Louder Than the Rangers: Inside the New York Sirens MSG Sell-out

When the New York Sirens took the ice against the Seattle Torrent in front of a sold-out crowd of 18,006 fans at Madison Square Garden on April 4, it came with fanfare. There has already been much discussion about what the occasion means for the PWHL and the sport of women’s hockey as a whole.

The Saturday night match-up marked the first women’s hockey game played in front of fans at The World’s Most Famous Arena. (Previously, the PWHPA’s Dream Gap Tour played at the venue in 2021. COVID restrictions prevented fans from attending.) Propelled by a post-Olympics spike in interest seen across the league, the crowd in Manhattan set a new record for the highest attended women’s hockey game in the United States.

League-wide, the numbers reflect a trend of growth. For the home team, however, it’s a complete and total explosion.

Sirens’ Struggles

In the short history of the PWHL, the New York Sirens have finished last place in consecutive seasons. They have played their home games across three different arenas in three different states. None are in New York City proper. As a result of all of this, they lag behind other teams in attendance. In their primary home at Prudential Center, the team has averaged 3,800 fans per game this season.

With a thrilling shootout win in front of a record-breaking home crowd, both the team and the fans have been given a chance to rewrite the Sirens’ narrative.

“Records are made to be broken,” said Trish Golden, founder of the independent Sirens’ supporter group The Echo.

“The attendance record will fall again and when it does we will celebrate that too—because every record broken is another chapter in a story that keeps getting better and more beautiful. But what cannot be replicated is what it meant to the people who were in that building on that specific night.”

In light of this, it only seems appropriate to zoom in and ask: What does a night like the one at Madison Square Garden mean for the Sirens, in particular?

A Sense of Vindication

Sydney Hoffman is a current season ticket holder for the Sirens living in Staten Island. She’s been a fan since the team’s inaugural campaign, and described the MSG turnout as “triumphant”.

“To know that the Sirens went from barely 1,000 fans [in attendance] to 18,000 is just mind blowing,” she said. “It’s a big slap to anyone who ever said New York doesn’t deserve a team.”

The idea that the Sirens should leave New York is one that many fans reference in response to the night. The record-setting figure is, first and foremost, a reassurance that they won’t.

“We’ve been hearing for three years about how nobody cares about the Sirens in this market,” points out Noah Kudish. Being from Essex County, New Jersey, Kudish has followed women’s hockey in the market since the years of the PHF.

“Selling out the Madison Square Garden so quickly, and showing up like we did—it just proves that this area will absolutely show up for women’s hockey.”

The Venue Debate

It’s almost impossible to discuss the discrepancy between the Sirens’ MSG attendance and that of the rest of their home venues without suggesting the possibility that they move into MSG as a permanent home.

To some, the arena represents the easiest way to get to games.

Others, like Matt Goldman from Jersey City, would be hesitant about the move, logistics aside. Goldman cites MSG owner James Dolan’s prior treatment of the New York Liberty as his reasoning.

Either way, the Knicks and Rangers both call MSG home, and the arena is an esteemed concert venue. This makes it difficult to imagine the Sirens getting a seat at the table, regardless of Dolan’s role with the team.

Looking Ahead

All of this in mind, it’s clear this night doesn’t signal a permanent shift into Manhattan. Still, Sirens fans are excited about what it means. A shift in momentum.

Goldman points out that the attendance at Madison Square Garden would mean nothing as a primary home venue if it couldn’t be sustained long-term. He’d rather see steady growth at the Prudential Center, and this goal doesn’t seem far off. Many fans have pointed out the incredible visibility the game has given to the team.

“Being able to finally reach fans in the city—the core of the market—who either didn’t know about the team…or who had just been unwilling to come out to Long Island, or Connecticut, or Jersey is so important for the present and future of the fan base,” said Kudish.

A Blooming Fan Culture

In New York, the record-breaking attendance metric represents much more than a record. It was an opportunity to showcase, at full volume, the community that has always surrounded the Sirens. Lackluster attendance metrics, fans insist, don’t represent the passion attending fans do have. On Saturday, they proved themselves right.

Cheers for the Sirens erupted in the middle of the Star Spangled Banner. Attendees remarked that the building was so loud that at one point, a whistle to stop play went completely unheard.

When Sarah Fillier scored the Sirens’ first goal of the night to tie the game with four minutes left to play in regulation, the goal horn was practically inaudible.

“I have been in MSG for Rangers playoff games. I have never, not once, heard anything like it,” recalled Golden.

It was more than just noise, though. The fans brought their traditions. As Hoffman put it, “In a crowd of 18,006, I could still spot the usuals!”

Goldman remarks on a particular moment that never made the broadcast. A young fan who is beloved for her dancing on the Prudential Center jumbotron made the crowd go wild.

As he phrased it, “When she popped up on screen at MSG, all the Prudential-faithful erupted, confusing the thousands of attendees who did not know her.”

It’s moments like this, only possible because of the culture that already exists around the Sirens, that can convert casual fans into those who are interested in showing up in Newark.

More from The Echo

If there’s one person who will wax poetic about her fellow Sirens fans, it’s Trish Golden.

The Echo, in her words, is more than a fan club. It’s a community. The organization has raised hundreds of dollars for Sirens’ defender Ally Simpson’s ShakeOn initiative. When someone can bring together a group of fans like that, doing something bigger than sports, it speaks to how much the Sirens mean to the area.

The foundation for The Echo, Golden says, was always there. It didn’t come from out of thin air. The organization is a reflection of both the history of the PHF in the market and the connections that current Sirens fans are making with one another.

A Whole Lot of Hope

Only time will tell the extent to which an appearance at Madison Square Garden will bolster the Sirens’ attendance. Still, things are looking up. With the Sirens having only one home game left in the 2025–2026 season, it may be hard to tell the full impact of the team’s MSG debut in the short-term, but there’s a sense of optimism among fans.

“So many people attended for the first time and left wanting to see more games,” said Ash Ferriere, who has been a fan since the end of 2025.

It would be easy to claim that this optimism is remarkable after everything the team has been through, but it is a hallmark trait of the Sirens’ fan base that, at large, finds its fun in playing the underdog.

“It doesn’t matter what the standings are,” insisted Hoffman. “I don’t care how many penalties we get. I don’t care how many times we lose.”

Or, as Golden phrased it:

“There is nothing better than the New York Sirens, and we are not going anywhere.”