Tuesday night at Climate Pledge Arena, the Seattle Torrent and Montréal Victoire met for the first time. After falling 3-1 to the Boston Fleet on Sunday, the Torrent were primed for a win in front of the home crowd. The Montréal Victoire were also eager to extend their 4-game winning streak.
Seattle set the pace early, holding time in the offensive zone getting a few good chances. The shots on goal remained relatively low for both teams with Seattle putting up twelve shots to Montréal’s eight. The Victoire were the first to see fruit from their attempts, however, with a goal from Abby Roque 18:57 into the first period.
Alex Carpenter quickly evened the score for Seattle at 3:32 in the second period; her fourth goal of the season. With the score tied up, the two teams continued to battle for possession. The Victoire took control of the middle frame, but were unable to add a tally to the scoreboard. The period ended 1-1 with the Victoire outshooting Seattle 15-8.
The final goal came just 3:23 into the third period when Julia Gosling found the net with assists from Hilary Knight and Anna Wilgren. The 2-1 lead would hold for the final twenty, including a period of six-on-four play in the final minutes. The win moves the Torrent into fourth place in league standings, tied with the Minnesota Frost.
Rookie Torrent goaltender Hannah Murphy saved a career-high 37/38 shots for a .974 save percentage. She is now second in the league with an overall save percentage of .966 and 1.0 goals against average. Speaking on Murphy’s performance, Coach O’Rourke praised her calm, cool demeanor adding, “She gets in the way of a lot of pucks, knows where to go and competes to get to that next spot.” Meanwhile, Julia Gosling’s goal and assist notched her her third multi-point game, also a career high. With four goals on the season, Gosling and Alex Carpenter are both just one goal shy of league-leader Kendall Coyne Schofield.
The Torrent will face the New York Sirens on December 28th in Dallas as part of the PWHL Takeover Tour. The game can be streamed for free on Youtube, and is also available on Amazon Prime. They will return to Climate Pledge Arena January 18th to face the Boston Fleet.