Sirens drop third straight with 4-1 loss to Torrent: Takeaways

· Yahoo Sports

Alex Carpenter and Sarah Fillier -- courtesy of PWHL

A shorthanded New York Sirens squad dropped its third consecutive game Wednesday, falling 4-1 to the Seattle Torrent in Chicago.

Since the Olympic break, New York has the worst record in the PWHL at 1-0-0-5 and has lost eight of its last nine games (1-0-1-7) dating back to Jan. 16. The Sirens are sixth in the PWHL standings with 27 points (8-0-3-11), four points out of playoff position. Each team has eight games remaining.

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Rookie center Casey O’Brien (No. 3 overall) returned to the lineup Wednesday after missing two games with an upper-body injury, but the Sirens were without rookie forwards Kristyna Kaltounkova (No. 1 overall) and Maddi Wheeler (No. 27 overall). Kaltounkova is listed day-to-day with an unspecified injury, while Wheeler was away due to a family matter.

New York dressed 11 forwards, including recent signing Clair DeGeorge, who made her team debut.

A slumping Seattle offense broke through emphatically, netting four goals on 20 shots against Sirens goalie Kayle Osborne. The Torrent remain in last place at 22 points (6-1-2-13), but now sit just two points shy of the Vancouver Goldenyes.

For the third consecutive game, the Sirens could not overcome a sluggish start. Seattle entered on a four-game losing streak (0-0-0-4), with just two goals over that span. They eclipsed that mark in the first period alone, tallying three goals on eight shots against Osborne.

Theresa Schafzahl — acquired from the Boston Fleet last Monday in a trade for former Sirens winger Jessie Eldridge — opened the scoring at 10:33 of the first, swinging behind the net and beating Osborne to the left post with a wraparound.

Schafzahl added another point to her ledger at 14:25, chipping the puck to an unguarded netfront where Danielle Serdachny, a former Colgate University star under Sirens coach Greg Fargo, converted for her fourth of the season.

Cayla Barnes made it 3-0 at 19:34, burying a tic-tac-toe feed on the power play after a tripping call on Sirens defender Jaime Bourbonnais at 18:33. The goal marked her first with the Torrent and third point of the season; Barnes had 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) as a rookie with the Montreal Victoire in 2024-25.

Sarah Fillier scored New York’s lone goal at 5:48 of the third period, banging in a rebound off an O’Brien shot. Fillier notched goals in back-to-back games for the first time all season. She has four goals in her last four outings after scoring once through her first 17.

Former Sirens forward Alex Carpenter sealed the Torrent win at 9:48, taking a Schafzahl feed off the rush and snapping a right-dot wrister that ricocheted off Sirens defender Nicole Vallario and beat Osborne above the glove. Carpenter has nine goals this season, tied for fifth-most in the PWHL.

Schafzahl recorded the first multi-point game of her three-year PWHL career, totaling three points against New York. She has four points (one goal, four assists) in three games since joining Seattle via trade.

Serdachny also had a career night with three points, surpassing her rookie scoring output in the process. The 24-year-old now has four goals and 11 points with Seattle this season after posting eight points (two goals, six assists) with the Ottawa Charge in 2024-25.

O’Brien recorded an assist in her return to action. The Sirens rookie has points in back-to-back games and six of her last seven. She leads all rookies in scoring with 15 points (five goals, 10 assists).

Key Takeaways as Sirens slump continues against Seattle

Cayla Barnes — courtesy of PWHL

Slow starts

There’s been a consistent thread in New York’s latest slump — slow starts. In six games since the Olympic break, the Sirens have a minus-eight goal differential in the first period. They’ve outscored opponents 9-8 in the final two frames, but the early deficits have proved costly.

For the second consecutive game, New York surrendered three goals in the opening period. Fighting back for a point — let alone a win — is a tall order, even for this resilient squad.

“I think we’ve proven to be a great team. We just need to bear down on our chances and be harder to play against in front of our own net,” third-year forward Paetyn Levis asserted postgame. “I think we give up some easy goals at the beginning, and then we’re clawing back the rest of the game, which is hard. It’s hard to play like that every game.”

The Sirens’ recent struggle to defend the net front is directly leading to goals from between the circles. It doesn’t help that Osborne hasn’t looked quite as sharp in the second half of the season. The 23-year-old allowed four goals for the third straight game, sinking her .906 save percentage to second-worst among qualified PWHL goalies.

“We’ve got to focus on the defensive details,” Levis maintained. “And I think, just at the end of the day, being way harder to play against, so teams don’t want to play us.”

Clair DeGeorge makes Sirens debut

Clair DeGeorge — courtesy of PWHL

DeGeorge logged a season-high 11:42 against Seattle, slotting in on the left wing next to Kayla Vespa and Anna Bargman on the third line. The 26-year-old, signed by New York last Wednesday in the wake of Taylor Girard’s season-ending injury, recorded a shot on goal and a blocked shot in her Sirens debut.

It’s unlikely that DeGeorge maintains a third-line role once Kaltounkova and Wheeler return to the lineup, but the Alaska native is poised for increased ice time after averaging just 2:23 in 17 games with the Toronto Sceptres this season.

Emmy Fecteau and Savannah Norcross both played less than 10 minutes Wednesday, despite New York skating two forwards short. DeGeorge should have a consistent role in the bottom six, even once the Sirens are back to full strength.

Oh, won’t you please take me home

Cayla Barnes — courtesy of PWHL

The Sirens could sure use a pair of ruby slippers. It’s not so much that they’ve been dominant on their own turf — in fact, New York’s 6-0-2-4 record at home ranks third-worst in the League. Still, it’s a big improvement over their 2-0-1-7 record on the road.

Wednesday extended the Sirens’ road woes, marking their fifth straight loss away from Prudential Center (0-0-1-4). Opponents have outscored New York 23-11 in that stretch. Their last road win came Jan. 6, a 2-0 victory over Toronto at Coca-Cola Coliseum.

To make matters worse, their schedule doesn’t get any lighter moving forward. New York closes the season with five road games — the most of any PWHL team. That includes a Saturday matchup with the Victoire in Detroit, as well as visits to Minnesota and Boston in April.

The Sirens already have the daunting task of erasing a four-point deficit in the wild-card race. A road-heavy slate only adds another hurdle to their path.

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