Sirens' new home, addition of Sarah Fillier has PWHL club's trajectory pointing up

Soon after the final refrains of Frank Sinatra's iconic New York, New York finished playing over the loudspeakers to signify New York's pre-season 5-2 victory over Toronto, Sarah Fillier took a seat at the podium to go over her three-goal outing.

Perhaps this was a glimpse of what's to come from the rookie No. 1 draft pick for her nomadic, win-starved Sirens team that opens its second PWHL season at the defending champion Minnesota Frost on Sunday.

"I'm pretty happy with how the game went," Fillier said last week, following a game in which the 24-year-old capped a hockey cycle of sorts by scoring a shorthanded, power-play and even-strength goal. "Every game I'm trying to be dangerous in the offensive zone, so it's nice for our line to get a few."

That's the expectation going forward for a player dubbed a generational talent and a three-time Patty Kazmaier college player of the year finalist at Princeton in New Jersey. She scored eight goals in her Olympic debut as part of Canada's gold medal-winning team in 2022 and is a three-time world champion.

"It's a lot more fun to be on the same line than against her," U.S. national team veteran and Sirens star Alex Carpenter said of her new linemate. "I think from the first day we had camp, we were firing on all cylinders. And I think that's something that we wanted last year."

Those little town blues and vagabond shoes — New York split its home games at three venues across three states — might be a lament of the past for the Sirens following a nearly forgettable first season. After a 4-0 win over Toronto in the PWHL's inaugural game, New York won only four more in regulation, allowed a league-worst 67 goals and scored a league-low 31 even-strength goals in 24 outings.

Fillier is