The New York Sirens defeated the Vancouver Goldeneyes 5-1 Saturday (Nov. 29) during its home opener at Prudential Center in New Jersey.
The Sirens’ rookie defender opened the scoring during the first five minutes of the game, making it 1-0 for the Sirens. Sirens, Sarah Fillier increased their lead with a goal in the last two minutes of the first period.
Less than a minute into the second period, Sirens Paetyn Levis scored. Ten minutes later, Sirens Kristin O’Neil scored, making it 4-0.
The Vancouver Goldeneyes responded in the third with Sophie Jaques scoring in the fifth minute of the third period. Several minutes later, Siren’s player Kristyna Kaltounkova scored, making it 5-1 for the Sirens.
Sirens Head Coach Greg Fargo said, “I thought we did a much better job tonight. In a lot of areas, but especially around their net. We haven’t been around the net in a long time, but now we know enough that if you want to score, that’s where you’ve got to go. I just think, in other words, those goals were just kind of creating some chaos in or around the blue paint tonight, I thought our players did a really nice job with that.”
Goldeneyes Head Coach Brian Idalski said the team is still working on establishing its identity.
“We can play a skill game, but we also can get pucks deep and be tough to play against down low, and so what you see is a mish-mash of the two. So, our identity is still being formed, but first and foremost we have to start with being more physical, winning one-on-one battles, and just a consistent compete, not the ebb and flow that we’re getting shift to shift.”
This was the second game the Goldeneyes have lost on the road, after losing 5-1 to the Ottawa Charge on Wednesday (Nov. 26).
Sarah Nurse was out of the Goldeneyes lineup for the second game in a row after an upper-body injury.
Vancouver’s next game is on Dec. 3 at 4 p.m. PT against the Boston Fleet.
The PWHL entered its third season on Nov. 21 with its original six teams: Toronto Sceptres, Montreal Victoire, Ottawa Charge, Minnesota Frost, Boston Fleet, and New York Sirens, along with the two new teams, Vancouver Goldeneyes and Seattle Torrent.
In Canada, Tuesday night games will stream on Prime Video, Wednesday night games will be on TSN, Thursday night games will air on TSN and Sportsnet. Friday, Saturday and Sunday games will air on CBC, TSN, and Sportsnet.