18 March 2026 saw the New York Sirens visit the Vancouver Goldeneyes visit the Pacific Coliseum to a crowd of 9,296. Heading into the match, the Sirens sat 4 points out of a playoff spot, trailing the Toronto Sceptres. Meanwhile, the Goldeneyes were 10 points behind that same spot, desperate to end a four game losing streak that pre-dated the Olympic break. New York opted for entrenched starter, Kayle Osborne in goal, while Vancouver turned to Kristen Campbell.

Vancouver was sharp in the opening of the first period. Anna Meixner and Jenn Gardiner tested Osborne within the first two minutes, and in the chaos, Sarah Fillier took a slashing penalty to give the Goldeneyes their first power play. The sustained pressure was immense as Sarah Nurse and company rattled off several shots from decent scoring locations to start the woman advantage. Three seconds before Fillier was freed, Anna Shokhina put a puck past Osborne at 4:55 to give the Goldeneyes the lead. The Sirens tried to answer the goal, but couldn’t put a shot through Vancouver’s defense. In the sixth minute, the game went back the other way, and Anna Segedi scored her first goal of the season to extend the Goldeneyes’ lead to two. The Sirens pushed back again off the faceoff, and after getting two shots past the Vancouver defense, Fillier cut the lead in half at 7:15. The pace of play ratcheted down to lower event hockey for the next eight minutes or so. New York took a Too Many Players penalty in the eleventh minute, but Vancouver’s powerplay failed to generate a shot on goal. In the sixteenth minute, Sophie Jaques put a puck past Osborne to restore the two-goal lead. Both sides had a series of offensive zone possessions in the closing minutes of the period, but only one Sirens’ shot made it to the net of the seven that the two teams attempted. Vancouver led the shot totals 12-5 after one.

The first half of the second period was dictated by physical play, and a lack of significant shooting or chance generation from either side. The pace picked up in the ninth minute, as both teams traded flurries of chances, but the score remained unchanged. After a critical save by Osborne in the thirteenth minute, Anna Bargman put a shot past Campbell, cutting the lead back to one. The Sirens pushed hard for another goal as Maddi Wheeler, Kristin O’Neill, and Kristýna Kaltounková placed a barrage on net, but Campbell was up to the task. The Goldeneyes sent play back the other way, but the New York defense refused to concede a shot on goal, bringing a 10-9 shots on goal advantage to the buzzer.

Low event hockey continued into the start of the third. New York had three shots blocked by the Goldeneyes, and after exiting their zone, Tereza Vanišová beat Osborne to bring the score to 4-2. The Sirens answered the bell by putting six shots on goal by the tenth minute of the period, but a dogged effort by Campbell held Vancouver’s two gold lead. The Goldeneyes’ shot blocking continued to stifle the New York offense as the clock became their enemy. At 15:35, Fillier took her second penalty of the game. Vancouver had looks from Sarah Nurse, Boreen, and Jaques, but Osborne kept the net empty until the penalty expired, until she vacated it herself. With the extra attacker, Cherkowski got a puck to the net, but it was unable to get past Campbell. Vancouver sent the puck the other way, and Mannon McMahon put the puck in the empty net with eighteen seconds remaining to put the game out of reach at 5-2. 

Overall, Vancouver played their best game since the break. It’s not uncommon for them to outshoot their opponents, they’ve now done so in four of their past five games, but their powerplay, finishing, and chance quality have been atrocious all season (8.%, 2GF/gp, 1.92xGF/gp). This was the first time their offense has felt as dangerous as the players that comprise it all season. For New York, this game continues a frustrating trend. Some observers have pointed to their defense, and their actual GA this season is worse than their xGA (57 to 48), but the easiest stat to point out is their PWHL-worst GSAx (Goals saved above expected). At -9.04, their entire delta in goals allowed versus expected is rooted in their goaltending. I don’t know how Gordon Woodhall (goalie coach) will address this moving forward, but even a marginal improvement could be enough to save the Sirens’ season.

• Christian