The New York Sirens hosted the Toronto Sceptres on Jan. 12 for a matinee hockey game. The pair had a great performance, each having several chances to put themselves on the scoreboard. At the end of regulation, each team had earned zero goals and forced an overtime push. Ultimately, it was the home team that came away with the win.
Controversial Goal Leads to Social Media Discussion
Jessie Eldridge was able to put the game away with her overtime-winning goal. However, this goal should have been reviewed. Eldridge should have been considered offside, as she crossed the blue line before the puck did. The whistle was not blown and she was able to skate directly up to the net to tip the puck into the back of Kristen Campbell’s goal. Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) fans and reporters took to social media to discuss the legitimacy of this goal. They questioned why the play was not immediately called off for being offside. Jared Book on X discovered the truth.
OK, I have reviewed the PWHL Rulebook.
— Jared Book (@jaredbook) January 12, 2025
There is no video review for offside. pic.twitter.com/2ybrhuhgxa
According to the PWHL rulebook, the coach is not allowed to challenge a video review for a goal that is offside. At the same rate, the referees should have seen that the play was offside and immediately blown the whistle to stop play. There are a number of factors at play here. It is not completely the officials’ fault, but it is a major part of it.
Related: PWHL Continues to Innovate the Game With New Rules
Before the first season of the PWHL kicked off, they announced there would be new rules. One of them was a “Jail Break” goal, where if the team that has a penalty scores a goal, the player in the penalty box would be released. While this is a fun and unique rule, it is time for the PWHL to look into adding even more rules to the playbook. They can look into adding “fun” rules once they get a handle on general play. This was not a goal that should have been allowed. It will be interesting to see if the league corrects this immediately, or if they wait until the beginning of the next season to update the rules. Either way, this is something that needs to be addressed.
Had the referees caught that this was offside and blown the whistle, it would have been interesting to see who would have actually taken the win in this game. Would the Sirens have won, or would the Sceptres get a redemption round? Would it have been won in overtime or gone to a shootout? We will never know.
Sirens Should Have Won in Regulation
With four minutes left in the third period, it was coming down to the wire. Abby Roque took a shot on the net. Campbell attempted to cover it up, but it slid out from under her arm and past the goal line. Roque argued with officials, stating that the goal should have been considered good. After reviewing the play, it was made clear that the whistle was blown before the shot was made. The goal was disallowed, which then sent the game into overtime since neither team scored in the remaining few minutes.
Schroeder Continues to Stand On Top
Corinne Schroeder was an unstoppable force in this game. She blocked a total of 28 shots that came from the visitors. While the Sceptres had great chances to score, Schroeder was not allowing anything past her.
Schroeder has been on a tear this season. This is now her second shutout in a row. The first was against the Minnesota Frost on Jan. 4. Between these two games and her game prior, her shutout streak is currently at 166:44. She made history, as she is the first goalie to record back-to-back shutouts in regular season games. She has been on top of her A-game this season so far. It will be exciting to see how she performs for the rest of the season. Hopefully, that shutout streak can extend even longer.
Homestand Continues
The Sirens look to get another win when they host the Minnesota Frost on Jan. 15.
