Torrent Keep Playoff Dreams Alive

Rebecca Labaj

The Seattle Torrent kept their playoff dreams alive last night in Ottawa as they entered must win territory facing the first playoff elimination. Heading into the game anything but a regulation win would’ve have officially eliminated the Torrent from the playoff race. 

Wednesday Night Recap

With their playoff dreams on the line the Torrent dug deep and found a hard-fought win against the Charge. Battling back from an early goal from Fanuza Kadirova the Torrent pushed through the penalty kills before Jada Habisch found the equalizer with her first PWHL goal. 

Heading into the second the Torrent came out hungry with Danielle Serdachny finding the go ahead goal against her former team. Though not long after, Kateřina Mrázová found the equalizer on the power-play. 

With things even at the beginning of the third the Torrent knew what needed to be done, with Danielle Serdachny finding her second goal of the night once again giving Seattle the go-ahead goal. But Ottawa would find another answer this time courtesy of Gabbie Hughes.

As the Charge continued to push for the win they headed to the penalty-kill where Natalie Snodgrass buried the game-winner for the Seattle Torrent to keep their playoff dreams alive, before Cayla Barnes found the empty-netter locking in the win. 

Playoff Picture

The playoff pool is almost set with the Boston Fleet, Montreal Victoire, and Minnesota Frost already locking in their spots leaving the remaining five teams battling for the last spot. 

The Seattle Torrent face an uphill battle in must win territory, currently sitting last in the league, while the playoffs aren’t out of reach, a regulation win in every game for the rest of the season is no easy feat. As the first team facing elimination the Torrent, might be better off going out now so they can get more points towards the Gold Plan. The Gold Plan was introduced by the PWHL as a way to prevent tanking at the end of the season for better draft picks. So instead of going strictly off the standings, once teams are eliminated any points accumulated go towards the Gold Plan, and the team with most points in the Plan gets the first overall pick. With this year's draft class stacked, a first pick may be exactly what the Torrent need as they gear up for a playoff run in Year 2. 

While on the other side the Ottawa Charge are just one point out of a playoff spot. The Charge are looking to make another deep playoff run after falling to the Minnesota Frost last season in the Finals. In true Ottawa fashion it looks like it’s going to come down to the wire once again, with only four games remaining for the Charge. With only one point between the Sceptres and the Charge their two matchups down the stretch are going to be must-wins for both sides. 

For more women’s hockey news follow @beckpointmedia on socials and subscribe to our newsletter.