On Sunday, March 29, the Seattle Torrent hosted the Ottawa Charge for their third game of the 2025-26 Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) season. In both of the prior games, the Charge won, so they currently lead the season series.
The Charge were on the board in the first nine minutes of the first period. With a late goal in the second, Ottawa was up by two. Despite an attempt to battle back, the Torrent were shut out 2-0 by the Charge.
Torrent’s Captain Back in the Lineup
The Torrent have been dealing with plenty of injuries this season. Hannah Bilka is out for the season with an injury sustained in the Olympics, and Mikyla Grant-Mentis has been out of the lineup for the last five games with an injury sustained against the Minnesota Frost. For the first time since Jan. 28, though, the Torrent’s captain, Hilary Knight, returned to the lineup.
Related: 3 Takeaways From Fleet’s 4-2 Win Over Frost
Knight came back into the lineup on the top line alongside Alex Carpenter and Theresa Schafzahl. This was her first game with Schafzahl since she was traded to the Torrent, but the two had already played together on the Fleet in the past, so it’s not like they were unfamiliar with each other.
The Torrent were shut out, so Knight didn’t record any points, but she did spend 21:40 on the ice and took four shots. She also had two penalty minutes from a hooking call that she didn’t agree with. She played over a full period of regulation time in total and clearly made an impact. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to get her team on the board.
Schroeder Kept Torrent Afloat
Corinne Schroeder did everything she could to keep her team in the game. She made 27 saves on 29 shots, earning her a save percentage (SV%) of .931, her third highest of the season. The Charge were also awarded a penalty shot, which Schroeder caught with ease. Carpenter is still the only PWHL player to score on a penalty shot.
The Torrent’s goaltending tandem has been excellent this season, with both Schroeder and Hannah Murphy between the pipes. Schroeder did a great job of keeping the Torrent in the game by only allowing two goals. There’s only so much she can do, though, when the rest of her team is unable to score.
Torrent Need to Work on Their Penalty Kill
This game was heavy on the penalties, with the Charge taking seven and the Torrent taking five. There was a 4-on-4 chance in the third period when both Gabbie Hughes and Anna Wilgren took a seat at 14:01. The Torrent kept their penalty kill strong, denying the Charge a goal when they had an extra player on the ice. However, with six chances for the Torrent to score at an advantage, they failed to do so.
The Torrent might be in last place in the overall league standings, but on the power play, they are in fourth place with a 15.6% success rate. Despite being successful in the past, Seattle couldn’t make a power-play goal happen in this game with all their chances. Their penalty kill held strong and demonstrated why they are also in fourth place with an 84.6% success rate.
The Torrent have great special teams, and they kept the penalty kill strong; however, they failed to score on the power play, which should have been the difference maker in this game.
Torrent Head to the Big Apple
The Torrent will play their next game on April 4 when they take on the New York Sirens in arguably the biggest arena in the world, Madison Square Garden. Despite taking on the Sirens three times already this season, this game will be the first for the Torrent in the New York/New Jersey area.
The Torrent and the Charge will close out the season series on April 8 in Ottawa.
