For the first time this season, the Vancouver Goldeneyes lived up to the lofty expectations placed upon the team. If it's a sign of things to come, the rest of the PWHL should be worried.
The Vancouver Goldeneyes' slumber is over. Heading into the 2025-26 PWHL season, lofty expectations were placed on a Goldeneyes' roster that was loaded with more talent than any other team in the league.
Through the expansion team's opening stretch of the season, they struggled to find chemistry and lift up to those expectations. Following a blockbuster trade that saw six players on the move, and the return of Sarah Nurse from a long term injury, things finally clicked in Vancouver. It resulted in a dominant 5-0 win in front of 14,006 fans in Vancouver on Thursday night, their best performance of the season.
“The win was huge. In this league, it’s so tight and you want to get ahead as much as possible," said Nurse. "It was a disappointing loss in Toronto because I thought we did play a good game, and probably deserved the win as well, but to come out of there with one point, that’s a step in the right direction. Then when you’re playing at home, we want to use home ice to our advantage, and I really think we did a great job with that today.”
Nurse scored a pair of goals against her former team, while Izzy Daniel also scored against Toronto where she played last season. Netminder Kristen Campbell, a Toronto Sceptres cast off shutout her former team stopping all 24 shots she faced.
Campbell's tenure as Toronto's starting goalie ended unceremoniously this offseason as there were failed attempts to terminate her contract allowing the netminder to become an unrestricted free agent. Then, prior to trading Campbell to Vancouver at the PWHL Draft, the Sceptres verbally agreed to a contract with Elaine Chuli during the exclusive expansion signing window. The team, according to sources, was willing to sit Campbell as their third goaltender until her contract expired following this season.
Instead, they sent her to the Vancouver Goldeneyes on draft day, and on Thursday, watched as Campbell turned aside all 24 shots she faced while Chuli allowed five goals on 28 shots.
Also scoring for the Goldeneyes in the game were Tereza Vanišová, who scored her first of the season after finishing last season as the league's second leading goal scorer. Abby Boreen capped the scoring on the night for Vancouver.
Vancouver's new top line with Nurse, Vanišová, and Michelle Karvinen was noticeable from puck drop. They all finished the game with points and were the driving factor behind Vancouver's offensive success.
“There’s a fair amount of speed there and experience and I think you saw what’s possible as they continue to build chemistry," Idalski said of the line. "The reality is, they have not been together long, so I think this is just the beginning of what’s possible as they get more familiar with each other.”
Both teams will play their final game before the Olympic break on Sunday, January 28.