Seattle Torrent Practice Notebook: April 10th, 2026
By Charles Hamaker
Northgate, WA - Following a travel day to get them back to the Pacific Northwest after their first-ever road back-to-back, the Seattle Torrent returned to the Kraken Community Iceplex for an optional practice session. Only eleven skaters were present for the practice, with two of Seattle’s goaltenders taking part in a second session later in the day. It was a lighthearted practice, with music audible during the second session and some fun in the drills that led to a comedic moment. Olivia Dean hits “Rein Me In” with Sam Fender and “Man I need” were among the songs played over the loudspeakers on rink three of the Kraken Community Iceplex during this practice day.
The first session saw a group of eleven skaters hit the ice for a practice largely focused on various shooting drills.
The group was made up of seven forwards and four defenders. The forwards included Marah Wagner, Mikyla Grant-Mentis, Theresa Schafzahl, Danielle Serdachny, Jenna Buglioni, Natalie Snodgrass, and Brooke Bryant. The defender group included Emily Zumwinkle, Aneta Tejralová, Anna Wilgren, and Mariah Keopple. The drills taking place largely focused on goal scoring situations, something that head coach Steve O’Rourke specifically mentioned in a recent press conference as a point of emphasis. The drills we saw focused on quick passing in the offensive zone and different shooting scenarios.
This was one of Schafzahl’s first practices at the Iceplex, as it became apparent that her teammates were showing her around the facility and guiding her on where to go before, during, and after the session.
The first practice session lasted from 10:30-11 AM, providing a perfect window for us to head over from rink three, where the Torrent were practicing, to rink one, where the Kraken were getting a practice in before their game tomorrow against the Calgary Flames at Climate Pledge Arena. Since it wasn’t clear how long the Torrent would practice today, with it being an optional session, it was a pleasant surprise to leave Kraken practice and see Torrent players back on the ice around 12:30 PM.
This appeared to be either the end of a second session or purely a netminder centered session, as there were just three skaters on the ice helping Carly Jackson and Hannah Murphy get work in with goaltender coach Sheldon Goertzen. The drills seen were primarily situations where one of the skaters took the puck behind the goal and tried their best to score on an initial attempt right after wrapping around the goal and then a rebound chance. Both Jackson and Murphy took turns alternating in goal, but Murphy in particular stood out during this drill.
At a point, Murphy had denied so many attempts that the skaters showed (Exaggerated) frustration. After being denied by Murphy, Mikyla Grant-Mentis half heartedly tossed her stick in the air as if to say “What more do I need to do?” For a decent stretch of time, Murphy continued to deny every attempt the skaters threw at her, before finally a Brooke Bryant effort found it’s way in. To continue showing how light hearted the drill was, Bryant skated around the boards and threw her stick and gloves in the air as if she’d just won the Walter Cup (which she’s done already with the Frost, so she has experience) which got a good laugh out of the rest of the players on the ice. Murphy jokingly stormed after Bryant, chasing her in full gear, to put a bow on the drill.
With the practice session wrapped up, Carly Jackson got off the ice in full gear and signed a fans jersey after seeing them through the glass doors on rink three of the Iceplex.
What’s next?
Following this practice session at the Kraken Community Iceplex, the Seattle Torrent have a scheduled day off tomorrow before returning to practice on Sunday, April 12th. While the team has a day off on Saturday, Seattle can be eliminated from playoff contention because of a game they aren’t playing. If the New York Sirens defeat the Minnesota Frost in any way on April 11th, the Torrent are officially eliminated from playoff contention.
The Torrent will practice on Sunday, April 12th, and will presumably travel to Vancouver on Monday, April 13th, for their game against the Goldeneyes on Tuesday, April 14th. That game against the other expansion team in the PWHL this year represents Seattle’s final road game of their inaugural season and marks the site of their very first game in regular-season history. Because this practice overlaps with the Seattle Mariners' pregame for the matinee at T-Mobile Park, we’ll be unable to provide updates from this practice.
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Check out our previous Seattle Torrent articles here.
Check out our previous articles written by Charles Hamaker here.
Check out our previous articles with photos by Nick Lyons here.
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