Women's Hockey
PWHL 2025-26
The Seattle Torrent's home opener against the Minnesota Frost on Friday at Climate Pledge Arena drew 16,014 fans. Courtesy of the PWHL
The Seattle Torrent’s home opener against the Minnesota Frost on Friday broke the record for attendance at a professional women’s hockey game in the United States.
The PWHL previously set the U.S. attendance record with 14,288 fans at a neutral-site game in Detroit last season. The draw of 16,014 at Climate Pledge Arena — the home of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken and now the Torrent — on Friday night took it up a notch.
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“It’s super special. A lot of inaugural (experiences), but there’s something about Seattle that is just so special,” Torrent captain Hilary Knight said after playing in front of a record-breaking crowd. “… A dream come true, pinch-me moment.”
The Frost defeated Seattle 3-0 for the back-to-back champions’ first win of the season. The Torrent, who lost their first game 4-3 in overtime, are now the only team without a win through the first week of the 2025-26 season.
“It’s great that they have a new team and set a new record, and it’s fun to see all the other markets in the U.S. compete to try to one-up that mark,” Frost forward Kelly Pannek said of the crowd in Seattle. “Even if it’s not the crowd cheering for you, it’s so fun to play in a sold-out arena.”
SEATTLE SHOWED UP! 🤩
Today’s home opener sets the record for the largest attendance for a women’s hockey game in a US arena AND the highest attended home venue game in PWHL history! pic.twitter.com/vTtmiLFwTw
— Seattle Torrent (@PWHL__Seattle) November 28, 2025
The PWHL expanded for the first time ahead of the league’s third season, after launching in January 2024, by adding two teams in Seattle and Vancouver. The league’s latest attendance record is the latest indication that the PWHL’s westward expansion was a wise decision.
In its first-ever game last week, the Vancouver Goldeneyes sold out the Pacific Coliseum (14,958) and drew the largest crowd of any game played at a regular PWHL home venue — until Friday. According to the league, Seattle had the most single-day jersey sales in PWHL history when the team’s inaugural jerseys went on sale Oct. 21. Vancouver was right on their heels, and has sold the most season tickets league-wide. Seattle, the league said, is third, behind Toronto.
The league could add between two and four teams by next season, according to executive vice president of business operations Amy Scheer, who first went public with the plans when addressing Ottawa city council last month.
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“We added Vancouver and Seattle this year. Two teams. We’re going to expand at least two to four teams next year,” she said. “We are in growth mode, and this league is exploding.”
Scheer reiterated those plans last week in an interview with CNBC.
“Next year we are expanding again, it’s either two to four teams,” she said. “If I was a betting woman, I’d say it’d be four teams. And then I think we’ll hold at 12 for a bit.”
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Hailey Salvian is a staff writer for The Athletic covering women’s hockey and the NHL. Previously, she covered the Calgary Flames and Ottawa Senators and served as a general assignment reporter. Follow Hailey on Twitter @hailey_salvian
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