NEWARK — Thanks to an inspired third-period comeback, the New York Sirens extended their points streak to seven games (5-0-2-0), but it wasn’t enough to snatch victory from the Ottawa Charge, who prevailed 4-3 in overtime Tuesday.
Rookie forward Sarah Wozniewicz netted the game-winner 1:29 into the extra period to get the Charge (3-5-0-6) back in the win column after the Montreal Victoire snapped Ottawa’s six-game winning streak last week.
The Sirens wrapped up their busiest stretch of the 2025-26 season, returning to New Jersey for their third game in five days after a 2-1 win over Montreal in Washington, D.C. on Sunday. The short turnaround manifested in an early deficit, as New York fell behind 3-0 before the 30-minute mark of regulation.
“Oh, sure, it was a factor,” coach Greg Fargo acknowledged postgame. “I said to the team that you can look at the schedule months prior and circle this one and know, ‘hey, this is going to be a tough game for us,’ just given the circumstances. So no surprise, [it] took us a little bit to get going.”
Despite some physical fatigue, New York eventually found its rhythm. The Sirens scored three unanswered to force overtime and secure a point, thanks in large part to a lively third period that saw them score twice in the span of 1:43.
In all-too-familiar fashion for the most heavily outchanced team in the PWHL, Ottawa lost the shots battle 34-21. Still, the Sirens could not topple a Charge squad anchored by Team USA Olympic goalie Gwyneth Philips. Philips made 31 saves, dazzling with miraculous acrobatics and a trifecta of breakaway saves on New York’s No. 3 overall pick, Casey O’Brien.
Another Sirens rookie stood across from Philips in net. Kayle Obsorne’s League-record streak of 13 consecutive games started ended Tuesday, as Fargo handed the reins to 22-year-old goalie Callie Shanahan. The fourth-round pick (No. 28 overall) stopped 17 of 21 shots in her PWHL debut, settling in after a shaky first period.
Shanahan surrendered a goal on her second shot faced of the evening. Charge alternate captain Emily Clark dusted a trio of Sirens skaters along the goal line before setting up Gabbie Hughes in the slot. Hughes sniped the crossbar, despite good positioning from Anna Bargman, to give Ottawa a 1-0 lead at 8:37 of the opening frame.
New York had a golden opportunity to respond when three consecutive Charge penalties culminated in 3:56 of continuous power play time, including a full two minutes at 5-on-3 after Alexa Vasko and Brooke Hobson were sent to the box in short succession. Yet Philips completely blanked the Sirens, making nine saves during New York’s extended man-advantage.
Her finest work came on a mad scramble at 5-on-3. After lunging to make a paddle save on Kristin O’Neill — and losing her stick in the process — Philips regained position just in time to stop a one-timer from Maja Nylen Persson. Still without a stick, Philips once again lunged to the other side of the net, denying O’Neill two more times with an athletic kick save before ultimately falling on her side to freeze the puck in front of four swarming Sirens.
“That’s Gwyn,” Charge coach Carla MacLeod chuckled postgame. “Super athletic. She’s an elite-level goaltender. We know every night that she’s in our net that we’re going to give ourselves an opportunity to get some points and win a hockey game.”
Philips’ wizardry was merely the jab in a disastrous sequence for the Sirens. Rebecca Leslie delivered a haymaker one minute and four seconds after Ottawa’s last penalty expired, racing down on a 2-on-1 rush to beat Shanahan above the blocker. Leslie’s strike at 16:08 of the first — her sixth goal of the season — gave the Charge a 2-0 lead and drained New York of all its momentum in the process.
A Brianne Jenner boarding minor gave New York its fifth power play of the game at 3:46 of the second period, but the misfortune continued. Sirens rookie Maddi Wheeler interrupted an ailing man-advantage after one minute and 40 seconds with a slashing penalty on Clark.
With New York shorthanded, Ottawa’s League-leading power play converted. Leslie drove the net and put a shot off the pads of Shanahan. The rebound settled perfectly for Jenner, who deposited her eighth goal of the season into a wide-open net, extending the Charge lead to 3-0 at 6:53.
The Sirens finally found a weakness in Philips’ armour at 12:40 of the second, when Jaime Bourbonnais took advantage of a chaotic play. Pinching to the slot, New York’s alternate captain chipped a fluttering puck over the glove of the Ottawa goalie to cut the deficit to two.
“It was a bit of a flub, but I’ll take it,” Bourbonnais said. “We kind of were all over the place. Got in the interior a lot, so I was just lucky with a puck that popped out to me and was able to trickle it into the back of the net.”
Bourbonnais’ first goal of 2025-26 provided a helpful spark that carried into the third. The Sirens outshot Ottawa 12-to-5 in the final frame and drew two more penalties.
O’Brien was at the center of it all. During Ottawa’s third power play, the Sirens’ rookie deflected a pass from Fanuza Kadirova and drew a hooking penalty on Jocelyn Larocque. On the ensuing power play, O’Brien split two defenders with a crisp pass, finding O’Neill in the slot for a one-timer that beat Philips five-hole.
New York’s only power-play score of the night cut the Ottawa lead to 3-2 at 11:55 of the third, and Anne Cherkowski provided the equalizer not long after. The second-round pick (No. 9 overall) tallied her second goal in as many games, finishing off the rebound on a long shot from Jincy Roese at 13:39.
Officials handed the Charge their seventh penalty of the night at 18:24 of the final frame, and it took Philips’ best efforts to prevent a game-winning goal at the end of regulation. Instead, the Sirens entered overtime with a brief 4-on-3 advantage, although they failed to capitalize.
With both sides still playing at 4-on-4 after the conclusion of the Ottawa penalty, Philips denied O’Brien on a breakaway chance. The Charge corralled the puck and led a breakout the other way, as Leslie set up Wozniewicz for a sharp wrister off the rush that trickled through Shanahan’s five-hole.
Ottawa remained perfect in overtime with its League-leading fifth overtime win. Montreal set the all-time League record with seven overtime wins in 2024-25.
“We’ve played a lot of overtime this year, so our group is comfortable in those moments. We understand what needs to be done,” MacLeod said. “I just didn’t like that we were in overtime. I thought we should have finished that game in regulation.”
The Sirens (7-0-2-5) still hold a two-point edge in the PWHL standings after salvaging a point Tuesday. They are the only team that has yet to win a game in overtime this season.
Leslie led all skaters with three points (one goal, two assists); her 12 points are tied for fourth in the PWHL. Jenner’s second-period score tied her with Sirens rookie Kristyna Kaltounkova for the second-most goals in the League.
Sarah Fillier paced New York with two points, both on secondary assists. O’Brien logged a career-high 25:45, leading all skaters.
Key Takeaways after Sirens salvage point against Ottawa
1. Sirens lament ‘missed opportunities’
Philips stood on her head, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that New York left points on the table Tuesday.
The Sirens more than doubled Ottawa in shot attempts (48-23), and got plenty of high-danger chances against a Charge squad that surrenders the most grade-A looks in the PWHL. Philips’ brilliance helped level the playing field, but New York isn’t without blame.
“She’s one of the best goalies in the world. We knew that coming into it,” Bourbonnais said. “I think that’s also on us. We had to bury some there. I think we had some missed opportunities. Have to give her credit –obviously, she makes incredible saves, highlight-reel saves every time she’s in net. But I think that’s on us too.”
At top of mind is a Sirens’ power play that scored once on a season-high seven attempts, and notably squandered an extended chance at 5-on-3.
“A lot of good,” Fargo insisted. “The missed power-play opportunity, for sure, will be something that we look at, but the power play overall has been generating a lot of positive momentum for us. We’re getting great looks. We’re doing a lot of things. It feels like we’re dangerous, and so we’ve just got to keep chipping away with it.”
New York generated 15 of its 34 shots on the power play, but it doesn’t negate another bleak stretch. Since Dec. 31, their power play is 1-for-21, including 0-for-its last 11. The Sirens seemed to find some momentum in mid-December, coinciding with O’Brien’s promotion to the top unit, but the last few games are more reminiscent of the team that opened the season 0-for-17 on the man-advantage.
If there’s one department that should concern the Sirens, it’s special teams. New York ranks second-to-last on the power play (10.6 percent) and the penalty kill (79.1 percent). There’s a lot to like about their 5-on-5 play, but special teams has a massive impact on momentum and game flow, and the Sirens are behind the eight ball right now.
2. What to make of Shanahan’s debut
The Sirens finally pivoted to a backup goalie Tuesday as Fargo opted to give Osborne a rest amid a hectic schedule.
Shanahan’s inexperience showed in the first period. The rookie netminder allowed two goals on six shots, and even seemed to struggle with the shots she did stop. She’d settle down to make 13 of 14 saves in the final 40 minutes of regulation, including some key ones in the third period, before allowing the game-winner to Wozniewicz in overtime.
“I thought Callie did a nice job to allow us to get our feet under us,” Fargo remarked. “Made some really key saves at key times, especially as the game went on, to keep it close.”
It’s a positive to see Shanahan gain some confidence, especially in a game that featured a heavy dose of special teams play and low shot totals from Ottawa.
“I’m sure for any rookie playing your first game, there’s a lot of nerves. And to be a rookie goaltender in this League, with some of the great players we have to play against every night — there’s a lot that goes into that,” said Fargo, a former goalie at Elmira College. “She handled herself really well.”
That said, don’t expect Shanahan to get regular work moving forward. Fargo confirmed that the schedule played a big factor in resting Osborne, who had already played twice in three days. Shanahan looked serviceable in net, but it’s nothing that warrants an elevation from her current limited role as backup to the red-hot Osborne.
The Sirens have at least two days of rest in between every game for the rest of the 2025-26 regular season. Perhaps Shanahan gets a spot start here or there, but Osborne should still have a stranglehold on New York’s goalie rotation.
3. Optimism prevails after New York’s ‘resilient effort’
Not all losses are created equal. New York came well short of a flawless effort, but they can certainly hang their hat on a lively response in the back half of regulation.
“It was not the result that we want in the end, but a super resilient effort from our team today,” Fargo lauded. “We had some important kills, important clears, some great block shots, and great saves. It all adds up.”
When Jenner scored to make it 3-0 early in the second, a lopsided loss for a fatigued Sirens squad seemed inevitable. Instead, they dug deep and found a response. There’s a lot to clean up from Tuesday, but New York can take some momentum from an inspired third period.
“Kudos to New York,” MacLeod said. “They just don’t stop.”
It’s now seven straight games without a regulation loss for the Sirens, who led the PWHL in that department during each of their first two seasons. As New York continues to hold a playoff spot, there’s reason to believe that the ship has turned.
“When you’re playing winning hockey, you need everybody,” Fargo explained. And this is a team, from top to bottom, everybody can impact winning here. Got a lot of good things going our way.”
