On Wednesday, Dec. 3, the New York Sirens traveled to Washington State to take on the Seattle Torrent for their first West Coast trip of the 2025-26 Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) season. The Sirens took an early lead, scoring in the opening five minutes of the period. However, the Torrent came back in the final moments of the game to win 2-1. With this win, the Sirens fall to 2-0-0-2 for the season, and the Torrent earned their first-ever win.
Levis Opened the Scoring Early
Just three minutes into the game, Lauren Bernard dished the puck to Jincy Roese. She skated it around the boards and behind the net, causing Hannah Murphy to lose her eyes on the puck. Roese sent it to Paetyn Levis, who was in front of the net. While Murphy was still unaware of the puck, Levis took a shot and scored the first goal of the game.
Levis has had a great start to the season, already recording three points in just four games. She has found success in the top-six alongside Kristyna Kaltounkova and Kristin O’Neill. Although this goal was assisted by two defenders, Levis is adding some much-needed depth to the Sirens’ top-six forward group.
Kaltounkova Had a Nasty Hit
Speaking of Kaltounkova, she dealt a nasty check from behind to Anna Wilgren, which inevitably cost the Sirens the game. Four minutes remained in the game when Kaltounkova checked Wilgren, sending her into the boards. She was shaky and slow to get up, but Wilgren got up on her own and skated back to the bench, which is a good sign of her strength.
Related: Torrent Earn First Win in Franchise History with 2-1 Victory Over Sirens
Immediately after seeing the check, the referees blew the whistle, signaling a penalty. They determined it was a five-minute major and ejected Kaltounkova for the rest of the game. Savannah Norcross served her penalty instead.
The PWHL is a league that prides itself on taking care of player safety, partially why Kaltounkova received a five-minute major penalty. It was in the final minutes that the Torrent came together to win the game, scoring two goals within 22 seconds of each other with a minute and a half remaining. Hopefully, Kaltounkova does not have another dirty play like that as the season continues.
Lack of a Coach’s Challenge Benefited the Torrent
For the Torrent’s second goal in 22 seconds, one could argue that there was goaltender interference. Kayle Osborne was clearly in a position where she could not stop the puck; she was laid out on the ice and everyone had lost sight of it except for Hilary Knight, who sent it home to give Seattle the lead.
As of this PWHL season, they have done away with the coach’s challenge. It is up to the central situation room and the referees to decide whether or not a play should go under review. This one was deemed okay from the jump.
Taking the opportunity away from the coaches is critical. It can be the deciding factor in some games, which we just saw here. Hopefully, this is the last instance of these questionable calls. At the same point, the 2025-26 season has just begun, so it feels like this is only the beginning.
Sirens Head North
The Sirens will continue on the West Coast before they have a week and a half break for the USA-Canada Rivalry series. Their last game before the break will be played against the Vancouver Goldeneyes on Saturday, Dec. 6. This will be the two teams’ first meeting since the Sirens beat them 5-1 in their home opener on Nov. 29.
