took a minor penalty for interference. On the ensuing penalty kill, Cherkowski cleared the puck from the Sirens’ defensive zone but really made an indirect pass to the speedy O’Neill who beat a Goldeneyes player to the loose puck in the neutral zone. O’Neill then went in on a breakaway, deked to her backhand and slipped the puck around the pad of Campbell for the ‘Jailbreak goal’ to give the hosts a commanding 4-0 lead.
O’Neill’s shorthanded breakaway goal was essentially the straw that broke the camel’s back for Vancouver. Five minutes inside the third period, Sophie Jaques pulled one back for the Goldeneyes when her high wrister from the point beat Sirens’ goalie Kayle Osborne through a flash-screen, but it was for naught as the Sirens cruised to a 5-1 victory.
This year’s first-overall pick Kristýna Kaltounková scored New York’s fifth goal, when Vancouver’s Claire Thompson blocked a shot from Sirens’ captain Micah Zandee-Hart. Kaltounková then seized the loose puck and whipped a quick snap-shot inside the right post for her first professional goal. The assists went to Zandee-Hart and Levis.
In Saturday’s home opener, the Sirens outshot Vancouver 28 to 21 but the Goldeneyes were more physical, landing 23 hits while New York landed only 17. After the game, Vancouver’s head coach Brian Idalski, defenseman Sophie Jaques as well as Sirens’ head coach Greg Fargo, forward Casey O’Brien and goalie Kayle Osborne spoke to the media.
Vancouver head coach Brian Idalski
On what needs to change.
Some of the grit aspect of our skill has to play with a little more will and desire. The game’s not going to be easy. It doesn’t matter how skilled we are…We talked a lot about how our will and skill needs to be at a little higher level.
Vancouver defenseman Sophie Jaques
On the inconsistencies in her team’s overall game.
We, at times, were a bit good net-front but I also don’t think we were shooting the puck very much with a purpose and that comes with our line changes. We were just trying to get pucks deep and didn’t really make a lot of great plays down low when we did have them beat. We did some of it during the game but there’s definitely room for improvement.
Sirens goalie Kayle Osborne
On the differences with this year’s group of players.
This year’s group is super hungry and they want to be here and I think we’re really building something special and it’s just a hungry group, so that’s exciting.
Sirens rookie center Casey O’Brien
On the advice she’s received from veterans.
The biggest thing has been, yes it is a jump but we were all drafted or traded for, for a reason and so to stick to our game. Play the way we know how to play like, all of us coming in, we don’t have to change our game to fit the new style. If we just stick to our identity as players, it’s going to help contribute to the team success.
Sirens head coach Greg Fargo
On the importance of playing well in their first game in front of a fanbase they’re trying to grow.
Incredibly important and incredibly important for the group of players in the locker room this year to be able to come out and play to our identity right from the start. I think there’s a lot of excitement about our group but to be able to put it on display today in front of our home crowd for the first time was extra special and especially coming off a year where we weren’t as strong here at Pru, so it was really important for us to set the bar really high and now we’re going to continue to find ways to get better and re-set the bar. But our fanbase’s a really important part of what we’re building here. This is home and we love playing here, so we want to go out and show them what we’re made of this year.
With the win, the Sirens now have six points through three games and that places them second in the PWHL standings behind the Boston Fleet who also have six points but have done so in fewer games. The Sirens next game is against the other expansion team, the Seattle Torrent on the road on Wednesday, December 3. That game is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET and Fargo’s team will be facing their former goaltender Corinne Schroeder.
