Lou Orlando
NEW YORK — When the New York Sirens hit the ice Saturday night in front of a sold-out Madison Square Garden crowd, it will represent a landmark moment in PWHL history.
Eight hours after puck drop between the New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings on Saturday afternoon, the Sirens will host the Seattle Torrent in the PWHL’s first game at MSG.
“I think it’s going to be amazing. This date’s been circled on our calendars for a long time,” Sirens alternate captain Sarah Fillier said at practice Tuesday. “I think it’s such an iconic place, an iconic city, so just to represent it and be the first pro women’s hockey game here — it’s gonna be exciting.”
The Garden hosted a PWHPA Dream Gap Tour game in February 2021, which was closed to fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Saturday will mark the first professional women’s hockey game at MSG with fans in attendance.
The Sirens practiced on Garden ice Tuesday morning — and made sure to soak in the experience.
“It’s crazy,” Fillier said afterward. “A lot of the girls were just looking up and looking at the banners and the big jumbotron and everything, the names in the rafters. There’s so much history here.”
The jersey numbers of New York Knicks and Rangers legends hang from the Garden’s ringed canopy alongside championship banners from 1940, 1970, 1973, and 1994. Let your gaze linger, and tributes to the venue’s most iconic musical performers — from Billy Joel to Harry Styles and Phish — come into view.
“It’s hard to put into words. Really,” Sirens coach Greg Fargo said Tuesday. “I’ve been so fortunate in my time here to be able to go to some great venues, unreal crowds. But I don’t think there’s anything that compares to Madison Square Garden. It’s in a category of its own. Just the history of what’s gone on here, from hockey games and far beyond — I think it’s just another important milestone for women’s hockey to be here on Saturday night and for us to be able to showcase where it is now.”
Few storylines carry more weight than the return of former Sirens Alex Carpenter and Corinne Schroeder, now with Seattle. Both were standouts in New York during the PWHL’s first two seasons before being left unprotected in the 2025 expansion draft. Saturday brings them to the New York market for the first time since departing last offseason.
But amid all the excitement, New York’s postseason hopes remain on the line. The Sirens sit five points out of a playoff spot, and can ill-afford to leave points on the table, especially against a last-place Torrent squad.
“We’re trying to get any win we can at this point,” Fillier said Wednesday after willing the Sirens to an overtime win. “And what better stakes than MSG?”
Carpenter, Schroeder set for ‘warm welcome’ at MSG
After an offseason marked by turnover, several former Sirens have already ventured back into the tri-state area in 2025-26. Each time, the fans welcomed them back with open arms.
“Just in warm-ups, seeing all the signs for us and people who came down to our end of the ice just to say hi or pay homage to our first time back. It was really special,” former Sirens forward Abby Roque said after her first game at Prudential Center since being traded to the Montreal Victoire during the 2025 PWHL Draft. “I do appreciate a lot from fans and from the Sirens for giving us that tribute.”
Carpenter and Schroeder can expect a similar reception — and they’ll get it on Garden ice.
“I’m excited for them to get the chance to play at MSG,” Sirens alternate captain Jaime Bourbonnais said Tuesday. “They were here for two years with me, good friends of mine, so it’s pretty special that they’re the ones that get to also have the opportunity to play here. I don’t love playing against them, but it’ll be good to see them.”
Schroeder posted a .930 save percentage during her inaugural season with the Sirens and led the League with four shutouts in 2024-25. Carpenter, who served as an alternate captain for two seasons in New York, recorded 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists) in 2024 — tied for second in the League behind Natalie Spooner (27). Carpenter departed as the franchise’s all-time leading scorer with 43 points (19 goals, 24 assists), later surpassed by Fillier in March.
“Schroeds and Carp put in a lot for the Sirens in their two years here. They were key players last year,” Fillier reflected. “That’s why they get taken in expansion — two of the best players in our League. So I think the fans will have a warm welcome for them.”
“But, you know, we’d love to see them lose at MSG,” Fillier added with a smirk.
Sirens take subway to MSG practice
Rather than bus to practice on Tuesday, the Sirens opted to take the subway to MSG.
That’s not exactly unfamiliar ground for the Sirens, who are frequent subway riders, Bourbonnais said. But both Fillier and Bourbonnais admitted that taking it to MSG had a different feel.
“I felt like I was living a bit of fake life, you know, getting to come play hockey part of New York City,” Fillier noted. “It’s cool. Even when you walk out and see Penn Station, it’s awesome.”
“Felt like [William] Nylander on the way to a game in Toronto,” chuckled Bourbonnais, a native of Mississauga, Ontario.
The subway trip wasn’t just for the players, Fargo assured.
“The coaches were on a 6:45 [a.m] train together to get here, so we’re soaking it all in that way too.”
Sirens have ‘lot of belief and trust’ in Denisa Křížová
New York acquired forward Denisa Křížová from the Minnesota Frost in exchange for defender Jincy Roese. She made her Sirens debut Wednesday, recording two hits in 10:42 of ice time in a 4-3 overtime win over her former Frost squad.
“It’s been a lot in last 48 hours. Definitely not easy to move across the whole country,” Křížová shared postgame. “But I had a really nice welcome here. This is a great team. I always didn’t like to play against them, because they are pretty hard-working team. Happy to be here.”
The Sirens are happy to have the Czech native, especially with top forwards Taylor Girard and Kristyna Kaltounkova on long-term injured reserve (LTIR).
“We’re going to put her in a role where she can contribute offensively,” Fargo stated Tuesday.
She played on New York’s second line Wednesday, skating on the left wing with Kristin O’Neill and Paetyn Levis.
It’s been a rather quiet 2025-26 campaign for Křížová, who posted career highs in goals (four) and points (nine) with Minnesota in 2024-25. The 31-year-old has one goal and five points in 24 games this season, shooting just 3.2 percent.
But Fargo sees Křížová as a strong fit for New York’s system.
“I thought Denisa, with K.O. and Paetyn, had a really good night. It was nice to see some chemistry throughout our forward group, which has been hard to find this year,” Fargo noted after Wednesday’s win. “In a short period of time, it’s easy to see her veteran presence on the ice, off the ice. Her poise with the puck. She has the ability to make little five, ten-foot plays with the puck that make everybody else better and help us extend plays.”
With Girard out for the remainder of the season and Kaltounkova sidelined for at least two more weeks, the Sirens are committed to putting Křížová in a major role.
“Excited to see what she can do as she continues to get more comfortable,” Fargo continued. “But we’ve got a lot of belief and trust in her.”
Fargo also highlighted Křížová’s championship pedigree as a two-time Walter Cup champion with Minnesota.
“I think that’s the challenge with having a team that’s never been to the playoffs before — to know what it takes to get there,” Fargo explained Tuesday.
Křížová is one of just three players in the Sirens organization with PWHL playoff experience, joining O’Neill and Clair DeGeorge. Her 18 postseason games are the most on the team.
“I think Denisa can offer us some leadership in those moments,” added Fargo. “There’s a calming presence to having someone like that who’s done it before and been there and had so much success in a short career.”
