Take a bow, Seattle Torrent fans.
For as long as pro sports are played in these parts, the afternoon of Nov. 28, 2025 at Climate Pledge Arena will be remembered with pride. Not for the outcome of the first home game in Torrent history, a matchup with the two-time Walter Cup champion Minnesota Frost. (More about that in a companion story.)
No, this date will be remembered for a number far more significant than goals scored or goals allowed. That number is 16,014.
Not especially elegant in and of itself, 16,014 is barely a thousand fewer than the number of seats in the hockey configuration of Climate Pledge Arena. 16,014 was also the number of tickets sold for the Torrent’s home debut in the PWHL, the Professional Women’s Hockey League. Imagine that: a women’s hockey near-sellout, just like the NHL Kraken get – a fanciful pipe dream just three years ago, a record-setting reality today.
Yup, record-setting. 16,014 also represents the largest crowd to ever watch a women’s hockey game in the United States. Right here next to the Space Needle. That’s exactly what the PWHL was banking on when they bypassed more traditional hockey markets and awarded Seattle one of two expansion slots to join their six-team league.
King-Sized Welcome
Tennis legend and PWHL advisory board member Billie Jean King – the league MVP award is named in her honor – recorded a greeting played before the game on the in-arena scoreboards. “Welcome to the PWHL, Seattle!” Luminaries in attendance included U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wa.), singer Brandi Carlile, and members of the Seattle Kraken (Joey Daccord, Tye Kartye, and assistant coach Jessica Campbell).
The support staff, coaches and executives were introduced to cheers, followed by the same for each Torrent player skating onto the ice individually.
After captain Hilary Knight was introduced last, to thunderous cheers, the Washington State Ferries foghorn used for home team goals made its initial blasts at a Torrent game.
Seattle Reign midfielder Jess Fishlock dropped the ceremonial faceoff puck, after which captains Knight and Minnesota’s Kendall Coyne Schofield, superstars both, embraced. (PWHL Screengrab at left.)
The honest-to-goodness, for-real drop of the puck arrived at 1:15 pm Pacific Time. The newest home era in the century-plus history of Seattle hockey had begun.
Coach’s Advice To Players: ‘Breathe’
Before the game, I put this question to Torrent coach Steve O’Rourke.
Glenn Dreyfuss: “This isn’t like any other day your team will experience this year. Did you talk specifically about the transition? Enjoying it, and then forgetting it?”
Coach Steve O’Rourke: “We talked about it yesterday. Enjoy the day, but there’s a hockey game to be played, right? That’s where the breathing comes in. Warmup’s going to be energetic. Now you’re going to come back off, get reset, breathe again.
“Then we’ve got to get through all the ceremony stuff, breathe, reset. The big thing for me is short shifts. If we take short shifts, we won’t burn those legs. Get that puck in, set up the next line, set up the next line, and then hopefully from there, you settle into just playing hockey. But we got to get through the first five, ten minutes and see how it goes from there.”
Good Company
The Torrent are in good company. Western Washington has an admirable record of supporting pro women’s sports.
The WNBA Storm averaged nearly 12,000 fans per game last season. The NWSL Reign averaged nearly 8,000. Storm legend Sue Bird and Reign icon Megan Rapinoe, a sports power couple if there ever was one, are revered in this town as much as their male counterparts. Heck, fans arriving at the arena regularly pass Bird’s statue.
So, good on Torrent fans for embracing a third women’s pro team. Good on the PWHL for recognizing the potential for that support. Good on KONG-TV and Fox-13+ for providing over-the-air live telecasts of all 30 Torrent games this season. And good on the players, coaches, management and support staff that built a new organization from scratch in a remarkably short period of time.