Courtesy of Yamini Dalal Photography
The Sirens returned home to the Prudential Center to take on the Ottawa Charge for the fifth time this season. This matchup has been pretty evenly matched this year with New York going 2-2-0-0 while Ottawa is 2-1-1-0, but both teams need the crucial points as they are the two teams outside of a playoff position.
After a ceremonial puck drop to kick off the Pride Night celebrations, the game started and neither team wasted any time putting the pressure on. The Sirens had a great scoring chance early in the period, but Ottawa’s goaltender Gwyneth Philips made a big save to keep the game scoreless. Corinne Schroeder did the same at the other end of the ice, stopping the puck every single time she saw it. The Charge got the first power play opportunity of the game as Emmy Fecteau went to the box for tripping, but the Sirens killed off the penalty to keep the score 0-0. The stalemate broke at 15:28 when Brianne Jenner capitalized on a power play opportunity to score her fourth goal of the season which gave the Charge the 1-0 lead.
The Sirens came out strong to start the second period, but couldn’t take advantage of several power plays to even the score despite getting some great chances on Philips. New York finally got on the scoreboard on their third power play of the period as Ella Shelton scored her seventh goal of the season to tie the game 1-1. The lead didn’t last too long as Tereza Vanisova found the back of the net for her 11th of the campaign to make it 2-1. Just over two minutes later, Vanisova scored again to extend the Charge’s lead once more.
Courtesy of Yamini Dalal Photography
Down two goals, the Sirens had some ground to make up in the third and got to work as soon as the puck dropped. Just over two minutes into the final frame, Abby Roque scored the PWHL’s first ever Michigan goal to get New York within one. Not even two minutes later, Vanisova found the back of the net again to become the first player in PWHL history to record two hat tricks in a single season and restored the Charge’s two goal lead. The scoring didn’t stop there as Emily Clark picked up her eighth tally of the campaign to give Ottawa the 5-2 lead about halfway through the third period.
That’s the score that held when the final buzzer went off, giving Ottawa a very important win as they make a push for the playoffs.
Charge Head Coach Carla MacLeod spoke on what led to her team’s victory. “The mentality. It is playoff hockey at this point. It’s about learning to embrace that. It comes with a gritty style of play. That’s what our crew did really well. Puck possession made the difference for us today. We had some big kills on our penalties all the way to the end with that six on four.”
The main highlight for the Sirens from this contest was Roque’s Michigan goal. It’s no surprise she finally scored one after practicing the move for so long. “Yeah, it's cool, obviously. Would’ve been a little better if we had made the comeback from there, but it's something that has become a joke and we say every day when I come to the rink: ‘Michigan today,’ and I don't actually mean it, but the opportunity presented itself, so I had to try. Honestly, there was a lot around the net and I just knew I had time behind the net to pick it up, I thought I may as well. Obviously, the goalie is reverse handed so I had to put it in.”
The Sirens are back in action on Tuesday, March 25 against the Charge with puck drop scheduled for 7 PM EST.
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