NEWARK – The New York Sirens scored three straight goals in the third period to complete a comeback and secure a 3-2 victory over the Toronto Sceptres at Prudential Center on Wednesday evening. After trailing 2-0, rookie Casey O’Brien scored the game-winner with less than four minutes to play, just 1:10 after Maja Nylén Persson tied the game.
The result carried significant playoff implications, as the Sirens entered the night three points behind the fifth-place Sceptres — who were looking to move into fourth place with a win — and five back of the fourth-place Ottawa Charge. With the win, New York moves into a tie with Toronto for fifth place, with both teams now two points behind Ottawa for the final playoff spot. All three teams have head-to-head matchups among their three remaining games.
After a scoreless first period, Toronto opened the scoring late in the second when Daryl Watts struck shorthanded on a two-on-one rush with Renata Fast, snapping a shot top shelf for her ninth goal of the season to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. Former Sirens defender Ella Shelton extended Toronto’s lead to 2-0 at 8:51 of the third period, banking a shot in from the goal line off Kayle Osborne. New York responded quickly, beginning its comeback just 39 seconds later when Denisa Křížová cut the deficit in half, firing a low shot through traffic past Raygan Kirk for her first goal with the Sirens. Nylén Persson tied the game at 14:53 on the power play, converting a rebound off an O’Brien shot. O’Brien completed the comeback at 16:03, tipping a point shot from Nicole Vallario to lift the puck past Kirk and send the home crowd into a frenzy. Osborne made 24 saves for New York, while Kirk stopped 26 shots in the loss.
QUOTES
Sirens defender Maja Nylén Persson on her play in the last couple of games: “Obviously, we can make a push. Every time I’m put out there, I want to make the most of it. I want to be a player the team can trust in every situation. I’ll do everything for the team — offense, defense — whatever it takes. I’m just trying to do my best to help the team win.”
Sirens Head Coach Greg Fargo on what he was saying to the players on the bench when down 1-0: “It’s not about what I say. At this point in the year, our team knows who we are and how we play. It comes down to their belief in one another and how hard we’re willing to fight together. I liked our third period tonight — how hard we fought to get back into the game. It wasn’t perfect, and some things weren’t going our way, but we showed a lot of resilience and stuck with it. Great to see [Křížová] get her first goal as a Siren — that gave us momentum. Our power play wasn’t clicking early, but they delivered when it mattered. I’m really proud of the group and how hard we fought. They deserve all the credit.”
Sceptres defender Ella Shelton on the game: “Felt that one in the room — that was a tough one to lose. I think we started off [the game] not amazing, and then we found our footing underneath us; and I think we then sat back a little bit. We just have to be a team that’s not going to sit back and go push forward. We’re in a playoff push with some pretty tight points between this team [New York] and Ottawa [so we need to be better].”
Toronto Head Coach Troy Ryan on taking five penalties in the game: “You can’t spend that much time in the box. Even the types of penalties we took, you know we deserve the penalties, lacking details — mostly stick details — but just executional plays. We deserved those penalties, it was great to kill some of them, but ultimately, they found a way to get one which cost us the game.”
NOTABLES
New York becomes the first team in 2025-26 to finish its regular-season home schedule, posting a 5-2-2-4 record for 21 points in 13 games, not counting their two Takeover Tour wins as the home team in Dallas and Washington D.C. Excluding Takeover Tour games, New York compiled just 22 points at home in the first two PWHL seasons combined.
The Sirens extended their home winning streak to four games, including three at Prudential Center, setting a new single-season team record. It now stands as the longest active home win streak in the PWHL.
New York’s last three wins have all come despite trailing after two periods. Tonight was Toronto’s first regulation loss when leading after two periods, previously winning five and losing twice in overtime.
The Sirens scored three times in the third period to take sole possession of the league lead with 28 third-period goals, moving ahead of Minnesota (27), who scored twice in the final frame of their game against Boston tonight. The Sceptres, who entered the night with the fewest third-period goals in the PWHL, added one and now has 16 on the season.
Toronto’s four-game road winning streak since the Olympic break, all in regulation, came to an end tonight. Including tonight’s loss, the team has scored exactly two goals per game in four straight road contests.
Kayle Osborne recorded her 10th win of the season, becoming the fourth PWHL goaltender to reach double-digit victories this year. The second-year netminder has now won two of her last three starts after dropping four straight from March 15-28. She is just the second goaltender in PWHL history to start 25 games in a season, joining Ottawa’s Gwyneth Philips with the milestone.
Casey O’Brien recorded her fourth multi-point game of the season, notching a goal and an assist; the tally was her second game-winner of the season. She set a new career high with seven shots on goal, leading all skaters in the game, and became the second rookie in PWHL history to reach the 20-point mark. She now leads all rookies with 21 points (7G, 14A) and ranks tied for fourth among all skaters in points and sixth in assists.
Sarah Fillier recorded an assist to reach 21 points on the season (9G, 12A) and became the 15th player in PWHL history to hit the 50-point mark (22G, 28A), doing so in just her 56th career game. The second-year forward has also recorded points in four straight home games (6G, 2A).
Maja Nylén Persson scored her second goal of the season to tie her career high, set as a first-year player in 2024-25. The power-play tally snapped a 25-game goalless drought, with her previous goal coming shorthanded in the season opener, and marks the first time she has reached double-digit points in her PWHL career.
Denisa Křížová scored her first goal as a member of the Sirens in her fourth game with the team since being acquired from Minnesota on March 30. The forward finished second among all players with five shots on goal, matching her career high, and now has two points with New York after recording five (1G, 4A) in 23 games with the Frost earlier this season.
Daryl Watts scored her ninth goal of the season to move into a tie with Blayre Turnbull for the team lead in the category. The tally was the first short-handed goal of her career, coming in her 78th game, and marked Toronto’s second SHG this season (Turnbull).
Ella Shelton snapped a career-high 19-game goalless drought with her third goal of the season. The tally was her first against her former team, after recording 37 points (15G, 22A) in 48 games with New York across the league’s first two seasons.
Clair DeGeorge recorded her second assist of the season, both coming since joining the Sirens on Mar. 18. The former Sceptre has two assists in six games with New York after going without a point in 17 games with Toronto earlier this season, matching her career high set in 2024-25 with Montréal.
Elle Hartje recorded her seventh assist of the season to set new career highs in both assists and points, surpassing her rookie totals from 2024-25 (6A in 27 GP). The second-year forward is still searching for her first career goal.
Nicole Vallario notched her second assist of the season, providing the only helper on O’Brien’s game-winning goal, and now has three points in eight games for the Sirens. She played a season-high 16:26 and had multiple shots (2) for the first time.
Renata Fast recorded her ninth assist and 10th point of the season, reaching double-digit points for the third straight year. The assist was the 2025 PWHL Defender of the Year’s first short-handed point of her career.
Claire Dalton recorded the sole assist on Shelton’s goal, to set a new career high with ten points (1G, 9A) on the season, surpassing the nine points she put up in each of her first two PWHL seasons with Montréal.
Raygan Kirk allowed multiple goals for the first time since March 8, ending a four-game stretch of allowing one or fewer. She has lost two straight games in regulation following a three-game winning streak.
Kira Juodikis made her PWHL debut after signing with New York ahead of tonight’s game. The 22-year-old rookie winger, who joined the Sirens from the SWHL, played 5:37 and registered one hit.
Micah Zandee-Hart missed her first game of the season, as the Sirens captain served a one-game suspension for an illegal check to the head.
THREE STARS
1. Casey O’Brien (NY) 1G, 1A
2. Maja Nylén Persson (NY) 1G
3. Kayle Osborne (NY) 24/26 SVS
STANDINGS
New York: 34 PTS (9-2-3-13) – 5th Place
Toronto: 34 PTS (9-1-5-12) – 5th Place
UPCOMING SCHEDULES
New York: Saturday, April 18 at Ottawa at 2 p.m. ET
Toronto: Sunday, April 19 at Minnesota at 1:30 p.m. ET