For the past several weeks Seattle fans have been living in the world of that Jim Carrey meme, “So you’re telling me there’s a chance…” The team had to win against the Charge on April 8 to stay in playoff contention and they did exactly that. Then, the fate of the Torrent was out of their own hands needing the Frost to beat the Sirens on April 11. They indeed got a little help from the Frost that night.

Finally, it was up to the Torrent once again on April 14 when they needed a regulation win against the Goldeneyes. Unfortunately, their first win against their fellow expansion team didn’t happen when they needed it most and the loss officially eliminated the Torrent from playoff contention. Vancouver needed a win of any variety to stay in the playoffs and with their 4-1 win over Seattle, they keep the hope alive.

Seattle flew over the first hurdle mentioned with a decisive 5-3 win over Ottawa with much of the team contributing to the scoresheet. Leading up to that game, the Torrent were on a three-game losing streak that started at the end of March with a 2-0 shut-out at home. They went on the road and only had two goals in the two road games before this victory. They also had not won in regulation on the road aside from the Takeover Tour game in Chicago on March 25 where they were the home team.

There were a lot of firsts to acknowledge and celebrate in that win against the Charge. Jada Habisch opened scoring for the Torrent notching her first career goal. Lily Delianedis had an assist on that goal earning her first career point. Natalie Snodgrass scored her first career game-winning goal with her first career Power Play goal. Gabrielle David had an assist on the game winner which was her first point as a member of the Torrent. Lyndie Lobdell earned a point in back-to-back games first the first time with her assist on Danielle Serdachny’s second goal of the game.

In their final road game of the season, the Torrent may not have been able to seal the win, but there were some fun notables. Over 50 fans from Seattle traveled north to cheer on the team via bus. That comes on the heels of a recent open practice for Season Ticket Members where hundreds of fans attended. Goaltender Carly Jackson finally got some ice time, coming in with a little under nine minutes to go in the second and playing the entirety of the third. Jackson saved nine of nine in their 28:52 minutes played, much to the delight of Seattle fans.

At the conclusion of the game, Head Coach Steve O'Rourke commented on Jackson's performance. "Yeah, she's fantastic. Yeah, it's challenging. We got two really good goaltenders, and CJ is the third one there, and it's been tough to find those minutes for her," O'Rourke said. "It was great to have her get that opportunity tonight. She's been fantastic. It's hard to put in words the type of person she is; how she comes every day with intention; push herself; push the group. I can't say enough about her. She's just an exceptional human being," O'Rourke said.

The Torrent currently have the second fewest goals for in the league at 53 and the most goals allowed at 80. Seattle spent most of the season at the bottom of the standing, and, with the PWHL’s scoring system, there was still a small chance for them to rise. They would need to go on a significant winning streak and have some help from their rival teams, but the playoffs were just not in the cards for the Torrent this season.

After the Torrent's final road game of the season, Alex Carpenter spoke to media. "I think we've shown a lot of adversity in moments, especially long road trips and things like that. But you know, this group isn't one to complain and isn't one to make excuses," Carpenter said. "We've definitely had a lot of growing pains and, at the end of the day, proud of this group, no matter where we end up," Carpenter said.

O'Rourke also commented on the challenges of the team this season as they were eliminated from the playoffs. "The way we face what we face this year, from the start, with day one, our top eight players aren't there the first two days of camp. We get four practices before we come here. We had two practices before we play our opening game. I think about 10, 12 days after that, you take your eight best players out of your lineup again, and you're left without them. So every one of those things, we've responded with positivity. We've responded with trying to grow as a group," O'Rourke said.

The lengthy road trips were a factor, but players have mentioned that it can also be an identity builder. "Our road trips, we see 17, 15, and eight, and I think we've improved on how we handle those travels. Our group is is a tight knit group, and we face adversity without complaining how we travel, or any of that stuff, and that's what's so important," O'Rourke said. "I think it resonates from the staff and how they approach that, from athletic therapists, the strength people, to our equipment people that have been fantastic, to our coaching staff. We wake up and just look at what's in front of us and take that challenge on. That goes to the group, and this group does the same thing, and they follow that lead and show up every day with intention and care for one another," O'Rourke said.

Now that the team is no longer vying for a playoff spot, their focus can be on the draft. The Gold Plan in the PWHL makes it so that teams continue to compete and have strong showings through the end of the season. In their remaining regular-season games, the Torrent’s standing points will be classified as Draft Order Points.

This is important because if they are the non-playoff team with the highest Draft Order Points total, they will get the higher draft pick. With superstars like Caroline Harvey and Laila Edwards sure to go at the top of the draft, Seattle fans are hoping for some added talent.

Torrent General Manager Meghan Turner discussed the season with media at the beginning of April stating that she was proud of the way the group stayed both flexible and tight-knit through everything that comes with being a new team. She also discussed the upcoming draft and expansion just noting that her personal philosophy was to do “the best with the information you have at the time.”

Even with spending so much time in eighth place, the Torrent never wrote the season off or gave up in any game. The fans continued to show up with enthusiasm and loyalty as they cheered for the team whether they won or lost. Now, the fan base can enjoy the remaining three games and hope for some fun, competitive wins and some exciting draft picks this summer.