In a PWHL Takeover Tour game in Detroit, the New York Sirens fell 3-1 to the Montreal Victoire, despite an initial dominance. Montreal scored three unanswered goals in the third period, completing a comeback in the first nationally televised PWHL game. The Victoire improved to 46 points (12-4-2-5) and extended their point streak to 11 games (7-2-2-0), remaining two points shy of the Boston Fleet for first overall in the PWHL.

New York squandered an opportunity to gain ground on the fourth-place Toronto Sceptres after Boston defeated Toronto 4-0 on Friday. The Sirens remain four points behind the Sceptres in the standings, with 27 points (8-0-3-12), after dropping their fourth straight contest; each team has seven games left in the regular season.

Catherine Dubois led the third-period surge with two goals just 4 minutes and 44 seconds apart. Alternate captain Laura Stacey added more cushion, extending the lead just 49 seconds after Dubois’ second tally. Victoire goalie Ann-Renée Desbiens took care of the rest, allowing one goal or fewer for the 13th time this season. Sirens goalie Kayle Osborne suffered her fourth straight loss despite a strong start, stopping Montreal’s first 17 shots. She finished with 26 saves on 29 attempts in her 22nd appearance of the season, leading the league.

New York kept things quiet for Osborne in the opening frame, outshooting Montreal 11-2. Jade Downie-Landry recorded Montreal’s first shot on goal at 1:58, but the Victoire went 14:26 without another until Michigan native Shiann Darkangelo ended the dry spell at 16:24. The Sirens carried a lead into the first intermission for the first time since March 8, thanks to Casey O’Brien’s sixth goal of the season.

Coach Greg Fargo commented after the game: "I thought today was a different story than what the last few games have been for us. We got a great start. I thought our first period was as good of a period as we’ve played." Montreal grabbed momentum in the second period, outshooting New York 15-7. The Sirens held the lead thanks to poised play from Osborne, who turned away Lina Ljungblom on a breakaway and denied Hayley Scamurra twice in succession. Desbiens was just as sharp, stopping O’Brien on a pair of breakaways.

New York nearly made it 2-0 at 7:54 when Kristin O’Neill deflected a point shot from Micah Zandee-Hart, but officials waved off the apparent goal for high-sticking after review. The Victoire maintained their edge in the third period — only this time, it showed on the scoreboard.

Dubois tied things up at 1:54, capitalizing on a miscue by Sirens rookie Anna Bargman. The 2025 fifth-round pick (No. 33 overall) sent a cross-ice pass directly onto the stick of Victoire rookie Natalie Mlynkova, who quickly led the Montreal rush and dropped the puck back for Dubois in the high slot. Bargman then collided with Sirens forward Clair DeGeroge as Dubois took it wide to the left dot and fired a wrister above Osborne’s blocker. Dubois gave Montreal its first lead of the day at 6:40 of the third, when a slick backhand feed from Darkangelo set up the 30-year-old for a one-touch shot through Osborne’s five-hole. Stacey promptly made it 3-1 at 7:29, redirecting a long shot from defender Kati Tabin.

The Victoire forecheck stifled any chance of a Sirens comeback. New York managed one shot after Montreal seized the lead — a Sarah Fillier wrister at 19:47 that snapped a 14:06 shotless stretch. "Momentum is a funny thing," reflected Fargo. "You get a little bit, and I think Montreal started to gain a little bit more as that second period closed off, and they carried it into the third in a good way. A couple mistakes hurt us." The Sirens lost for just the second time this season after scoring the first goal (6-0-0-2). New York’s points percentage dipped to .391, more than 50 percentage points below the Sceptres (.449) and Ottawa Charge (.455).

New York remained without rookie star Kristyna Kaltounkova, who missed her second straight game with an unspecified injury. The 2025 No. 1 overall pick is day to day. Detroit native Elle Hartje accompanied Fillier and O’Brien in New York’s starting lineup in front of a crowd of 15,938 at Little Caesars Arena. She won four of six face-offs and recorded a shot on goal in 15:15 of ice time.

“It’s been awesome being home. It’s a tough question to answer right now,” Hartje said postgame. “Obviously, it’s about the hockey, so not getting the ‘W’ is pretty disappointing, but it’s great to see Hockeytown showing out all the time.” The team lost six of seven games out of the Olympic break and nine of ten dating back to January 20. If this stretch feels oddly familiar, you’re not imagining things. In 2024-25, the Sirens dropped nine consecutive games (0-0-3-6) from January 31 to March 5. They finished the season dead last in the PWHL, missing the playoffs by seven points.