After starting the PWHL season with back to back shutouts with the same 4-0 score, one going the Sirens way in Ottawa, the next going the other at Montreal, the New York Sirens had a lot of work to do in their home opener vs the expansion Vancouver Goldeneyes. They did just that, defeating the newcomers 5-1, on the strength of net front attack and strong defensive play.
The Goldeneyes were without top forward Sarah Nurse, out with an injury which definitely had an impact on the Vancouver offense. They had a tougher time getting established in the offensive zone and were limited to single chances per rush throughout the game. Goldeneyes Head coach Brian Idalski acknowledged that shortcoming and said “It doesn’t matter how skilled we are, we get out competed.”
That was all part of the game plan for the Sirens with Head Coach Greg Fargo wanting to establish a hard to play against identity this season. On that mentality, Fargo observed, “We’re playing behind their D, getting a lot of first touches on pucks, and I just think when you do that with our lineup, it’s tough to play against.”
Strong goaltending so far
Number one netminder Kayle Osborne has started all three games for the Sirens, with one shutout and 3 goals against vs Montreal. She came up big with some key saves early and continued to look strong in net throughout the first and second period turning away 20 of 21 shots in the game. She was confident in puck management as well, working with the defense to reduce those second chances for the Goldeneyes. Osborne echoed the team mentality to “play our game and not be reactive to theirs…we came out right off the jump and took it to them and the results showed.”
Nicole Vallario opened her PWHL scoring career with a bang, notching the first home goal of the NY Sirens season. Osborne noted that the home fans “erupted, and they kept the energy the whole game, so that definitely had an impact on us.” The defender was a Sirens camp invite that got a contract and a full time roster spot while rookie Dayle Ross is on IR. It could be a storyline for sure if she remains on the roster when Ross returns, as well as defender Jaime Bourbonnais, out day to day per the team. Fargo said postgame on Vallario’s contribution, “she’s a good puck mover, and for all those reasons, she earned her spot in our lineup and for her to go in and kind of make the kind of contribution that she did tonight against a tough lineup, I think she deserves a lot of credit.”
Anne Cherkowski made her presence known late in the first as her chemistry with linemate Sarah Fillier continues to impress early in this season. She had a nice shot that was turned aside by Campbell, with the puck back on her stick shortly thereafter. The scoring prowess of Sarah Fillier showed itself as Cherkowski connected with the former who was established netfront for the tip in.
Sirens strike fast in 2nd period
The Sirens added to their tally 55 seconds into the 2nd with sharp puck movement by the full Sirens offense, with Jincy Roese eventually feeding it to Paeten Levis netfront for her first goal of the season. Kristina Kaltounkova provided a screen and misdirect in the slot to aid on the play as well. Vancouver had some chances and looked to get back into the game in the period with a power play chance but Micaela Cava was stopped by Osborne. On the next play, Cherkowski got the puck out to the neutral zone past a Vancouver skater where Kristin O’Neill picked it up for a breakaway shorthanded jailbreak goal.
Vancouver broke the shutout in the third with Sophie Jaques getting on the board, but three and a half minutes later Sirens first overall pick Kristýna Kaltounková scored her first PWHL goal to cap off the Sirens victory.
Fargo was happy with the Sirens offensive presence, especially netfront. “If you want to score, that’s where you got to go, you know, and so I just think whether it was those goals or just kind of creating some chaos in and around the blue paint tonight, I thought our players did a really nice job.”
The Sirens move on to face the other expansion team, the Seattle Torrent, for the first time on the road on Wednesday, while Vancouver goes up against Boston Fleet the same night.
Photo credit: PWHL.
