WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 18, 2026) – The PWHL made its debut in Washington, D.C. on Sunday afternoon and set a U.S. women’s hockey attendance record with a crowd of 17,228 at Capital One Arena for the PWHL Takeover Tour™ presented by BJ’s Wholesale Club. The game featured the New York Sirens relying on their standout rookies to guide the offense in a 2-1 win over the Montréal Victoire. First overall pick Kristýna Kaltounková added to her strong rookie campaign with her second power play goal of the season just 1:24 into the first period, bringing her goal total to eight on the season. Montréal’s Maggie Flaherty made sure the Victoire got on the board in the opening frame with a power play goal of their own in the last minute of play. The Sirens reclaimed the lead in the second period at 14:47 when Anne Cherkowski scored the game-winning goal, the first of her career, when she redirected a shot from Paetyn Levis quickly off the draw. Sarah Fillier recorded her second assist of the game on the play. Ann-Renée Desbiens gave Montréal their best chance with 25 saves between the pipes in her first loss since the Victoire’s matchup against the Toronto Sceptres on Dec. 27 at the Bell Centre. Kayle Osborne stood strong once again in goal, stopping 31 of 32 shots for the Sirens in her seventh win in 13 consecutive starts this season. The victory moves the Sirens into second place in the standings with points in six straight games, while Montréal drops down to fourth with their first loss in four games. The teams will meet again following the Olympic break on Feb. 26 at Prudential Center.
New York heads back home to host Ottawa on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. ET start and the first matchup against the Charge since their season opener on Nov. 22. Montréal will head out to Minnesota to face the Frost on Wednesday in a 7 p.m. ET puck drop.
