The Vancouver Goldeneyes won their inaugural game needing overtime to beat the Seattle Torrent.
On a historic night at the Pacific Coliseum, the Vancouver Goldeneyes began their inaugural PWHL season with a thrilling 4–3 overtime victory over the Seattle Torrent, overcoming early defensive lapses, frantic puck play, and periods of disconnection before storming back with a composed, dominant final frame.
A sold-out crowd of 14,958—the largest ever for a PWHL team in their primary home venue—witnessed Vancouver’s first franchise win, highlighted by standout performances from Sarah Nurse, Abigail Boreen, Gabby Rosenthal, and Emerance Maschmeyer.
Early Chaos, Maschmeyer Steadies the Ship
Vancouver opened the game with shaky execution. Miscommunications in their own zone, rushed puck movement, and chemistry issues between new linemates created a frantic, disjointed pace.
Despite this, Abigail Boreen (#22) was sharp early, generating controlled entries and the team’s most consistent offensive pressure.
At the other end, Emerance Maschmeyer (#38) delivered multiple highlight-calibre saves, keeping the Goldeneyes alive during Seattle’s sustained zone time.
Seattle opened the scoring at 14:40, capitalizing on a defensive lapse to record the first goal in Torrent history. Vancouver continued to struggle with puck management—often “playing hot potato” under pressure.
Vancouver found life just a few minutes later when Sarah Nurse (#20) buried a rebound at 17:41, claiming the first goal in Goldeneyes history.
In the closing seconds, Hannah Miller (#34) nearly tied the game, but her point-blank chance was beat by the goaltender and the buzzer, sending Vancouver to intermission trailing 2–1.
Line Shuffling, Defensive Gaps, and a Lack of Urgency
The Goldeneyes opened the second with immediate pressure—Boreen fired a shot on goal off the opening draw, and Miller took the opening faceoff—but their possession game again faltered as they struggled to read off each other.
Head coach Brian Idalski cycled through numerous combinations to stabilize their play, including:
- Bell – Boreen – Thompson – Rosenthal – Vanišová
- Cava – Channell-Watkins – Greco – Nurse – Bard
- Chan – Lappan – Samoskevich – Jaques – McQuigge
- Greco – Samoskevich – Daniel – Gardiner – Miller (one of the more effective units)
However, a recurring issue persisted: Vancouver repeatedly failed to get into shooting lanes, allowing uncontested Torrent attempts and leaning heavily on Maschmeyer to absorb the workload.
The power play—Thompson, Nurse, Jaques, Cava, Karvinen—showed clean passing sequences but lacked urgency, often relying on hopeful cross-ice attempts rather than deliberate reads.
Seattle’s forecheck remained aggressive, and Vancouver ended the period still searching for cohesion.
A Major Momentum Shift
Just 59 seconds into the frame, Vancouver came alive.
A crisp passing sequence between Boreen and Thompson allowed Gabby Rosenthal (#15) to bury a goal, breathing life and structure into the Goldeneyes’ play.
From that moment, Vancouver looked transformed:
- More connected
- More aggressive
- Improved puck reads
- Stronger forechecking
- Cleaner transitions
Jennifer Gardiner (#12) created multiple net-front opportunities, while Samoskevich (#7) and Gardiner (#12) nearly combined for another goal off a well-timed rush.
The penalty kill units—Bard, Cava, Greco, Gardiner, Miller—held firm despite long stretches in the defensive zone.
Midway through the period, a long video review confirmed Seattle’s go-ahead goal. Thompson had endured a tough night defensively, but responded with the most pivotal shift of her game.
With just over two minutes remaining, she hammered home the 3–3 equalizer, forcing overtime and electrifying the crowd.
Vancouver Completes the Comeback
Carrying their third-period momentum into the extra frame, Vancouver executed with precision and patience.
Forechecking pressure from Tereza Vanišová created a turnover—noticeably intensified when she recognized she was battling Czech national teammate Aneta Tejralová, per Idalski—and Vancouver transitioned quickly.
Moments later, a rebound sequence ended with Abby Boreen burying the game-winning overtime goal at 1:46, sealing a dramatic and emotional first franchise win.
Postgame Quotes
Sarah Nurse on scoring the first goal in Goldeneyes history:
I was thinking I need to get it to Karv. When you're on a two-on-one with an elite player like that, you want to get her the puck. I didn’t have a great passing lane, so I thought: pop it off the pad and it'll go right to her. It ended up fooling Schroeds, so I was just as surprised as anyone that it went in. Super cool moment.-
Nurse when asked on areas to improve moving forward:
As a group, we can work on making the hard plays. Today we got a little run-and-gun, and against a team like Seattle, who’s good in transition, it becomes who can unlock the game first. Advancing the puck quicker will help us a lot.-
Abigail Boreen on playing from behind:
The message was: don’t panic. We’re fine. Shift by shift—good things happen when we work hard. Claire getting that goal was huge. Going into OT, the momentum was in our favour. Brian and the staff showed no panic, and when your coaches have that, you don’t panic either. It says a lot about our group.-
Head Coach Brian Idalski on the historic night:
Unreal atmosphere. I told the players to lean into this experience- you only get one chance to start a franchise. Close your eyes, smell the smells, hear the sounds. I thought the group did a great job managing the emotions and playing well. Hopefully it's something they remember forever.-
Idalski on the 'no panic' message:
We know our group has talent. Playing from behind doesn't mean we can't score goals. Some of the mistakes were easily correctable and were first-game things; structure, discipline, puck management. No reason to panic.-
Idalski on Abigail Boreen's play:
I've loved her game since Hill-Murray. She competes so hard, plays with great energy. She's special and she was awesome tonight.-
The Goldeneyes didn’t just win their first-ever game—they defined who they intend to be.
A team that can bend without breaking. A team that can start chaotic, find its identity, and grow into the moment. A team that can rely on its stars without forgetting the importance of depth and structure. A team built for pressure, built for pace, built for the lights.
On a night where the Pacific Coliseum roared like it hadn’t in decades, Vancouver delivered a comeback worthy of its new era. And as the players left the ice—sticks raised, crowd standing—it felt less like the beginning of a season and more like the beginning of something much larger.
The Goldeneyes are here. And they’re already making history.
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