On Wednesday, March 25, the Seattle Torrent took on the New York Sirens in Chicago, Illinois, for a Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) Takeover Tour game at Allstate Arena. The Torrent took an early lead with three unanswered goals in the first period. The Sirens scored one goal in the third period, but the Torrent scored an empty net goal to take a 4-1 win over New York in front of 10,000 fans.
Schafzahl Continues to Make an Impact
Theresa Schafzahl just came over to Seattle after the Boston Fleet traded her for Jessie Eldridge. In her third game with the Torrent, she scored her first goal and recorded her first multi-point night with the team.
Danielle Serdachny had the puck tied up by the boards, as two Sirens players defended her. She passed it to an open Schafzahl, who skated with the puck around the back of the net. She made a brilliant wrap-around attempt and was rewarded with the first goal of the night. On top of her goal, Schafzahl also recorded two assists, giving her three points total.
In just three games with the Torrent, Schafzahl already has four points, after recording an assist in her first game. She hasn’t always had a scoring edge when she was with Boston, but she seems to have found it with Seattle. Playing on the top line with two strong players in Alex Carpenter and Danielle Serdachny has also helped her find her edge. Regardless, this trade has been working out well for Seattle thus far.
Former Sirens Had a Strong Performance
Seattle is one of two expansion teams playing their first PWHL season in 2025-26, and in order to create their team, they selected players from the already existing teams to begin building their roster. Both Carpenter and Corinne Schroeder were former Sirens players last season, and they both had strong performances in this game.
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Carpenter recorded an assist on Serdachny’s goal in the first period, but she wasn’t done there. Halfway through the third period, Carpenter skated the puck up to the Sirens’ net. She took a shot, which deflected off the shin of one of the Sirens players in front, bounced off the crossbar, and into the net for the fourth and final goal of the game.
With her two points in this game, Carpenter now leads the Torrent in points. She has nine goals and seven assists, bringing her point total to 16. Julia Gosling also has 16 points, but because Carpenter has more goals, she holds the crown.
Schroeder was also excellent in the net for the Torrent. She recorded 29 saves out of 30 shots, earning her a save percentage (SV%) of .967. This marks her fourth win of the season after playing in 12 games. Both she and Hannah Murphy have alternated starts this season and have become a great goaltending tandem for the Torrent. This win was a long time coming for Schroeder.
Torrent Haven’t Given Up
The Torrent might be in last place, but that doesn’t mean they have given up for the season. With their three points earned in this game, the Torrent now have 22 points this season; now every team in the league has 20 or more points.
The PWHL has a system called the “Gold Plan”. Any team that is eliminated from the playoffs starts racking up gold points with each win. This system was created to prevent teams from tanking. Whichever team has the most gold points by the end of the season, they receive the first overall pick in the 2026 PWHL Draft.
While the Torrent haven’t been eliminated from playoff contention yet, their chances of making the postseason in their first year in the league are highly unlikely. Their grit and determination in this game demonstrated that they haven’t given up yet, and when it comes time for the Gold Plan to kick in, the Torrent might be a force to be reckoned with.
Torrent Head Back Home
The Torrent will head back to Seattle and host the Ottawa Charge on Sunday, March 29.
