(Taylor Codomo was the on-site reporter for this story)
For the first Torrent game since the Winter Olympics, it was Knight time – as in the return of Seattle captain Hilary Knight.
Until Sunday at Climate Pledge Arena, Knight hadn’t hit the ice since tearing her MCL during the women’s tournament in Milano in February. A near-sellout of 16,586 at CPA showered her with raucous cheers, both before and during the Torrent’s 2-0 loss to the Ottawa Charge.
Seattle Suffers With Stars On LTIR
No one suspected that Knight had already injured her knee when she scored for Team USA with 2:04 remaining in regulation, to tie the gold medal game against Canada. Megan Keller’s overtime goal secured the gold, Knight’s second Olympic championship. Seattle then placed the 36-year-old Team USA captain on long-term injured reserve.
The Torrent have sorely missed both Knight and forward Hanna Bilka, out for the season after suffering her own injury during the Olympics. Seattle won just two of eight post-Olympics games without the pair, averaging 1.75 goals per contest.
Even with Knight back Sunday, Seattle went scoreless for the third time in their last five games.
Torrent Power Outage
Besides Knight, the game story was penalty-killing dominance. Belying their nickname, the Charge’s top-ranked power play went 0-for-3; Seattle has disposed of the last 18 opposition PPs. But the Torrent also failed on all six attacker advantages, despite Ottawa’s league-worst PK.
“I just thought we didn’t get off to a great start,” head coach Steve O’Rourke said postgame. “The power play just didn’t click. We worked on it just a little bit yesterday, and then you’re adding different pieces in and trying to find that combination, it just didn’t click tonight.”
Seattle goalie Corinne Schroeder (27 saves) swallowed a 3rd period penalty shot by Brianne Keller. Torrent defender Aneta Tejralová had hooked Michela Cava on a breakaway.
Seattle remains last in the eight-team PWHL at 22 points. With the win, the Charge move into 4th place, the final playoff spot. Their 33 points is 11 better than the Torrent; Seattle has seven games remaining.
Game Notes
** 1st Period: Schroeder starred, stopping 14 of 15 Ottawa shots (Sarah Wozniewicz scored). Only two of the Torrent’s seven shots came at even strength; they failed to connect on two power plays.
** 2nd Period: A Seattle 2-on-0 didn’t result in a shot, as Alex Carpenter and Julia Gosling both chose to pass. Ottawa’s Kathryn Reilly hit the post, but Payton Hemp scored her first pro goal at 18:39.
** 3rd period: Charge goalie Gwyneth Philips completed her 25-save shutout. Phillips made 10-bell saves on Cayla Barnes and Danielle Serdachny.
Up Next
Seattle has a marquee matchup against the New York Sirens on Saturday, Apr. 4 – the first-ever PWHL game at Madison Square Garden, home of the Rangers and Knicks.
Earlier Torrent:
— Seattle Torrent Key To Team USA Olympic Gold
