On Thursday, Feb. 26, the New York Sirens hosted the Montreal Victoire in the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s (PWHL) first game back from the Olympic break. The Victoire got off to a strong start, scoring three goals in the first period. The Sirens got on the board in the second, but Montreal added another goal in the third to secure a 4-1 win.
Sirens Looked Sloppy
Even though the Victoire were missing key players Marie-Philip Poulin and Erin Ambrose, Montreal came out swinging and scored three goals in the first period. They scored exactly five minutes into the game, and then 47 seconds afterwards. By their fourth shot on net, the Victoire were up by three goals.
In the first and third periods, the Sirens outshot the Victoire by a good amount. At the end of the game, the Sirens had 35 shots on net while the Victoire had 22. New York outshot Montreal by 13 shots, and they still only had one goal. Their chances weren’t quality shots, and although they tried their best to even the score, the Victoire got the best of them.
Related: New York Sirens’ 2025-26 Midseason Check-In
It was their first game back from the Olympic break, so perhaps some of the players were trying to readjust to their Sirens team after playing with their home country’s team. Regardless of what the issue was in this game, they have a week to get back into working order before they play again; plenty of practice time should hopefully work out the current kinks.
Osborne Pulled, Shanahan Got Her Second Game
As mentioned above, the Victoire scored three goals on four shots. Jade Downie-Landry scored their fourth goal off seven shots in the second period, which was eventually waved off for goaltender interference. The damage was already done, and Kayle Osborne was pulled from the net, and Callie Shanahan entered the crease.
This game was only Shanahan’s second of the season. She received her first PWHL start on Jan. 20, the Sirens’ last home game before the Olympic break. Although this was likely not how she wanted to play again, Shanahan did a great job in the remaining 32:45. She faced 16 shots and stopped 15, earning a save percentage (SV%) of .938.
Shanahan was selected by the Sirens in the fourth round of the 2025 PWHL Entry Draft with the pick they acquired in trading Abby Roque to Montreal. The Sirens have relied on Osborne for the majority of the season, as this was her 16th start in their 17 games. Although she is a rookie goaltender, Shanahan is showing that she can step up to the challenge when needed.
O’Brien Continues to Excel
Montreal’s Kaitlin Willoughby took a seat at 5:37 for a tripping call. Just 20 seconds later, the Sirens were on the board. Sarah Fillier passed the puck across the ice for Maja Nylen Persson at the blue line. She sent it diagonally down the ice for Casey O’Brien, who was positioned near the net. She got the puck on her stick and immediately sent it into the space Ann-Renee Desbiens allowed.
This goal marked O’Brien’s fifth of the season and her third on the power play. She is now tied with 2025 first overall pick Kristyna Kaltounkova for the most points on the team with 12. O’Brien was selected third overall in the 2025 Draft. The Sirens traded defender Ella Shelton to the Toronto Sceptres in exchange for the third overall pick. O’Brien has demonstrated excellent offensive skills this season and has proved why the Sirens made the trade to have two first-round draft picks.
Sirens Back Next Week
The Sirens will play a week after this game, on Thursday, March 5, when they host the Boston Fleet.
