The New York Sirens took a 2-1 regulation win in front of a record setting crowd in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. made a significant impression on professional women's hockey hosting the market's first ever PWHL game on Sunday drawing a record breaking crowd of 17,288 to Capital One Arena.
The crowd, which saw the New York Sirens hold off the Montreal Victoire for a 2-1 regulation win, set a new American professional women's hockey attendance record breaking the 16,014 mark set by the Seattle Torrent in their home opener this season.
Kristýna Kaltounková scored her 8th of the season on the power play to kick off the scoring, but Montreal defender Maggie Flaherty answered back in the opening period to tie the game.
In the second, rookie Anne Cherkowski recorded her first professional goal, scoring the game winner by redirecting a Paeytn Levis shot.
The win continued New York's upward climb in the PWHL standings after two seasons of finishing last overall. New York now sits second.
“Obviously, we have a completely different group, and that starts there," said Levis.
"Some of the leaders in the locker room have stepped up, and we’ve matured in understanding situations like being on the power play with two minutes left—controlling the puck and being smart about how we close out games. That growth has led to us playing a more mature game late and being able to come away with tight wins.”