In the aftermath of the 2026 Winter Olympics, fourteen Olympians took to the ice for the Seattle Torrent and the Toronto Sceptres. That includes four gold medalists for the Torrent as they hosted the Sceptres after a month-long break for the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL). And the impact from Hilary Knight and Team USA Olympics was immediate, as the Torrent broke yet another record this season.

Despite being without the injured Hilary Knight, the PWHL clash between the Torrent and Sceptres set a U.S. arena record for a women’s hockey game. The sold-out game saw 17,335 fans cheer on the two sides in an action-packed event. What makes it even more impressive is the fact that the seating capacity at the Climate Pledge Arena is 17,151.

So the first game post-Olympics had to be part standing-only, and it’s the second game to top 17,000 fans. Not only that, this isn’t the first time the Seattle Torrent have broken the attendance record. They did it earlier this season during their home opener against the Minnesota Frost in November. The arena welcomed 16,015 fans before a larger crowd broke the record again at Capital One Arena in January.

That was when 17,228 fans filled the arena to watch the Montréal Victoire face the New York Sirens. This comes as little surprise, however, as the PWHL has been reaping the benefits of the Olympics. The attendance has been up 17% season-over-season, and post the Olympics, the league saw the two biggest “home venue ticket sales” since it kicked off.

Not only that, during the Olympics, i.e., the month of February, merchandise sales were at an all-time high, up by 101%. And yet, high attendance numbers haven’t exactly translated into success for the Seattle Torrent.

Attendance records haven’t translated into wins for the Torrent

They sit last in the eight-team PWHL with a 4-8-3 record and couldn’t reward the record-breaking crowd yet again. This time, they lost to the Toronto Sceptres despite winning the first two meetings. That upset forward Natalie Snodgrass slightly, who scored her first for the Torrent when she tied the game 2-2. While the Sceptres eventually won 5-2, Snodgrass was happy at the show of support during and after the clash.

“I just wish we could have gotten a couple more points for them tonight,” Snodgrass said, according to the Seattle Times. “What a cool experience, for us and for them.”

The Torrent, however, was without Olympic gold medalists Hannah Bilka and captain Hilary Knight. The two happen to be among the team’s top scorers, but while Knight is set to miss at least three weeks, Bilka is being assessed on a day-to-day basis. The loss leaves Seattle three points behind seventh-place Vancouver at the halfway point of the season, hoping for an improvement.