On 15 March 2026 the Seattle Torrent visited the Toronto Sceptres. Both teams entered this contest after a loss, both against the Minnesota Frost. Ahead of the game, the teams sat in eighth and sixth respectively. The Torrent were 5-1-2-10 (19p and 35.2p%) while the Sceptres were 6-1-5-8 (25p and 41.7p%). Seattle’s postseason prospects looked grim; however, the Sceptres were only three points behind the Ottawa Charge for the fourth playoff spot. Raygun Kirk had the net for the Sceptres, while Hannah Murphy started for the Torrent.

Seattle started with possession, but they weren’t able to capitalize. Claire Dalton created a nifty zone exit at the blue line, which Blayre Turnbull took through the neutral zone, and straight to the blue paint, putting the Sceptres up 1-0 four minutes into the game. Seattle responded with pressure, but could not finish anything. The Torrent had a shots advantage of 7-6 after one.

BIG B ‼️ pic.twitter.com/RaFTWG0dRo

— Toronto Sceptres (@PWHL_Toronto) March 15, 2026

In the second frame, the Torrent started slowly, allowing Ella Shelton and Emma Gentry to generate several decent looks that Murphy kept out before mounting an attack past the sixth minute. In a span of three minutes, Julia Golsing, Danielle Serdachny, and Jessie Eldridge threw their best at Kirk, but they could not find the equalizer. Gosling and Carpented made another strong push in the final seventy-five seconds of the period, but they could not get one to go. Seattle once again held an advantage in shots with a rate of 12-8.

The third saw the game’s highest event frequency. Toronto controlled play with heavy hits and shot attempts in the opening five minutes as they tried to extend their lead, but Murphy continued to stand tall. Anna Wilgren sent momentum the other way for the Torrent as the game transitioned to being more back-and-forth, as both sides got their chances against two hot goalies. The Torrent took a poorly timed bench minor for too many players at the 8:31 mark in the third. Toronto was not able to extend their lead, despite looks from Jesse Compher, Maggie Connors, and Natalie Spooner. Seattle made their final attempt to tie the game in the fifth minute and beyond. The blueline was unrelenting at sending puck to the front for the Torrent forwards to try to bury a rebound opportunity. Serdachny had a solid look, but once again, Kirk was too good. Toronto’s shot blocking prevented a large volume of chances once Murphy went to the bench. Lexie Adzija was the only Torrent player to get a shot on the net in the final two minutes before Sara Hjalmarsson placed an empty netter with eight seconds left to put the game out of reach. The final shot count for the game was 32 to 26 in favor of the Torrent.

Overall, this is the kind of game that Toronto has tried to win all season. They are a strong defensive team whose scoring has not been consistent, so low event games where their top players convert on chances are critical down the stretch. Turnbull continues to be one of the most dangerous players in the league in transition, and teams continue to struggle to stifle her impact. Kirk has been Toronto’s best player many nights this season, and this was another for them. The Torrent continue to flounder without Knight and Bilka in the attacking zone, and referencing my last Seattle game recap, their zone exits and offensive zone setups are too predictable, limiting the amount of high danger opportunities they can manufacture for their best players. The Sceptres have a decent chance to qualify for the Walter Cup Playoffs if they continue to play responsible and opportunistic hockey. The Torrent will need to figure something on because The Golden Plan will require them to collect some standings points once they are inevitably eliminated from the playoffs if Coach O’Rourke can’t fix the holes in the ship.

• Christian