Brilliant sunny blue skies outside Climate Pledge Arena. A record U.S. crowd for women’s hockey of 16,014 inside Climate Pledge Arena. (More about that and the pregame pageantry here.) All that was needed to make Friday’s historic afternoon complete would be a Seattle Torrent franchise-opening home game victory over the Minnesota Frost.
Unfortunately, the Washington State Ferries foghorn which blasted twice during pregame ceremonies wasn’t needed to announce any Torrent goals in a 3-0 defeat.
The Frost played with the snarl that resulted in back-to-back Walter Cup championships. Minnesota’s edge in physical play – and the magnificent work of Frost goalie Nicole Hensley – shut down the Torrent offense.
Minnesota led in hits, 13-5. The Torrent’s Megan Carter got roughed up twice late in the game, first by a dirty hit away from the play from Minnesota’s Peyton Anderson, then getting tackled to the ice seconds later by Britta Curl-Salemme. Neither play resulted in a Seattle power play.
Hensley earned a 30-save shutout, preserving her whitewash with a spectacular sliding stop on Torrent captain Hilary Knight in the final 61 seconds. A pair of goals by Kelly Pannek, late in the 1st and midway through the 3rd, was all the champs needed.
Afterward, Torrent coach Steve O’Rourke chose to emphasize the positive, noting his focus wasn’t on one game, but the long game. “This is going to be a journey for us to get where we want. We’ve been talking about playing faster, and we moved pucks way faster. Our defense didn’t over-handle pucks and got them up to our forwards, so we’re just building that repertoire. There was way less inconsistency tonight than we had against Vancouver.”
1st Period
If Seattle was experiencing any early-game stage fright, it didn’t show. The Torrent tested Minnesota goalie Hensley early and often, twice off the stick of captain Hilary Knight, and once by Julia Gosling, who scored twice in Seattle’s season-opening OT loss in Vancouver.
Jessie Eldridge, known for causing netfront havoc, got two in-close chances. One was saved, one went wide.
The Frost laid some heavy hits, Sidney Morin on Danielle Serdachny into the Minnesota zone end boards, and aptly-named Abby Hustler planting Cayla Barnes onto the ice in the Seattle zone. (Barnes was dumped again in the 2nd period in open ice by Peyton Anderson.)
Torrent goalie Corinne Schroeder turned in her best work late in the period, turning away Minnesota captain Kendall Coyne Schofield from in close, then surviving a Frost flurry after both she and defender Carter both lost their sticks. (Carter mistakenly grabbed for Schroeder’s stick on the ice before retrieving her own.)
A well-executed rush and a dash of puck luck combined to get Minnesota on the board first. Kelly Pannek’s slot shot flutters after deflecting off Seattle’s Mariah Keopple, and banks off the right post at 18:08.
2nd Period
Like the 1st period, Seattle wasted little time creating a grade-A scoring chance. Lexie Adzija collected a loose puck just outside the crease, but couldn’t beat Hensley.
Adzija later takes an interference penalty, which the Torrent kill. Including two scrimmages and one regular season game against Vancouver, Seattle has successfully dismissed all 12 shorthanded situations they’ve faced.
Tense moments on the second Minnesota power play. Schroeder loses her stick as the puck flops and twists around her crease. But the Frost suffer an onset of shots-missing-the-net-itis, to keep the deficit at one.
Minnesota’s physical play appears to cross the line when Knight is twice pushed to the ice away from the puck. No penalty results, so the boo-birds come out in force – as well as the initial “Ref you s**k” chant.
Though this hasn’t been a low-event game, shots on goal have been hard to come by. The Frost outshot the Torrent 6-4 in the period, and have a 14-12 edge through 40 minutes. Unofficially, hits are 9-4 Frost.
3rd Period
Seattle gets excellent looks on their first power play. Alex Carpenter, between the hashes, can’t connect on two separate opportunities. Danielle Serdachny brings the crowd to its feet, rocketing down left wing and cutting to the net, but goalie Hensley again has the answer. After the penalty ends, Hensley makes a tremendous low glove save on Adzija’s left wing snipe.
Uh-oh. Minnesota’s Curl-Salemme (two assists) steals the puck at center ice. She feeds Pannek, with no one in her way as she skates through the inner edge of the left wing circle. A perfectly placed laser over Schroeder’s shoulder gives the Frost a 2-0 lead at 9:48.
Minnesota thought they got a third with 6:28 left on the power play. Officials initially ruled the puck hadn’t crossed the goal line. But it did, as video review confirmed, with Grace Zumwinkle credited for the insurance tally. (Grace’s sister Emily Zumwinkle, a Torrent defender, was a healthy scratch.)
The Torrent poured on the shots in the 3rd, 18, compared to 12 in the first 40 minutes – but none in. They still received an ovation as they left the ice, from a near-sellout glad to have a new team to cheer for.
Up Next
The five-game Torrent homestand at CPA continues Wednesday, with a 7 pm start against the New York Sirens. Then Seattle gets a two-week break before hosting the Ottawa Charge on Dec. 17.