The Seattle Torrent’s inaugural season hit its breaking point on Tuesday.
A 4-1 loss to the Vancouver Goldeneyes ended their playoff hopes and made them the first team eliminated from contention this year. Seattle pushed late, but the damage came early. Vancouver built a three-goal cushion in the second period and never gave it back.
Now the focus shifts and the Gold Plan takes over.
Elimination Arrives After Familiar Issues Resurface
This game looked like Seattle’s season in miniature. Seattle did a lot right: they won draws, finishing at 55 percent. They generated 30 shots and owned long stretches of play, especially late in the game. By the third period, they tilted the ice and forced Vancouver to defend shift after shift.
Still, none of that showed up where it mattered most. Vancouver opened the scoring early in the first, then blew the game open in the second period with three goals in a span of under five minutes. That stretch turned a manageable deficit into a battle in front of Emerance Maschmeyer’s net. Mikyla Grant-Mentis scored Seattle’s only goal.
That pattern has defined this season. They rely heavily on top-end production and struggle to find consistent depth scoring at five-on-five. When the power play does not convert, the offense can stall out. Seattle went 0-for-2 on the power play again in this game and could not shift momentum early.
Goaltending told a similar story. Corinne Schroeder allowed four goals on 15 shots before Seattle made a change and gave CJ Jackson their first shot in net of the season. Jackson stopped all nine shots they faced, settling things down and giving the team a chance to push late, but by then, the gap proved too large.
What the PWHL Gold Plan Means for Seattle
While the Torrent are eliminated from playoff contention, their season is far from over. The team returns to Seattle for their final three games, all at Climate Pledge Arena and with a new goal in mind: operating under the PWHL’s Gold Plan.
The system rewards teams that have been eliminated from playoff contention by assigning them draft positioning based on points earned after elimination, not overall standings. In simple terms, the more points Seattle collects from here on out, the better their position in the upcoming draft.
It flips the usual incentive structure. Instead of losing to secure better odds, Seattle now has every reason to keep pushing. Wins and overtime points directly improve their future, while player development and competition align with a tangible reward.
That matters for a first-year team as the Gold Plan creates a runway for growth. Young players with limited ice time this season can step into larger roles without sacrificing long-term value. The coaching staff can also experiment with the lineup while chasing progress in the standings. Home fans could see the long-awaited start for third goaltender CJ Jackson, or the return of first round draft pick, Jenna Buglioni, to the lineup after being healthy-scratched the last few games.
What Comes Next
The remaining games will define how this team builds into year two. They need more consistent scoring beyond their top contributors. They need cleaner defensive sequences to avoid the kind of second-period collapse that ended this one. They need to turn shot volume into actual finishing, especially from the high-danger areas they already reach.
Now, with the possibility of incoming talent, every remaining game gets them closer to developing that system for next season.