Torrent Beat Sceptres 3-2 in Shootout, Earn First Road Win
PWHL Toronto Sceptres

Torrent Beat Sceptres 3-2 in Shootout, Earn First Road Win

Published on January 3, 2026 under Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL)
Toronto Sceptres News Release


HAMILTON, ON - The Seattle Torrent earned the first road victory in team history, edging the Toronto Sceptres 3-2 in a shootout in front of 16,012 fans at TD Coliseum during the Doordash PWHL Takeover Tour™ in Hamilton on Saturday afternoon. Alex Carpenter provided the game-tying goal with 4:21 remaining in the third period to send the game to overtime, as the Torrent outshot the Sceptres 39-29. Seattle opened the scoring when Lexie Adzija scored for the second straight game, giving the Torrent a 1-0 lead just 5:10 into the first period. Toronto responded early in the second, as Natalie Spooner scored 55 seconds in to tie the game 1-1, her second goal of the season. Daryl Watts extended her goal streak to four games in the third, giving the Sceptres their first lead at 9:55. Carpenter then tied the game, recording her 50th career PWHL point.

The Torrent controlled overtime, outshooting Toronto 4-0, but could not beat goaltender Raygen Kirk, who finished with a career-high 37 saves. Hannah Bilka scored the shootout winner, with Anna Wilgren adding the insurance goal. Seattle goaltender Corinne Schroeder stopped all four Sceptres attempts in the shootout and made 27 saves in regulation and overtime to earn her first win as a member of the Torrent.

Today's contest was the first hockey game played at TD Coliseum since the completion of the venue's $300 million renovation and the first PWHL Takeover Tour game to feature the Takeover Tour logo at center ice.

QUOTES

Torrent head coach Steve O'Rourke on the team's progression during a 17-day road trip: "The results aren't always the most important thing. We want to put things together period after period, but what we're doing is working period after period and seeing our identity grow, game in game out. We're getting better as a group with our details, but the biggest thing here is understanding that these are 30 playoff games. That's really what it is with intensity. We get ready each and every night to have that mentality, and we're starting to form that each night, that playoff mindset.

Seattle forward Julia Gosling on the progress she's made since playing for the Sceptres in the 2024-2025 season: "I think it's been linear, but also just coming into a new environment, new coaching staff, that's really believed in me from the start, and just playing with some really incredible players. I feel like I started to feel confident last year in the playoffs, so it was nice ending that way and bringing it into the new year. I definitely felt more confident early on playing with players like Alex Carpenter and Hilary Knight. I feel like I'm still bringing the type of game I want to play and not forcing pucks to them. It's linear but being surrounded by new people, new staff, a lot of support, and a lot of growth."

Sceptres defender Renata Fast on playing in this building, so close to her home in Burlington: "It was pretty cool! I took it in during warmups, just looking around. It's very impressive, the renovations they've done in this building. From the last time I was in here, I was blown away. It's like a brand new building. I had a lot of family and a lot of friends - a lot of people who have supported me and my journey. It was pretty special, this is somewhere I always wanted to play."

Toronto Head Coach Troy Ryan on what he said during the first intermission: "I said a few things, but I don't think any of that is the reason, they came out [strong]. I wish - if that was the case, I would probably just repeat that all the time. I think sometimes you just say things to get people thinking, get everybody on the same page a little bit. Bottom line is, that's the athletes. Had a bit of a shift and came out and started to play more the right way."

NOTABLES

Seattle earned its first road win in team history in just its third road game. The Torrent previously fell in overtime in Vancouver on Nov. 21 in their inaugural game and lost 4-3 to the New York Sirens during the Dallas Takeover Tour on Dec. 28.

The Sceptres dropped their fourth straight game as the home team, counting two Takeover Tour™ contests (Halifax, Hamilton). With the point for a shootout loss, the Sceptres moved into a three-way tie for second place in the PWHL.

Corinne Schroeder earned her first win as a member of the Seattle Torrent in her fourth start of the season. It was also the first game this season in which she allowed fewer than three goals. With the win, Schroeder became the 14th goaltender to record a victory this season.

Raygen Kirk made a career-high 37 saves while tying a career-high 39 shots against in the contest. Her previous best was 35 saves on 39 shots, set in her second PWHL game, against the Montréal Victoire on Dec. 21, 2024.

Alex Carpenter became the third player in PWHL history to reach 50 career points, joining Marie-Philip Poulin and Daryl Watts, by scoring her fifth goal of the season. The marker was the 24th of her career, achieved in her 58th game, and she sits second all-time in points per game (0.86), trailing only Poulin (0.97).

Watts recorded a goal and an assist to extend her point streak to five games and her goal streak to four. The five-game point streak matches the longest in the PWHL this season (Megan Keller) and ties the longest of her career (Jan. 25 - Feb. 11, 2025), while her four-game goal streak stands as the league's longest - and the longest in Sceptres history - surpassing the previous best set by Natalie Spooner in 2024.

Lexie Adzija recorded points in back-to-back games for the first time since Mar. 8-15, 2025, when she did so with the Boston Fleet. It also marks her first goals in consecutive contests since the 2024 season, when she scored in three straight games with the Ottawa Charge from Jan. 17-24. The longest point streak of Adzija's career came in her first five PWHL games with Ottawa, during which she tallied three goals and two assists.

Mikyla Grant-Mentis hit the scoresheet for the second straight game with an assist on Adzija's goal. The forward now has four points (1G, 3A) in her last four games after going scoreless through the opening four contests of the season. She also recorded a season-high five shots on goal, one shy of her regular-season career high set on May 3, 2025, with the Montréal Victoire.

Mariah Keopple recorded her first point as a member of the Torrent with the secondary assist on Adzija's first-period goal. It was her first point since Feb. 15, 2025, when she scored against the New York Sirens as a member of the Montréal Victoire, snapping a 21-game regular-season pointless streak.

Spooner scored her second goal of the season, bringing her point total to five points, matching her total from 2024-25, which she accomplished in 14 games. The forward now has 25 career PWHL goals, tied for third all-time.

Emma Maltais recorded the primary assist on Spooner's goal to move into a tie for third in team scoring with five points (1G, 4A). The forward is now one assist shy of reaching 25 in her PWHL career.

Blayre Turnbull earned the primary assist on Watts' second-period goal, bringing her season total to six points (3G, 3A) in ten games. She ranks second on the team in scoring behind Watts.

Renata Fast recorded an assist for the second consecutive game after returning on Dec. 31 from a three-game absence due to a lower-body injury. The Burlington native - who was born in Hamilton - has points in three of her last four games played.

Julia Gosling earned the primary assist on Carpenter's game-tying goal, bringing her season total to eight points (4G, 4A), the most on the Torrent and tied for fifth in the PWHL. The second-year forward has not gone more than one game without recording a point this season.

Anna Wilgren notched her third assist of the season, halfway to her 2024-25 total of six points in 30 regular-season games with Montréal. The defender also logged a season-high 24:17 of ice time, the second-most of her regular-season career behind the 26:10 she played on Apr. 28, 2025, with the Victoire.

Aneta Tejralová missed today's contest for the Torrent as the defender served the first of her two-game suspension for an illegal check to the head.

THREE STARS

1. Alex Carpenter (SEA) 1G

2. Daryl Watts (TOR) 1G, 1A

3. Corinne Schroeder (SEA) 27/29 SVS

STANDINGS

Toronto 15 PTS (4-0-3-3) - 2nd Place (tied)

Seattle 12 PTS (3-1-1-3) - 5th Place

UPCOMING SCHEDULES

Toronto Tuesday, Jan. 6 vs. New York at 7 p.m. ET

Seattle: Wednesday, Jan. 7 at New York at 4 p.m. PT /7 p.m. ET

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Professional Women's Hockey League Stories from January 3, 2026


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