Game two of the New York Sirens’ road trip continued Wednesday night as they defeated the Montrèal Victoire 4-1.
Unlike their previous game against Minnesota, New York came out strong early. The ice was tilted in favor of the Sirens for this one, as they got two power-play opportunities early on. While New York didn’t capitalize on either opportunity, it did help them to build momentum to get on the scoreboard first. With the help of good forechecking in the offensive zone, Sarah Fillier was able to net her first career goal as Jessie Eldridge found her back door with a behind-the-back cross-crease pass. At the end of one period, the Sirens held a one-goal lead and an 18-4 advantage in shots on net.
The second period looked like a completely different game as Montréal took control from the puck drop. Less than two minutes into the period, the Victoire found the back of the net with Cayla Barnes scoring her first goal in the PWHL as Jennifer Gardiner sent her off on a breakaway, allowing her to backhand the puck past Corinne Schroeder. As the period went on, both teams got their fair share of opportunities, but it was the Montréal show with the Victoire leading the period 10-8 in shots.
The third period was a tale of two stories. The first ten minutes were dominated by Montréal, propelled by a power-play opportunity. In that span, the Victoire had eight shots on the net before the midpoint of the period but was unable to capitalize due to the strong net play of Schroeder. After the ten-minute mark, the tides shifted, with New York suffocating Montréal in their zone. This pressure led to the go-ahead goal from none other than Alex Carpenter. Carpenter found a spot in the front of the net and Fillier connected for the quick play.
The momentum didn’t stop as the Victoire couldn’t find a way out of their zone. With three minutes left in the game, Montréal was given a power-play opportunity, pulling the goalie to make it a 6-on-4. The Sirens’ defense came up strong, and Jade Downie-Landry scored the empty netter to negate the Victoire’s power-play due to the jailbreak rules. New York took that momentum to score one more as Filler scored her second of the night, one-timing a pass from Jessie Eldridge.
With this win, New York improved to 2-0 on the season, remaining the last undefeated in the PWHL this season. The two-game win streak is the first time since February that the Sirens have won consecutive games. New York finishes the road trip with a visit to the Boston Fleet on Sunday afternoon as they look to go a perfect 3-0.
