I covered the Metropolitan Riveters of the now-defunct women’s Premier Hockey Federation, enjoying that assignment immensely. It’s one reason I’m high on the new Professional Women’s Hockey League, now in its second season, and our local team, the offensive-minded New York Sirens.
The New York Sirens pride themselves on being a full-volume hockey–a team that will go all in and put the boom on opposing players. They’re going to play firewagon hockey, as in pushing the pace on offense, which will appeal to fans who remember NHL hockey for what it was — until former Devils head coach Jacques Lemaire sanitized the game in 1994 with the neutral-zone trap that took the life out of the sport.
The Sirens displayed that form of hockey on Wednesday night in their 4-2 victory over the Toronto Sceptres at Prudential Center, the team’s permanent home, after playing home games at UBS Arena on Long Island, Total Mortgage Arena in Connecticut, and Prudential Center in their inaugural season last year.
After both teams played to a scoreless draw in the first period, the Sirens forced the issue by getting plenty of scoring opportunities in the second. That resulted in a four-goal period for the home team as they outshot the Sceptres 14-7. That’s a sign of a good team.
How can you tell when a team is good? It has an identity, and the Sirens have it in their second year of existence. Their identity is “offense first,” the approach head coach Greg Fargo brought to the team from his successful days as Colgate’s coach.
It helps when Fargo has the players execute his vision, starting with rookie Sarah Fillier, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL). Fillier demonstrated her playmaking skills in the second period when the Sirens scored their first goal. She skated around the net with the puck until she handed it to Alex Carpenter, who quickly passed it to Noora Tulus, who poked it in for the goal. It was Fillier’s league-leading seventh point of the season (two goals, five assists).
It’s only a matter of time before more goals come for this future franchise player. Right now, it’s about Fillier letting the game come to her. A legitimate star who won Olympic gold in 2022 with Team Canada, she has the makings of becoming a premier playmaker and goal scorer. She has talent around her, too. She is teamed with veteran Carpenter, the team’s best offensive player, who leads the Sirens with three goals and three assists.
With Fillier, Carpenter, and Fargo, the Sirens can be special this season. Although it’s early, the Sirens currently occupy first place in the six-team league (2-1, eight points) and boast four players–Fillier, Carpenter, Jessie Eldridge, and Micah Zandee-Hart—among the top five point leaders on a team that has scored 14 goals overall.
If success continues, it would be a dramatic turnaround from last season, when the Sirens finished last, at 9-12-3.
Winning is also necessary to draw fans to games. Yes, it’s a crowded sports market, but hockey fans love good hockey, and women’s hockey has consistently produced top talent worldwide. The question is whether league owners are committed to ensuring PWHL’s sustainability by putting a solid product on the ice.
Whatever happens, one thing is sure—following the Sirens beats watching the whiny, underachieving Rangers and the wretched Islanders.
