Whatever the shortcomings of the Seattle Torrent in their PWHL expansion season, goaltending isn’t one of them.
Facing the powerhouse Boston Fleet Sunday before 11,023 at Climate Pledge Arena, Corrine Schroeder’s netminding kept the Torrent close in a 3-1 defeat. Schroeder already had 29 saves after two periods, allowing only 1st period scores to Boston’s Daniela Pejsova, and to Riley Brengman in the final three seconds.
The Fleet’s Megan Keller added a 3rd period power play goal; Schroeder finished with 35 stops. After Schroeder was pulled for a sixth attacker, Jessie Eldridge scored her first goal of the season at 19:34 to break Abbey Levy’s shutout (26 saves).
Seattle goalie Hannah Murphy had allowed just one goal in each of the Torrent’s last two games, both victories. Notable in those wins was Seattle’s power play, which connected twice in each. Against the Fleet, Seattle’s player advantage wasn’t, going 0-for-2 and allowing a shorthanded goal to Brengman.
“We were a little out of sync tonight,” Seattle coach Steve O’Rourke said afterward. “We weren’t gelling and we weren’t moving it quickly. A lot of times, special teams are a mirror of your five-on-five play, and I felt we were kind of stuck in quicksand all night long.”
Torrent defender Emily Brown concurred. “Credit to them, they played a great game and had us in the D zone quite a bit and made it tough to get some chances. There are definitely some things to go back and work on, and the good thing is, it’s a long season and we’ll get to peak towards the end. We’ll do better next time we face them.”
Seattle rookie forward Jenna Buglioni was injured by a hard hit early in the 2nd period and did not return to the game.
1st Period
The Torrent may be catching the Fleet at a good time, this being the last of three Boston road games in a five-day span. Boston’s five-game win streak to start the season came to an end with a 5-2 loss at Minnesota on Friday.
Daniela Pejsova breaks the ice for Boston at 4:44 with her first league goal. Pejsova’s long-range shot looked to change direction on the way past Torrent goalie Corinne Schroeder, playing for the first time in three games.
1st period truculence:
- A hard check by Boston’s Sophie Shirley flattens Mariah Keopple in front of the Torrent bench.
- Seattle’s Hannah Bilka pokes at a puck under the glove of Fleet goalie Abbey Levy. The goalie’s teammates object, leading to some pushing and headlocks after the whistle.
- During a scramble at the Torrent crease, defender Aneta Tejralova shoves Jill Saulnier into the Seattle net.
Schroeder swallows Megan Keller’s drive, one of two saves to help kill Julia Gosling’s slashing penalty. Anna Wilgren and Jenna Buglioni provided key blocks. When Seattle goes on a power play, Levy turns aside Gosling’s initial shot and Alex Carpenter’s in-close rebound. The Torrent get another chance with 37 seconds remaining when Boston is called for too many players.
Unfortunately for Seattle, the grade-A chances belong to the shorthanded Fleet. Schroeder denies Jamie Lee Rattray’s breakaway backhand, but Boston isn’t done. Saulnier, leading a 3-on-2 Boston rush, makes a sublime pass through the legs of Torrent defender Cayla Barnes. Riley Brengman does the rest for a 2-0 lead at 19:57. Shots in the period favored the Fleet, 15-7.
2nd Period
Four Torrent players and their general manager have Fleet connections. Hilary Knight, Emily Brown, Lexie Adzija and Hannah Bilka all skated for Boston. Knight, in fact, is the highest scoring player in Boston team history, producing 40 points in 54 games over two seasons. Torrent GM Meghan Turner spent two seasons as assistant to Fleet GM Danielle Marmer.
A scary moment seven minutes into the period. Just after Seattle’s Buglioni lifts the puck out of her zone, Shay Maloney checks the 1st round draft pick into the side boards. Buglioni remained down on the ice for several minutes, eventually needing assistance to leave for the dressing room.
The Fleet fired 16 shots on goal in the middle period, forcing Schroeder to perform some of her best work.
On a bang-bang passing play, Boston’s Olivia Mobley was all by herself in front. Haley Winn sent Mobley a beautiful no-look pass from the end boards, but the goalie alertly blocked her one-timer.
Boston was dominating; not long after, Laura Kluge skated in on a breakaway, nothing between her and Schroeder from center ice. Kluge shot 5-hole, but Schroeder, who came out aggressively beyond the top of her crease, then backed in, makes the save again.
Seattle then gets a rare middle-period scoring chance of its own, but Levy turns aside Bilka’s shot from between the circles. Hard to believe this is Levy’s first start of the season, or that she played just four periods in net all last year.
Schroeder finishes the period the way she started: holding Seattle in with spectacular netminding. Kluge, who may be seeing the goalie in her nightmares, fires a one-timer from the inner edge of the left circle, but Schroeder gets a left pad in the way just before the horn. It’s Schroeder’s 29th save, as Boston has outshot Seattle after 40, 31-16.
3rd Period
Today’s game is the Torrent’s Indigenous Peoples Celebration as part of the PWHL’s Unity Game series.
The ceremonial puck drop was performed by Rosalie Fish, a member of the Cowlitz Tribe and a former University of Washington track athlete. Fish is a Native Sports Advocate and WSF Awardee for her work using sports to amplify the voices of murdered and missing Indigenous women.
Torrent forward Mikyla Grant-Mentis (#13 above), who participated in the puck drop, is a member of the Metis Nation of New Brunswick, Canada. Grant-Mentis earned an assist late in the period.
Schroeder continues to shine, displaying athleticism in dropping and flashing out a pad to stop Ella Huber’s backhand at the near post. Before she’s able to rise, Schroeder lifts a glove to deny Keller’s rebound.
However, the goalie has no chance on Keller’s PP goal, the Fleet captain left by herself in the right circle at 12:44. Seattle’s Jessie Eldridge in the last minute gave the 11,000+ fans in attendance one final reason to cheer.
Up Next
One game remains on the Torrent five-game homestand. Seattle hosts the Montreal Victoire Tuesday at CPA.