New York Sirens' Taylor Girard (17) celebrates her second goal of the game against the Ottawa Charge with goaltender Kayle Osborne (82), during third period PWHL hockey action in Ottawa, on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
New York Sirens goaltender Kayle Osborne (82) makes a save on Ottawa Charge's Katerina Mrazova (16) during third period PWHL hockey action in Ottawa, on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
New York Sirens' Taylor Girard (17) celebrates her second goal of the game against the Ottawa Charge with goaltender Kayle Osborne (82), during third period PWHL hockey action in Ottawa, on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
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New York Sirens goaltender Kayle Osborne (82) makes a save on Ottawa Charge's Katerina Mrazova (16) during third period PWHL hockey action in Ottawa, on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
OTTAWA - The New York Sirens are starting fresh in their third PWHL season as the only remaining team in the league that has never played a playoff game. So far it鈥檚 working, as the Sirens topped the Ottawa Charge 4-0 to open their season on Saturday.
In addition to losing four of their top five scorers from 2024-25 in the off-season, longtime starting goaltender Corinne Schroder parted ways with the Sirens (1-0-0-0) to sign with the Seattle Torrent. Comfortably stepping into the No. 1 role this season is Kayle Osborne, who shut out the Ottawa Charge (0-0-0-1) for the second time in her PWHL career.
鈥淲e鈥檙e a super young group and proved we belong in this league tonight,鈥 Osborne said.
At the other end of the ice on Saturday, New York鈥檚 offence exploded for four goals all within the final 12:11 of action thanks to a hat trick from forward Taylor Girard and an empty-netter from Maja Nylen Persson.
Forward Krist媒na Kaltounkov谩, New York鈥檚 first overall pick from this year's draft, looked to lay the body early in her debut, but that manifested in a boarding penalty which kicked off the game鈥檚 physical mayhem.
On the ensuing advantage, Ottawa seemingly capitalized on the ensuing advantage when forward Fanuza Kadirova鈥檚 shot ricocheted off Gabbie Hughes鈥檚 shin pad and into the netting. But the Charge were caught with too many players on the ice on the play, killing the man advantage to the tune of the home crowd鈥檚 voiced frustration.
With tensions rising, New York captain Micah Zandee-Hart was ejected for a five-minute major when she cross-checked Hughes in the mask while getting scrappy following the next sequence. Hughes wasn鈥檛 bothered by the move, however.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the league,鈥 Hughes said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 physical. It's fun.鈥
Gwyneth Philips, last season鈥檚 playoff MVP, took the crease for Ottawa. A difficult foil for Osborne in her first game as New York鈥檚 No. 1 option, Philips kept the Charge even with the Sirens through nearly 48 minutes of play.
鈥淪he kept her team in the game for a majority of it,鈥 said Sirens head coach Greg Fargo. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got to get a lot of volume there, obviously. The more attempts we get, the better looks we鈥檙e going to get.鈥
The Sirens finally broke the silence in the third period. Philips first turned away Sirens forward Maddi Wheeler, then stopped Girard鈥檚 first follow-up before the second rebound finally snuck through after 28 straight saves for Ottawa.
At that point, the floodgates opened for New York.
With 6:21 to go, Wheeler sent a no-look pass from behind the net to tee up Girard who buried her second goal into a wide-open cage.聽
鈥淭hat girl鈥檚 got eyes in the back of her head,鈥 Girard said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e starting to get some chemistry together.鈥
Girard rounded out her hat trick with 3:12 to go and an empty-netter from Maja Nylen Persson extended the lead to 4-0.
In her young PWHL career, Osborne has never lost in all three occasions she鈥檚 played in Ottawa. Native to the Ottawa area, she always has a little extra support at TD Place.
鈥淚 have a lot of friends and family here tonight,鈥 Osborne said. 鈥淚 only play here a few times a year, so it鈥檚 really special they get to see me.鈥
For the Charge, a scoreless season-opener only adds to a long-documented history of scoring woes. Last season, the Charge were tied for the least goals for with the Sirens, totalling 71 tallies through 30 games. Only New York sat in last place while Ottawa narrowly made the playoffs where they made a run to the Walter Cup final.
鈥淭hey scored a few more goals,鈥 Charge head coach Carla MacLeod said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think there was like a wheel that fell off or there was a big breakdown by any stretch of the imagination.鈥
The loss kicks off a three-game homestand for the Charge, where they take on the Vancouver Goldeneyes on Wednesday and face off against the Walter Cup champion Minnesota Frost on Dec. 2.
The Sirens will continue on the road, first against the Montr茅al Victoire on Tuesday before hosting the Goldeneyes on Saturday.
This report by 好色tvwas first published Nov. 22, 2025.
