For the first time in franchise history, the New York Sirens will play within the confines of New York City.
The Sirens are set to host the Seattle Torrent at Madison Square Garden on April 4, the team announced Thursday morning. It marks the second professional women’s hockey game at MSG, and the first open to fans. The Garden previously hosted a PWHPA Dream Gap Tour game on Feb. 28, 2021, but it was closed to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Playing at the Garden is an honor and sharing it with our dedicated fans will make it even more special,” Sirens general manager Pascal Daoust said Thursday. “New York doesn’t just watch moments; it lives with them. This is one of those nights meant to be experienced together, in the building, as part of the history of our team, our league, and everyone who helps bring it to life.”
It may seem strange that the “New York” Sirens have never actually played within the city’s limits, but that’s been part of the obstacle course for a squad that’s lagged behind the rest of the PWHL–both in performance and attendance.
The Sirens have played in three different venues in the tri-state area since the League’s debut in January 2024. New York operated without a permanent home during its inaugural campaign, instead splitting time between UBS Arena (Elmont, NY) and Total Mortgage Arena (Bridgeport, CT) with a one-off game at Prudential Center (Newark, NJ). They’d ultimately settle down in New Jersey, adopting Prudential Center as the team’s official home venue ahead of the 2024-25 season.
Perhaps New York’s nomadic beginnings contributed to its lackluster attendance. Through two and a half seasons, the Sirens rank dead last in PWHL attendance with an average of 2,703. They are one of two teams with an all-time average attendance below 5,000; the Boston Fleet are the other at 4,325.
Of course, last-place finishes in each of New York’s first two seasons don’t help either. The Sirens are the only original-six team yet to appear in the PWHL playoffs.
For what it’s worth, attendance is on the rise. The Sirens are averaging 3,033 fans at Prudential Center in 2025-26–a jump of 9.6 percent from 2024-25 and over 20 percent from 2024. That translates to roughly 500 more fans in the building per game since New York’s inaugural season.
But in a single-entity ownership model where all metrics are ultimately viewed through a League-wide lens, New York’s gradual ascension can only do so much. Every team besides Boston is more than doubling the Sirens’ average attendance in 2025-26, with the Montreal Victoire, Vancouver Goldeneyes, and Torrent all averaging above 10,000.
Is it enough to warrant relocation? Certainly not. The PWHL would be foolish to abandon the New York market so quickly, especially given the early hurdles the Sirens faced. In the same breath, it’s no secret the League would like to see stronger returns in an area that has seen successful ventures in professional women’s sports with the WNBA’s New York Liberty and the NWSL’s Gotham FC.
The Sirens are looking to elevate their platform — and what better platform than an 8 p.m game in the World’s Most Famous Arena?
“When you think of New York, you think of places like Madison Square Garden,” coach Greg Fargo said Thursday. “To have the opportunity to play there, on that kind of a stage, it’s kind of a pinch-me moment.”
The team hopes such an event will serve as a catalyst for an expanded fan base.
“I hope so. I really do,” said Fargo. “I think our fan base that we do have is exceptional, and they’re extremely loyal. We take a lot of pride in playing in front of them every night at ‘Pru’.”
“But, hopefully, with the opportunity to play at MSG, it’s more eyeballs on our team. It’s more fans in the seats. And I think they’ll get a chance to see firsthand the quality of play in the PWHL.”
For the Sirens, chances of a permanent residency at Madison Square Garden are slim. MSG already hosts the New York Rangers and New York Knicks for 41 games apiece, plus any potential playoff series. Still, the allure of such a historic venue makes it a marquee event that could draw added attention to the Sirens and the League as a whole.
That should only benefit New York in the long run.
Sirens ‘excited’ to play at Madison Square Garden
For some Sirens players, it’s a chance to fulfill a dream that once seemed far-fetched.
“It’s so exciting. It’s amazing for the sport, amazing for us as a group,” alternate captain Jaime Bourbonnais said. “I went to Cornell [University], where the men’s team got to do Red Hot Hockey every year, and the women’s team didn’t get to do it.”
Red Hot Hockey is a biannual rivalry game at Madison Square Garden between the men’s hockey teams of Cornell and Boston University. Now the former Big Red defender will get her chance to skate on Garden ice.
“To now get my opportunity to play at MSG, selfishly, I’m really excited.”
Her excitement is rivaled by rookie forward Casey O’Brien, who grew up in New York City before moving to Massachusetts. Thus, it will be a homecoming of sorts for New York’s No. 3 overall pick.
“I think it’s just a full-circle moment,” O’Brien said. “I’ve been a die-hard Rangers fan since I was a kid, so I’ve spent a lot of nights at MSG with my family. I’m just so excited, and I’m really happy that my whole family is gonna be able to be there as well.”
O’Brien reminisced about one of her earliest hockey memories, when she skated in a mini 3-on-3 game in between periods in front of a Garden crowd.
“[Little Casey] wouldn’t believe it,” O’Brien remarked. “The Olympics was always the end goal just because there wasn’t a League to dream about. I think she would start crying happy tears.”
O’Brien scored her first career goal against Seattle on Dec. 28, part of a three-goal effort that spurred New York to a 4-3 win over the Torrent in Dallas. She’ll have a chance to one-up that impressive outing on April 4.
