Everything is Bigger in Texas

Everything is bigger in Texas, and the Takeover Tour was no different, bringing in a crowd of 8,514 for the PWHL’s first trip down south as the New York Sirens took on the Seattle Torrent.

Feeding off the energy from the crowd, the game got off to a fast start, going back and forth before Jessie Eldridge took a roughing penalty, giving the Sirens a power-play. Though it wouldn’t last long with the Sirens taking a penalty just 41 seconds later. 

With the four-on-four play, the game seemed to pick up pace on both ends, but it was Danielle Serdachny with her first Torrent goal, who opened the scoring, giving Seattle an early lead. Serdachny was drafted second overall by the Ottawa Charge in 2024 and was acquired by Seattle in the expansion draft earlier this year. 

The next major shift in the game came from a game misconduct issued to Aneta Tejralová for a hit to the head on Sarah Filler, leaving Lily Delianedis to serve the 5-minute major. On the extended power-play, the Sirens were able to get 10 shots on net, but Hannah Murphy stood strong in the net, not allowing anything through to maintain Seattle’s lead. 

With just under two minutes in the first period, Elle Hartje got a nice sauce pass through the neutral zone to Casey O’Brien, who then fired from the left faceoff circle, notching her first PWHL goal. O’Brien was drafted third overall by the Sirens at this year's draft and was the most recent recipient of the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, coming out of the University of Wisconsin

But Mikyla Grant-Mantis would find the answer before the end of the first, with her first goal as a member of the Torrent, giving Seattle a 2-1 lead heading into the second period.

The second period continued back and forth before Alex Carpenter took her first penalty in the PWHL, putting the Sirens back on the power-play. And this time, Casey O’Brien would capitalize after Paetyn Levis passed over the collected rebound off Sarah Fillier’s shot. 

The Sirens continued their momentum before a shift in the minute of the game when the Torrent took over, firing 5 shots in just 36 seconds to end the first. 

Both teams came out hungry in the third, but it would be Lexie Adzija who re-opened the scoring, off the pass from Mikyla Grant-Mentis behind the net, for her first as a member of the Torrent. 

Seattle seemed to take some control after getting the go-ahead goal, before Maddi Wheeler from the Sirens took a hooking penalty. On the power play, New York did not allow a single shot from the Torrent. As the penalty ended, the puck was headed Wheeler’s way; she tried to play the puck with her stick; however, she hadn’t touched the ice with her skate, making her an ineligible player, sending her back into the box. On the secondary advantage, New York was able to get in a pair of shots, neither of which they were able to finish. 

Maddi Wheeler came back out of the box at a great time for New York as Kristen O’Neil cleared the puck from their defensive zone, which Wheeler was able to pick up to go on a breakaway to get her first PWHL goal. 

With under five minutes left in the game, Danielle Serdachny took a hooking penalty, sending New York on the player advantage. Taking advantage was Casey O’Brien, after picking up the loose puck in front of the net, notching her third of the game, for her first hat trick in the PWHL and the first-ever hat trick in a Takeover Tour game. Ultimately, the goal became the game winner. 

It was no surprise when O’Brien was named as the first star of the game, along with PWHL Player of the Week. 

The Sirens now head home to take on the Vancouver Goldeneyes. In their last matchup, New York came out with a 5-1 lead and will look to continue their momentum from Dallas. While Vancouver enters the game off an overtime loss and looks to bounce back as they continue their six-game roadtrip.