Seattle's underdog Torrent staged a dramatic short-handed comeback, silencing the top-seeded Fleet.
The 8th-seed Seattle Torrent faced off against the first-seed Boston Fleet Wednesday night at Climate Pledge Arena. It was the 4th meeting between the two teams. Boston has bested Seattle in all three previous meet ups; the most recent in January went to a shootout before the Fleet claimed a victory.
March 11: Torrent Goaltenders Corinne Schroeder and Hannah Murphy photo by Candace Kludt | The Hockey NewsWhen Boston opened the scoring 12:30 into the first period, it felt like history may repeat itself. Theresa Schafzahl squeaked one past Torrent goaltender Corinne Schroeder to take the lead. The Torrent struggled to get offensive momentum and any shots that did make their way to the net were denied by Abbey Levy. With just 30 seconds remaining in the first period, Alex Carpenter-with an assist from Anita Tejralova-was finally able to best Levy and even the score. The period ended 1-1.
In the second period, the Torrent came out shooting. They posted 19 shots on goal to Boston’s 9. Unfortunately, the Fleet were able to capitalize on one of their attempts, bringing the score to 2-1. Seattle fought hard, but the period ended with the Torrent still at a single goal deficit.
March 11: Alex Carpenter Stands Ready photo by Candace Kludt | The Hockey NewsThe Torrent were motivated as they took the ice for the final twenty. They doubled the Fleet’s shots on goal: 10 to 5, but nothing was getting through. When Megan Carter got called for tripping 13 minutes into the scoreless period, things got tense. Boston had the woman advantage, and were still leading 2-1. The turnaround was coming. Mikyla Grant-Mentis came through with a short-handed goal just over a minute into the Boston power play, tying the score and releasing Carter from the penalty box early thanks to the PWHL’s jailbreak rule.
A minute and a half later, Danielle Serdachny added her own tally and the Torrent pulled ahead 2-3 with just over three minutes remaining. Boston was unable to answer, and for the first time in history the Seattle Torrent defeated the Boston Fleet.
Current PWHL Standings, Courtesy of the PWHLSeattle is now only 1-point down from the 7th-ranked Vancouver Goldeneyes. With thirteen games remaining in the regular season, the Torrent are last in the PWHL standings. The top four teams at the end of the regular season will advance to playoffs: currently the Torrent are 8 points behind the 4th-ranked New York Sirens. There are 39 potential points still on the table for Seattle, and anything could happen over the next six weeks.