ANALYSIS – It was a back-and-forth game between the Seattle Torrent and the Toronto Sceptres at the TD Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario. Seattle dominated the first period, Toronto the second, and they both scored a goal each in the third period.
Seattle Torrent Gets a Win at a Sold-Out Crowd in Hamilton
Seattle Torrent’s Third Line Played Well
The Seattle Torrent’s third line was a big reason why Seattle got the win today. This was clearly shown in Seattle’s first goal, when Natalie Snograss set up the play for the eventual goal scored by Lexie Adzija.
This line was important all afternoon long for Seattle, putting positive shifts in with Seattle, as Snodgrass had a goal-scoring chance that Raygan Kirk stopped.
In addition, Mikayla Grant-Mentis won 50 percent of her faceoffs for her team.
The Seattle Torrent Was The Better Team in the Penalty Shootout
The Torrent looked like the better team in overtime, and that carried over to the penalty shootout. Anna Wilgren’s attempt was solid as she started her skate fast and got behind Kirk for the goal. Hannah Bilka’s shootout winner might have been the best shootout shot of the game as she was able to fool Kirk before putting the puck into the back of the net.
READ MORE: Natalie Spooner: A Vital Player for the Toronto Sceptres
Unfortunately, the Sceptres were unable to score a goal in five attempts. This included Natalie Spooner losing control of the puck and being unable to get a shot off. It was a disappointing end from a Sceptres perspective, but they would not have gotten this far without their goaltender’s stellar performance on Saturday.
Raygen Kirk Kept the Toronto Sceptres In The Game
Raygen Kirk played exceptionally well today. She stopped 37 out of 39 shots in regulation as well as in overtime. This included Kirk making some spectacular saves in the first period, stopping rebounds, as well as more clear-cut scoring opportunities that she stopped in the third period and in overtime as well. This is why she got the Sceptres player of the game, according to the team’s social media account, as seen above.
Specifically, her diving stops in the third period were spectacular, as well as her save from a Snodgrass shot from close range in the third period.
Other Factors: Seattle Torrent Won the Faceoff Battle
The Seattle Torrent won the faceoff battle at the TD Coliseum. A big reason for that was Alex Carpenter, who won 12 of her 16 faceoffs against the Toronto Sceptres. She also scored Seattle’s game-tying goal. Carpenter also secured the 50th point of her career, as she became only the third player to accomplish this feat.
The Torrent head coach, Steve O’Rourke, remains grounded, despite the positive result, as he explained what these 30 PWHL regular-season games mean for his team, according to Heather Moonka of Yahoo Sports:
This is while Troy Ryan was impressed by the performance of Natalie Spooner, as he said this to C Benwell of The Hockey News Women’s Website:
“I thought Spooner was great, showed signs of little bursts of speed, some good quality shots, it’s nice to see. We just had a meeting recently that talked about the expected goals that she has, and just to stick with it, and it’s nice to see that play get rewarded with a goal,” said coach Troy Ryan.
READ MORE: Emma Maltais: A Well-Known Toronto Sceptres Star
The Sceptres scored very quickly in the second period, with Emma Maltais finding Spooner on a 2-on-1, and she capitalized. Maltais looked sharp during the game, creating scoring chances for her teammates. Other players who played well included Daryl Watts and Blayre Turnbull, who made some big plays for their team. Watts even scored for Toronto.
A Potential Hamilton PWHL Team
With the announced attendance being 16,012 at TD Coliseum, it was a big moment in Hamilton sports. A potential for a team in Hamilton is also enticing, as general manager of the Sceptres, Gina Kingbury, said this in Danielle de Graauw’s CHCH article:
“If Hamilton becomes a team, I know we’ll probably become close archrivals here with the proximity of Toronto and Hamilton,” said Kingsbury.
The rivalry of these cities is seen most clearly with the Canadian Football League’s Toronto Argonauts and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, with both having a storied and rich history. This can even be seen in professional soccer, where Forge FC (based in Hamilton) had some heated games in the past against Toronto FC in the Canadian Championship.
While it is not a guarantee, Hamilton has positioned itself as a credible expansion candidate. Yes, there will be cons on this, including two Ontario teams already being in the PWHL, and the possibility of the Sceptres losing fans to the new potential Hamilton PWHL team.
While all of this might be true, the attendance of the Sceptres will likely remain strong, even if Hamilton gets a PWHL team. There are also many players who come from Southern Ontario.
However, the biggest reason why the Hamilton PWHL team is perfect is that a hypothetical PWHL team’s logo would be on centre ice. There is only one PWHL team that has its logo located on centre ice, and that is the Vancouver Goldeneyes.
If Hamilton does not get a PWHL expansion team for next year, it is entirely possible that an Ontario Hockey League (OHL)/American Hockey League (AHL) (or any other form) major hockey team would come to Hamilton shortly afterwards (there are in fact rumours of Hamilton actively trying to get an AHL team even now, according to Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun).
The PWHL could miss this rare opportunity in Hamilton of having a PWHL team logo advertised and branded throughout the building. Yes, the Toronto Rock currently play there, but they are a National Lacrosse League (NLL) team, so it should not affect a PWHL team logo to be put in Hamilton.
It would also help the Hamilton sports fans after a tough period because of the arena renovations, which resulted in them losing both the Canadian Elite Basketball League’s (CEBL) Hamilton Honey Badgers to Brampton and the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs, which relocated to Brantford.
Opinion: Relocation Is Unlikely and Games Coming Up
Also, for those who say relocation, this seems unlikely. Yes, the Ottawa Charge are having arena difficulties with the Lansdowne Park renovations. However, there is the Canadian Tire Centre, where both the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Ottawa Black Bears of the NLL currently play. The Ottawa Charge could always play there, even though it would be less than ideal
Also, New York City is a big media market, and there has been some growth in attendance for the New York Sirens, as mentioned by Ian Kennedy of The Hockey News, even if they are still at the bottom of the league in attendance.
The Sceptres will play at home at Coca-Cola Coliseum, as they host the New York Sirens at 7:00 pm EST on January 6. That game will be on Prime Video in Canada. The game will also be available on MSG in the U.S., as mentioned by the Toronto Sceptres website.
READ MORE: Renata Fast: Versatile Toronto Sceptres Defender
As for the Seattle Torrent, they play a day later on January 7. They will face the Boston Fleet on the road at Agganis Arena in Boston, Massachusetts. It will be shown live on TSN in Canada and on NESN in the U.S., according to the Seattle Torrent website.
Note: All games shown on the PWHL YouTube Channel and thepwhl.com, are broadcast across the world, with the notable exceptions of Canada, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, as mentioned by the Toronto Sceptres website.
Source: All PWHL stats for the game seen above can be seen here.
Photo Credit: PWHL Facebook Page on January 3, 2025.
