Seattle Torrent set record for highest-attended U.S. women's hockey game, lose 3-0 to Minnesota Frost

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SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - NOVEMBER 28: Nicole Hensley #29 of the Minnesota Frost makes a save against Hannah Bilka #19 of the PWHL Seattle during the second period at Climate Pledge Arena on November 28, 2025 in Seattle, Washington.  (Steph Chambers / Getty Images)

SEATTLE - The home debut for the Seattle Torrent on Friday afternoon was a roaring success everywhere except on the scoreboard.

A U.S. record-setting 16,014 fans came to Climate Pledge Arena to witness the Torrent's 3-0 loss to the two-time PWHL defending champion Minnesota Frost. It's the largest attendance for a women's hockey game in a U.S. arena and the highest attended home venue game in PWHL history.

"There's something about Seattle that is just so special," captain and Idaho native Hilary Knight said. "… We could feel the love. I wish we got a win tonight just to celebrate everything, but the big takeaway was how special this was. A dream come true, pinch me kind of moment, and I'm not even originally from here. To now call Seattle home, it's just so special. We feel that day in and day out."

"Absolutely tremendous. I'm speechless," Seattle native Marah Wagner said after her home debut. "Insane how much support we've got already and just seeing how loud the crowd got is just amazing. It's a great feeling."

Kelly Pannek scored twice for the Frost, and Grace Zumwinkle added a power play goal in the third period to put a damper on the Torrent's debut performance. Nicole Hensley made 30 saves for Minnesota in a shutout performance for the defending champions. 

The Torrent are still seeking their first victory after losing 4-3 in overtime to the Vancouver Goldeneyes in their first game last week.

"I like a lot of things we did tonight," head coach Steve O'Rourke said. "Much better from Vancouver to tonight. I know the result wasn't what we want, but this is going to be a journey for us. … There's way less inconsistency tonight than we had against Vancouver. We were more consistent to our identity and we just got to keep building on that."

Hensley was the star of the game as she fought to keep Seattle from getting a goal in their home debut.

"I thought she played off her net extremely well," Knight said. "She shrunk the net for us in terms of angles, she was making some big saves. Their D-corps did a good job of clearing pucks out that were just kind of sitting there that we could have poked in the net. So we'll find our solution. It's definitely a process. We've got to find a way to find the back of the net against great goaltenders because we've got a lot of them in this league."

The Torrent created plenty of chances in the opening period with team captain Hilary Knight creating multiple chances. Hensley held strong in goal for Minnesota to keep Seattle off the scoreboard.

Corinne Schroeder was equally stout for the Torrent in net before the Frost broke through with two minutes left in the opening period.

Pannek's shot deflected off defender Mariah Keopple and caromed over the reach of Schroeder for the opening goal and a 1-0 Minnesota lead. The deflected shot left Schroeder with no chance as Seattle trailed at the end of the period.

A pair of penalties taken by Seattle in the second period blunted their efforts to find a tying goal. An interference call on Lexie Azdika and a tripping call against Danielle Serdachny helped Minnesota to control the period overall.

An interference penalty on Taylor Heise early in the third period gave the Torrent their first power play as they looked to tie the game.

The Torrent got four shots on goal on the power play with Alex Carpenter getting a pair of good looks that were stopped by Hensley. Serdachny also had a strong drive to the goal front with another good save from Hensley keeping the Torrent off the board.

Even after the penalty expired, the pressure continued over the next few minutes as Seattle pushed for a tying goal that never came.

Pannek collected her second of the game with a clean shot past Schroeder for an insurance goal for the Frost. From nearly the same spot on the ice as her first goal, Pannek snapped a shot home off an assist from Britta Curl-Salemme for a 2-0 lead.

Hannah Bilka was tripped to send Seattle to the power play with 9:16 left to play to give the Torrent a chance to cut into Minnesota's lead. But after one really strong scoring chance, The Frost jumped on a break as Cayla Barnes was unable to hold the puck in the offensive zone. Julia Gosling took a hooking penalty to deny a scoring chance that ended the power play chance for Seattle.

On the ensuing partial power play for Minnesota after her penalty expired, Zumwinkle scored to further extend the lead. The goal was originally waived off on the ice before a review determined the puck had fully crossed the goal line.

Seattle pulled Schroeder to push for a goal in the closing minutes with no luck. Even Knight had a prime chance right on the doorstep of the goal inside the final minute that she was unable to direct by Hensley.

The Torrent have four more games at home before they head on the road again. They play the New York Sirens on Wednesday at 7 p.m. PT.

"Absolutely tremendous. I'm speechless," Seattle native Marah Wagner said after her home debut. "Insane how much support we've got already and just seeing how loud the crowd got is just amazing. It's a great feeling."

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