The first half of the Vancouver Goldeneyes' inaugural PWHL season has not gone as planned. Here are four of the biggest storylines that have followed the team through their first 16 games.
The Vancouver Goldeneyes are a little over halfway through their inaugural season, though they’ll now have some time off as the 2026 Winter Olympics take place. It’s safe to say that the 2025–26 season hasn’t quite gone the way Vancouver expected it to, as they currently sit at sixth in the PWHL’s standings while sporting a record of 5–1–2–8. With 14 games remaining in their inaugural season, here are four big storylines that have followed the Goldeneyes throughout the first half of 2025–26.
Vancouver’s Goaltending Has Been Stronger Than Some May Think
While this may not have seemed like the case earlier on in their season, the Goldeneyes’ goaltending has arguably been the most stable part of their team performances. Despite some lopsided scores on occasion, both Emerance Maschmeyer and Kristen Campbell have provided steady performances throughout their combined 16 starts — none of their losses have felt like ones that stem solely from poor goaltending.
Looking solely at stats, both Campbell (2.21) and Maschmeyer (2.20) rank within the PWHL’s top-six in goals-against average of goaltenders that have played in five or more games. They are also the only goaltending tandem in the league to put up a shutout each, with Maschmeyer’s coming against the New York Sirens and Campbell’s coming against her former team, the Toronto Sceptres. Both goaltenders also have a SV% above .915%, with Maschmeyer’s .930 SV% putting her within the top-five in the PWHL. The solid play of both goaltenders has contributed to Vancouver placing fourth in the league in overall goals-allowed (39).
Sarah Nurse’s Injury
Sarah Nurse’s status was one of the biggest question marks for the Goldeneyes throughout the first half of the 2025–26 season. She made history by scoring the first goal in Goldeneyes history during Vancouver’s home-opener, but soon disappeared from the lineup due to injury and did not make her return until January 17.
Many were left wondering about Nurse’s whereabouts for a good chunk of December, as her absence was initially listed as day-to-day. However, Nurse was soon put on LTIR on December 5. When the Goldeneyes returned to Vancouver at the beginning of January, Nurse was still waiting on evaluations to dictate how long she could be out of the lineup for, with Head Coach Brian Idalski noting that it could be a couple of weeks. A little less than two weeks later, the forward dressed in her first game since November 21.
Something that further complicated the questions surrounding Nurse’s status was the fact that she’d been named to Canada’s roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics. This came after she was taken off the national team roster for the Rivalry Series back in December due to the injury she’d been battling. The move caused people to question whether she was rushing her recovery to get a few games in before competing for Canada in Italy. Given the fact that she’s registered a point in every game she’s played in since her return — all while helping drive the most dynamic line the Goldeneyes’ have iced all season in herself, Michelle Karvinen, and Tereza Vanišová — it seems like she’s doing perfectly fine.
Proven Goal-Scorers Not Being Able To Score
During the 2024–25 season, Hannah Miller finished tied for fifth in the PWHL in points with 10 goals and 14 assists in 29 games. In the same year, Vanišová finished tied for second in goals-scored with 15 in 30 games. Throughout the Goldeneyes’ first half of the 2025–26 season, neither player has passed the two-goal mark.
Another player who was expected to produce a lot more off the bat was Karvinen. While it took her awhile to find her first PWHL goal, after finding the back of the net on January 9 against the Ottawa Charge, she’s managed to bring her season total up to three.
Vancouver’s lack of offence has been a truly puzzling piece to the Goldeneyes’ inaugural season. Their current points leader is Claire Thompson, while Sophie Jaques leads them in shots on net. The next highest producer of shots on Vancouver is Abby Boreen, whose 40 shots on goal is tied for 18th in the PWHL. The Goldeneyes’ forwards just haven’t been able to produce offence — hence the need for the biggest trade in PWHL history in mid-January.
With that being said, as Vancouver has played more and more games together, it looks as though players are beginning to find more chemistry. After a slow start, the Goldeneyes may be due for a breakout after the Olympic break.
Nancy Shields @ THN The Pacific Coliseum Has Been The Place To Be
It could be a bone-chilling Thursday night or a rainy Tuesday evening, but you’ll still be able to count on flocks of Goldeneyes fans showing up to the Pacific Coliseum to watch Vancouver take on their next opponent. The vibes at the Coliseum are sky-high regardless of the game’s outcome — whether fans are screaming as JLO’s “Let’s Get Loud” after a goal, or if they’re down by a couple of goals and still singing along to ABBA’s “Dancing Queen.”
From their 14,958 sell-out home-opener to January 22nd’s 14,006-person crowd, one thing that has made the Goldeneyes stand out has been the presence of their fans. Their lowest attendance rate at the Coliseum was a crowd of 9,250 against the Charge on a Tuesday in December. This attendance ‘low’ ranks higher than all but two of the PWHL’s home-opener numbers from this season.
While the off-ice aspects of the Coliseum have taken things to another level, on the ice, it’s clear that Vancouver finds great comfort in playing at home. The Goldeneyes have a record of 3–1–0–1 at the Coliseum, with their only regulation loss coming against the Victoire on December 20. Where things could get dangerous for the rest of the PWHL is if Vancouver continues their stellar home-ice record, as they’ll take part in a five-game homestand immediately after the Olympic break concludes. While it could be unlikely, a regulation win in all five of these games would put the Goldeneyes up 15 points from their current total of 19 on the season.