On Wednesday, the Seattle Torrent hosted the Ottawa Charge in their first meeting of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) season. The Torrent came out strong in the first, scoring with just three seconds left on the clock. The second period was all Alex Carpenter, who scored two goals to give Seattle a three-goal lead.
The final frame saw scoring chances from both teams, but neither capitalized until the final few minutes. Hannah Bilka scored an empty-net goal, but in the game’s final seconds, Rebecca Leslie ensured the Charge wouldn’t get shutout. The Torrent walked away with a 4-1 victory.
Carpenter Finding Her Stride in Seattle
Both of Seattle’s goals in the second period were from Carpenter. Her first was a power-play goal in the first six minutes of the middle frame. Hannah Bilka had the puck near the face-off circle and sent a pass towards Hilary Knight. It bounced off her stick, and Carpenter sent it into the net with a brilliant back-handed shot.
Related: Torrent Beat Charge 4-1 as Several Players Record a Multi-Point Night
Just five minutes later, Megan Carter passed the puck to Carpenter in front of the net. Sanni Ahola had eyes on Carter but not Carpenter, leaving a wide open space. She sent the puck past Ahola to score her second goal of the night.
Along with an assist on Julia Gosling’s goal in the first period, Carpenter recorded her first multi-point night with the Torrent. She now has five points in four games, via three goals and two assists. Three of those points were scored on Wednesday against the Charge.
Murphy Was Close to Her First PWHL Shutout
Hannah Murphy now has two near-shutouts in her first two starts in the PWHL. Against Ottawa, Murphy only allowed one goal on 25 shots for a save percentage (SV%) of .960. She also stopped 23 of 24 shots in her first start against the New York Sirens on Dec. 3, for an SV% of .958.
Murphy was the first goaltender off the board in the 2025 PWHL Draft, selected in the second round and 15th overall by Seattle. She has been stellar through two games in her rookie season and could be close to recording her first PWHL shutout.
Torrent Beginning to Gel
When Seattle selected Carpenter and signed Knight, everyone assumed Seattle would be a monster team in their inaugural season. They are very talented players on a team filled with capable women. However, Seattle didn’t get off to a good start. Both their season opener and their home opener resulted in losses, including a 4-1 shutout loss to the Minnesota Frost on Nov. 28 in front of a home crowd of 16,014, the largest attendance of any U.S. women’s hockey game to date.
Whatever they have done in practice to improve, or it might be the experience of playing together over the last few games, but the Torrent are playing much better than they did to start the season. They look more cohesive and are creating strong scoring chances. Not every game will result in a win, but now that Seattle is gaining momentum, they could become a contender.
Torrent Staying in Seattle
The Torrent host the Boston Fleet on Sunday, Dec. 21, and the Montreal Victoire on Tuesday, Dec. 23, before they have a couple of days off for Christmas. Seattle’s season resumes in New York against the Sirens on Dec. 28 in the only PWHL matchup that day. The season series against the Charge will continue in Ottawa on Wednesday, Jan. 28.
