Behind every Olympic gold medal is a story of sacrifice. The PWHL’s Seattle Torrent just didn’t realize how much of a sacrifice they’d be asked to make.
Four Torrent – Hilary Knight, Hannah Bilka, Alex Carpenter and Cayla Barnes – helped Team USA capture women’s ice hockey gold in February in Milano. But when the quartet returned home, only Carpenter and Barnes were able to rejoin the active Torrent roster.
We know now that when Knight scored the dramatic tying goal against Team Canada with 2:04 left in the gold medal game, she was gutting through the pain of a torn MCL in one of her knees. The goal not only made Megan Keller’s overtime winner possible, it also made Knight the Team USA all-time women’s leader in goals and points.
“To play through injury was definitely a mental gymnastic challenge for myself, and also physical,” Knight said in a CBS interview. “We’ve got amazing support staff (with Team USA) that did their best to get me out there and perform as best as I could.”
Performing the remainder of the PWHL season with a torn MCL, though, wasn’t an option. The Torrent placed Knight on long-term injured reserve (LTIR). That announcement was made public three hours prior to Seattle’s first post-Olympic break game Feb. 27. Every seat at Climate Pledge Arena had been sold, in anticipation of welcoming back their conquering heroines. Knight could only wave to the adoring crowd during a stoppage in play from a spot outside the corner glass.
She has spoken glowingly of both the team and the city. “Being part of the first team in Seattle has been an incredible honor,” she said during a post-Olympics press conference at the Space Needle. “We felt the love even before we set foot in market. That is such a testament to the sports culture here, how you champion women.”
However, the 36-year-old Knight, captain of both Team USA and the Torrent, signed only a one-year contract to play in Seattle. So there’s no guarantee she ever suits up again in a Seattle uniform.
There is a guarantee that Bilka, 24, will miss the remainder of this Torrent season. She, too, was placed on LTIR following an upper-body injury suffered at the Olympics. Bilka tied for the tournament lead with four goals, adding three assists.
“I wish like hell I could be out there,” she said at that Feb. 27 Seattle-Toronto Scepters game at CPA, witnessed by a record crowd (17,355) for a women’s hockey game in the U.S.
Losing Knight and Bilka represented an especially harsh one-two punch to the Torrent. More than goaltending, more than defense, pro hockey expansion teams are historically weakest at producing offense (isn’t that so, Seattle Kraken). They will miss Knight, still a feared power forward as well as their inspirational leader. And they will miss Bilka’s four goals and five assists in 14 games.
Like any good one-two punch, the Torrent were knocked off-balance. They dropped the game against the Scepters, 5-2, and their next one in Ottawa, 4-3. But they found their equilibrium Wednesday, rallying for a 3-2 win over the league-leading Boston Fleet. A raucous 13,350 at CPA thrilled to late 3rd period goals by Mikyla Grant-Mentis on a spectacular shorthanded rush, and the game winner 1:27 later by Danielle Serdachny.
“We’re super proud of all our Olympians and what they accomplished,” Serdachny said afterward, then pivoted to the loss of Knight and Bilka. “For them to come back injured is obviously unfortunate for our group. We just kind of accepted the circumstances.”
Earlier Torrent:
— Seattle Torrent Key To 5-0 Win Over Canada
Earlier Kraken:
— Kraken Blow Early Lead; Lose 4-2 To Predators
