Seattle Torrent drop wild game to Vancouver Goldeneyes in overtime
American Olympian Cayla Barnes stopped one Torrent collapse, tying Saturday's game against Vancouver after the Goldeneyes scored three unanswered goals.
The Torrent even pulled ahead, but the Goldeneyes slipped a shot past Torrent goalie Carly "CJ" Jackson's foot with 1.6 seconds left in regulation to tie it. Seattle didn't last a minute in overtime as Jenn Gardiner scored her fourth goal of the evening to give Vancouver a wild, 6-5 OT victory.
Barnes' fellow defender, Anna Wilgren, supplemented with the first two goals of her Torrent career and Jackson made 35 saves in their first Torrent start.
Jackson relieved starter Corinne Schroeder during Seattle's most recent game, a 4-1 loss to the Goldeneyes in Vancouver on Tuesday. The Torrent's charismatic third goalie is arguably their most recognizable, even though they never appeared in a Seattle game until this week. Their likeness was handed out on the Torrent's first bobblehead night Jan. 20.
Jackson got choked up while describing Saturday's "crazy" game at Climate Pledge Arena.
"Although it feels pretty heartbreaking right now, I know that the thing I'm going to remember is all the love that I felt during that game," Jackson said. "That was pretty special, and I just feel really honored to play for the city."
Seattle captain Hilary Knight opened the scoring, knocking back the rebound of a Julia Gosling shot with under seven minutes to go in the first period. Knight (one goal, one assist) was named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2026 this week after captaining Team USA to Olympic gold.
It was Knight's first Torrent goal since before the Olympics. She last scored on Jan. 28 at Ottawa. Knight tore her MCL during the Winter Games and missed a month of PWHL action after returning from Milan.
The Torrent went up 2-0 when Wilgren scored her first goal as a member of the Torrent with 1:02 left in the first period. The second-year pro has appeared in all 28 games for Seattle this season.
"Everybody wants to contribute (offensively). (There were) definitely some times of frustration, but trying to take that as an opportunity this year to contribute in other ways, Wilgren said. "And I think that was a blessing in disguise.
"But yeah, it felt really good to get a couple tonight."
Gardiner put the Goldeneyes on the board late in the second period to launch the three-goal comeback. Hannah Miller tied the game at 2, three minutes into the third period. Right after Vancouver sent a shot off the goalpost, Gardiner dropped the rebound into a half-empty net.
The Vancouver lead lasted all of 39 seconds as Barnes (one goal, two assists) quickly responded. Wilgren put the Torrent back ahead another 62 seconds after that.
Jackson earned a standing ovation after stopping a flurry of Goldeneye shots while sprawled out. After play resumed, Danielle Serdachny (one goal, one assist) was tripped with a wide-open look at the empty Vancouver net, so she was awarded the goal without actually firing the puck.
"I looked at (assistant coach) Clayton (Beddoes) and I said, ‘This is long from over,'" Torrent coach Steve O'Rourke said. "Five minutes with them pushing like that? I knew it was going to be challenging to get to the very end.
"We haven't done anything easy this year."
It was closer to four minutes, but point taken. The Goldeneyes left the net empty and Gardiner completed her hat trick. The last-second goal that forced overtime was Miller's second of the night.
Seattle was eliminated from playoff contention during that Tuesday game in Vancouver. The Torrent tried to return the favor and eliminate their closest neighbors on Saturday. Based on their respective, formidable, initial rosters, the PWHL's first two expansion teams were expected to contend for a championship right away. Instead they settled at the bottom of the standings, together.
An "e" for "eliminated was added next to Vancouver on the PWHL website during the game, then removed, then added back. The Goldeneyes did, in fact, need a regulation win on Saturday. Despite the unlikely win, their playoff hopes ended.
"We both, toward the end of this year, had our backs against the wall," Wilgren said of the first-year expansion teams.
"Maybe it's coming to the end of our seasons, but we don't want to back down."
The Torrent and Goldeneyes are also helping out their future selves in their final games. The PWHL uses the "Gold Plan," which means the team with the most points after elimination will earn the top overall pick in the 2026 PWHL Entry Draft.
The Torrent have two games left, both at home. They'll face the Minnesota Frost on Wednesday and close their inaugural season April 25 against the Montreal Victoire.
Beautiful weekend weather didn't dissuade too many of Seattle's sports fans. A crowd of 12,719 took in the afternoon matchup, which is respectable but only the sixth-highest attendance at Climate Pledge Arena through 11 games.
According to a league news release, the PWHL surpassed one million fans in attendance on Friday. Average attendance during the 2025-26 season was 9,229 fans per game, an increase of 28% over the league's second season and 62% over the first season in 2024.
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