Even Alex Carpenter's return on Wednesday night did not let the New York siren get out of its current slump.
Carpenter's goal in the third period prevented the sirens from blanking on the ice at home, but the sirens fell 4-1 to the Toronto Sceptres at Prudential Centre, not at either end of the ice.
This loss caused New York to lose a skid in six games, but the Sirens were not responsible for anything but themselves.
“It lacked a bit of urgency,” Carpenter said. “It's obviously hard to do that when you're skiding six games, but I think mentally, that's what we lack. We clearly I know how to play. I've shown it before. What we're missing now is the mental aspect.”
The Siren (4-3-2-9) is once again the PWHL bottom feeder, earning a whopping 9 points from the final playoff spot the game gives.
But even as the trade deadline approaches on March 2nd, freshman coach Greg Fargo has not seen the need for external reinforcements.
“I believe in the group in the room,” Fargo said. “We've seen this team compete at a high level against everyone in the league. I think what you're seeing is that we get a bit of our way.”
There was optimism towards this season after the Sirens slowly fled their first campaign and last finished in the league in 2023-24. Siren hired Fargo from Colgate and drafted former Princeton star Sarah Phillier on the first pick.
Earlier in the season, the Sirens looked like a team and set their sights on the playoff berth. However, the Sirens have been upset recently, digging a hole that is difficult to climb in the remaining 12 games.
It didn't help that the carpenter missed over two weeks due to an upper body injury. With Carpenter leaving the last four games, Siren had to be even more diligent in the run.
But that's not what happened.
Instead, the absence of the stars showed that the sirens desperately needed more secondary scoring and better defense.
“We'll soon realize just how big a hole Alex is left when he's out of the lineup and when he's in almost every situation where his team is dependent on her,” Fargo said.
New York overtook 16-4 with four losses without carpenters.
Wednesday's game wasn't that good.
Toronto overtook New York 33-24, with the team's main goal scorer Carpenter being the only siren player to find the back of the net.
The result was a gloomy locker room environment.
“Obviously no one is happy,” defender and captain Mika Zandi Hart said. “Like ” [Fargo] I said, everyone wants to win. We all want to find a solution. ”
Many people (coach and players) have spoken about it over a three-week winning streak. The advice was shared and tears were shed.
The Sirens desperately want to change their season.
“There's obviously a lot of stories going on,” Zandee-Hart said. “And the goal is to follow it in some way.”
The next opportunity for the Sirens will be on Sundays when the team travels to Buffalo for the PHWL takeover tour and plays the Boston Fleet.
