On Tuesday, Jan. 20, the New York Sirens hosted the Ottawa Charge for their second matchup of the 2025-26 Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) season. Their first game was on Nov. 22 for the Charge’s home opener. The Sirens kicked off their season opener with a 4-0 shutout victory against the Charge.
In this game, the Charge had a three-goal lead by the beginning of the second period. The Sirens attempted a comeback and ended up tying it towards the end of the third period. By forcing the game into overtime, both teams earned at least a point. It was the Charge who ended the game with a 4-3 overtime win, bringing the season series to an even 1-1.
Sirens Came Back From a Major Deficit
In the middle of the second period, the Sirens began climbing out of a three-goal deficit. Halfway into the second period, Sarah Fillier tried to make a play, passing the puck to Kristyna Kaltounkova. She took a shot, but Gwyneth Philips made the save. Jaime Bourbonnais was in front of the net and collected the loose puck. She took a shot to score the first goal of the game and her first goal of the season.
Ten minutes into the final frame, Jocelyne Larocque took a seat for tripping. With seconds left on the power play, Fillier passed the puck to Casey O’Brien, who skated into the faceoff dot. She sent a centering pass to Kristin O’Neill, who was in front of the net. With a quick slap shot, the Sirens were only down by one now.
Just two minutes later, Jincy Roese had the puck at the blue line, and she let a shot fly. Philips made the initial save, but Anne Cherkowski was there to pick up the rebound. She tipped the puck in for the game-tying goal.
Several Sirens players achieved major accomplishments in this game. As mentioned above, Bourbonnais scored her first goal. On the same goal, Kaltounkova recorded her first assist of the season, bringing her point total to nine so far. Fillier was the only player to get her name on multiple goals, recording two assists. This also brings her point total to nine for the season. Kaltounkova, O’Brien, and Fillier are all tied at nine points so far. Cherkowski also scored her second goal in just two games. This game was an incredible performance all around for the Sirens.
Sirens Struggled on the Power Play
The Sirens had a total of seven power-play chances in this game and only capitalized on one of them. They even had a 5-on-3 chance at the end of the first period and kicked off overtime with an extra player on the ice. However, the Charge were more successful in killing these penalties off than the Sirens were in scoring on them.
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Due to their lack of power-play goals on their multiple chances, the Sirens drop to the second-worst power play in the league with a success rate of 10.6%. Out of their 45 total extra-player advantages they have received this season, they have only scored five goals. If it’s any consolation, their penalty kill is also the second-worst in the league with a 79.1% success rate.
Regardless of the special teams struggles, the Sirens managed to tie the game and force it into overtime. They picked up a well-earned point, and they are still second in the league with 23 points; this is the standing that really matters.
Shanahan Got Her First PWHL Start
After 13 straight starts for Kayle Osborne, head coach Greg Fargo has thrown Callie Shanahan into the mix. In her first game, she made 17 saves on 21 shots, earning a save percentage (SV%) of .810. This is likely not how she wanted to kick off her season, but she still managed to make some strong saves to keep the Sirens in the game.
In speaking to the media after the game, Fargo was asked his thoughts on Shanahan’s performance. He stated, “She made some really key saves at key times, especially as the game went on, to keep us in there. I’m sure, for any rookie playing your first game, there’s a lot of nerves, and to be a rookie goaltender in this league with some of the great players we have to play against every night, there’s a lot that goes into that. She handled herself really well.”
With three games in a five-day span, this was the busiest stretch the Sirens have had all season. Osborne deserved a break ahead of the Olympics, since she was named to Team Canada and will not be receiving a break there. The Sirens have two more games ahead of the Olympic break; let’s see who the netminder will be for those two games.
Sirens Head On the Road
The Sirens will have a bit of a break before they take on the Minnesota Frost on Sunday, Jan. 25.
The season series between the Charge and the Sirens will continue at the Prudential Center on Sunday, March 8.
