On Wednesday, March 4, the Ottawa Charge hosted the Seattle Torrent for their third matchup of the 2025-26 Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) season. Heading into the game, each team had one win under their belts, bringing the season series to a tie.
In this game, the Charge took an early lead, scoring two goals in the first period. The Torrent came back to score two in the second, but the Charge scored one to get the lead back. The third period saw a penalty shot goal for the Torrent, but it was the Charge who scored in the final two minutes to take the 4-3 win. The Charge now lead the season series 2-1.
Eldridge Close to a Hat Trick
Despite being down two goals after the first period, that didn’t stop Jessie Eldridge. Alex Carpenter took a shot from the faceoff dot, and Julia Gosling redirected the puck to Eldridge, who was in front of the net. She took a shot and sent it past Gwyneth Philips.
On their second power-play opportunity of the night, Aneta Tejralova took a shot from the blue line. Although Gosling tried to tip it in, Philips made the save. The rebound was kicked out to Eldridge, who scored her second power-play goal of the night.
With Eldridge’s two goals in this game, she not only helped her team secure the win, but she also achieved a personal milestone. She recorded her 50th PWHL point and became the ninth player in the league to do so. She joins her teammates, Carpenter and Hilary Knight, who have also achieved this milestone. This is a great accomplishment for Eldridge, and even though the Torrent didn’t get the win, she should be proud of her performance in this game.
Carpenter’s Penalty Shot Made History
Ten minutes remained in the game, and Carpenter began skating up to the net with space. She had a wide open chance at a shot, but Kathryn Reilly skated up to try and stop her. She tripped up Carpenter, which resulted in a penalty shot. Carpenter skated up to Philips, and while her glove was low, she shot high to tie the game once more for Seattle.
Related: 3 Takeaways From the Charge’s 4-3 Win Over the Torrent
Carpenter’s goal made history, as she became the first PWHL player to score on a penalty shot. There were three awarded prior to Carpenter’s this season, and all three were shut down by the goaltender who faced the shot.
Carpenter has been an excellent addition to the Torrent, with this goal marking her sixth of the season, bringing her point total to 12 in 16 games. She sits in third place on the Torrent’s point leaderboard, just under Eldridge and first-place Julia Gosling.
Another Heartbreaking Loss for Seattle
This game was as close as it could get, and in the final minute and 46 seconds, Fanuza Kadirova scored to give the Charge the win. If this goal hadn’t gone in, the Torrent would have had a chance to force overtime. Even if Seattle lost in overtime, they would have been able to pick up a point.
The Torrent are currently in last place in the standings with 16 points. They are just under the Vancouver Goldeneyes, who have 19. The additional point from an overtime loss or the additional two points from an overtime win would have been huge to close that gap between them and the Goldeneyes. Instead, the Charge have now leapfrogged into fourth place, knocking the New York Sirens out of a playoff spot.
The stakes are high, and the matchups are close. The Torrent still have a chance to get into a playoff spot with how tight the race is; they need to dig deep and record as many points as possible.
Torrent Head Back to Seattle
The Torrent will have a week-long break before their next game, when they host the Boston Fleet on Wednesday, March 11.
The season series between the Charge and the Torrent will continue in Seattle on March 29.
