On Sunday, March 16, the second to last stop of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) Takeover Tour took place at Little Caesar’s Arena in Detroit. The Minnesota Frost took on the New York Sirens for their second-to-last matchup of the 2024-25 PWHL season. The Sirens took the victory here, defeating Minnesota 4-1.
Fillier Leads the PWHL in Points
During this game, Sarah Fillier recorded both a goal and an assist.
With six minutes left in the first period, Fillier had control of the puck near the goal. She sent it to the other side of the net, where it found Paetyn Levis. With a shot, Levis scored the second goal of the game and Fillier recorded the primary assist.
With three minutes left in the game, the Frost pulled Nicole Hensley to try and make a comeback. With a pass from Micah Zandee-Hart, Fillier possessed the puck and sent it down the ice and into the empty net. Scoring the fourth and final goal for the Sirens, she made sure the Frost were not taking the victory here.
As the number one draft pick in the 2024 PWHL Draft, Fillier continues to prove why every game. With the two points she recorded in this game, she returns to her spot as the league leader in points, overtaking Hilary Knight. With just one point separating the two of them, Fillier with 25 and Knight with 24, the standings couldn’t be any closer.
Fillier is also third overall in the league in terms of goals. She has ten, while Knight sits in second place with 12 and Marie-Philip Poulin is at the top of the board with 14. She is also in a three-way tie for the lead in assists. Renata Fast and Daryl Watts, along with Fillier, all have 15 so far this season.
Fillier continues to prove why she is one of the best players in the PWHL.
Sirens With Two Huge Penalty Kills
Despite the Frost opening the scoring on the power play, the Sirens did not allow them to repeat their early success. The only other penalties in the game were in the third period. Three minutes in, Taylor Girard took a seat for hooking. Just 43 seconds later, Jade Downie-Landry joined her in the box for holding. For a minute and 17 seconds, the Frost had a two-player advantage over the Sirens. The defense was on point here though; they never let the Frost score a second goal on the power play.
Related: New York Sirens Defeat Minnesota Frost 4-1
The Sirens have the second-best penalty kill in the league overall. Coming in just below the Boston Fleet, the Sirens’ penalty kill percentage currently sits at 82.5%. In all 63 times they have been shorthanded, the Sirens have only allowed 11 goals. The Sirens were technically the home team in this game, even though it was a neutral site game. The Sirens have the second-to-worst penalty kill percentage when they are away at 75.8%. The two huge penalty kills in the third period should hopefully pad their stats.
Don’t Count the Sirens Out Just Yet
After a nine-game losing streak, it appeared as though the Sirens were going to miss the playoffs, but thanks to the PWHL three-point system, anything is still possible. With the three points New York took in their victory here, they currently have 27 points for the season. They are three points shy of the Ottawa Charge. The Charge are in fifth place with 30 points. The Frost are in the fourth and final playoff spot with 35 points. If either of these teams takes a dive in their performance like the Sirens did these last couple of weeks, they still have a chance of making the postseason for the first time. However, they still have a lot of work left to do.
The Sirens Head North
The Sirens will travel up to Canada, where they will take on the Toronto Sceptres on Wednesday, March 19.
