SEATTLE, WA – The Seattle Torrent have won two straight games on home ice, tallying a season-high four goals on route to a 4-1 victory over the Ottawa Charge on Wednesday night at Climate Pledge Arena. 
In front of 9,389 fans, Seattle carried the momentum from their late third-period comeback win over the New York Sirens before the international break, led by the forward line of Alex Carpenter, Julia Gosling and Hilary Knight who combined for three goals and seven points. Gosling opened scoring on a Torrent power play with just three seconds remaining in the first period.
Carpenter broke the game open in the second period with a pair of goals, coming 6:25 (PP) and 11:29 into the frame. Hannah Bilka was involved in three of the game’s four goals, recording a primary assist on Gosling’s goal and assisting on Carpenter’s first goal, before an empty net goal of her own at 18:30 of the third period.
Ottawa’s Rebecca Leslie refused to let the Charge go away quietly, stealing the shutout from Hannah Murphy with her late third period goal at 19:21.
Murphy turned away 24/25 shots to record her second win in two starts, the first rookie in PWHL history to accomplish the feat. She combined with the Charge’s Sanni Ahola – making her PWHL debut – to form the season’s first all-rookie goaltending duel. Ahola became the first Finnish goaltender to appear in a PWHL game, recording 20/23 saves.
On Sunday, the Charge lace up in Chicago to face Minnesota in the second stop on the PWHL Takeover Tour™, while the Torrent host Boston Sunday and Montréal Tuesday in the final matchups of a five-game homestand before their first-ever Takeover Tour appearance in Dallas (Dec. 28).
QUOTES
Seattle forward Julia Gosling on coming back after a two-week break: “It’s definitely challenging. Luckily, I got to play, and there’s a few of us that got to play in the Rivalry Series, but props to the girls back in Seattle who were working really hard and staying in it. We really appreciate the work they put in. Their spirits were great and we came into the game hard in the first period, and I was pretty pumped with our outcome with this being our first game in a few weeks.”
Torrent Head Coach Steve O’Rourke on the team’s power play performance: “I like how they moved it; I like how they had a shot mentality and numbers around the net. I joke with them about how I’m glad they didn’t waste any time on the first one. I hate starting power plays in the second or third period because it’s hard to get the momentum. They did a good job, and it was nice to get that goal. We’ve been in this building where it’s taken us some time to get to that first goal, and it gets tense. We wanted to deliver for the fans, loosen up and just play free. It was nice to get that first one where we did in the period and that gave us momentum heading into the second.”
Ottawa Head Coach Carla MacLeod on the effort of her group: “I thought [our effort] was tremendous. The effort has never been a problem this season. We gutted it out in back-to-back games, and I couldn’t be prouder of how we played. As a coach, I’m wishing for an offensive breakthrough for our group because we’re working so hard. This is just another game where we walk away with the only disappointment is that we didn’t get points.”
Charge goal scorer Rebecca Leslie on the team’s offense and scoring chances: “Snake bitten is probably a good word to describe our offense right now. It would be different if we didn’t have scoring chances. We’re getting into the scoring areas; we’re just not getting the bounces going our way. We’re in the right places and eventually, it’s going to come. We must keep believing in our systems and in each other. We kept pushing until the last minute and it shows a lot about our group and our character.”
NOTABLES
Hannah Murphy’s two wins in two starts eclipses the two wins in three starts posted by Boston rookie Emma Söderberg during the inaugural season. The Seattle second-round pick has surrendered one goal in each of her two starts and currently ranks fourth among all goaltenders with a .959 save percentage.CLICK HERE FOR STATS
Alex Carpenter was involved in three of the four Torrent goals, recording her first multi-point game of the season and has now scored power play goals in consecutive games. The alternate captain’s only other three-point performance came in New York’s season opener on Dec. 1, 2024 (2G, 1A) and was also part of the last time she scored in back-to-back contests (Dec. 1-4, 2024). In her three previous two-goal games, only once did Carpenter score both goals in regulation and in a single period (Feb. 21, 2024 in the first period vs. Montréal).
Hannah Bilka’s first-ever three-point night (1G, 2A) and first career multi-point streak has lifted her atop the league lead in points with six (2G, 4A) after four games. The sophomore forward assisted on four-straight Torrent goals in a two-game span, all on the power play, and scored the first-ever empty net goal in team history.
Julia Gosling notched her third goal of the season and second assist, joining Carpenter in a tie for second in the league in points (five) and second overall in goals. After just four games, Gosling is just one goal shy of her 2024-25 total (30 games played), and halfway to her rookie points total.
Hilary Knight has recorded multiple points in consecutive games with two assists tonight. The Torrent captain has three power play points (1G, 2A) in her last two contests after tallying eight of her 29 points (4PPG, 4PPA) on the advantage last season with Boston.
The top line trio of Gosling–Carpenter–Knight has scored seven of Seattle’s nine goals this season. The other two goals have been scored by Bilka.
Megan Carter recorded her first point of the season with a primary assist on Carpenter’s second goal. The assist matches her rookie season total across 19 games with Toronto in 2024-25.
Rebecca Leslie scored her second goal of the season for the Charge, matching her inaugural season high with Toronto in 24 games. The Ottawa native’s four points in six games surpassed her 2024-25 total (1G, 2A) in 27 games with her hometown team.
Rory Guilday picked up a primary assist for her fourth point of the season (1G, 3A) to lead all rookies in scoring. The fifth overall pick ranks third in points among defenders.
Sanni Ahola became the 13th goaltender to see action in the PWHL this season and the league’s fourth international netminder all-time. The Charge fifth-round pick from St. Cloud State University has represented Finland in three straight Women’s Worlds, earning back-to-back bronze medals.
Lily Delianedis made her PWHL debut for the Torrent and registered 7:03 time on ice after being selected by the team in the third round of the 2025 PWHL Draft.
Aneta Tejralová returned to the Torrent lineup for the first time since the season opener to take on her former team. The Czech defender played 13:58 and was a plus-2 after missing two games with a lower-body injury.
Fanuza Kadirova left the game in the second period with an upper-body injury and did not return.
Gabbie Hughes missed her second straight game for the Charge and is listed day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Natalie Snodgrass missed her first game of the season for the Torrent due to illness.
Seattle’s power play connected for two goals for the second straight game, stringing together four straight conversions. The Torrent lead the league with a 30.8% efficiency with the player advantage.
Ottawa has scored one goal in each loss of their current four-game skid.
THREE STARS
1. Alex Carpenter (SEA) 2G, 1A
2. Hannah Murphy (SEA) 24/25 SV
3. Hannah Bilka (SEA) 1G, 2A
STANDINGS
Seattle (2-0-1-1) – 4th Place (Tied)
Ottawa (1-0-0-5) – 8th Place
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