Vancouver Goldeneyes showing character with gutsy wins late in inaugural season

VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Goldeneyes want to control their own draft destiny as their inaugural season winds to a close. 

They came close to losing the opportunity Tuesday. 

With the Goldeneyes up 4-0 midway through the third period, Montreal Victoire head coach Kori Cheverie made an aggressive move — pulling goalie Sandra Abstreiter with more than seven minutes left on the game clock. 

Hayley Scamurra responded, reeling off three goals over a span of two minutes and 44 seconds to cut Montreal’s deficit to a single tally. 

“I thought, ‘Well, it’s 4-0, let’s try to get a push here. Let’s try to shake something up,'” Cheverie said. “We had tried to shake up some of the lines, we tried to stick to our game plan and then, pulling the goalie. I think it worked.”

The final five minutes of the game saw the Goldeneyes battle a barrage of shots and fend off the desperate Victoire for a 4-3 win.

It was a “huge” result for Vancouver, said goalie Kristen Campbell, who stopped 25 of the 28 shots she faced.

“Honestly, we’ve gone through a lot of adversity as a team this year. And I think like in those final minutes, you’re just doing everything you can that’s in your control and just trying to get that win,” she said. “So I’m proud of everyone for sticking with it. And those were a big three points for us tonight.”

For head coach Brian Idalski, the gutsy performance said a lot about the Goldeneyes (9-2-4-14).

“We’re showing up, we’re competing and we’re playing hard for each other. So that’s a huge plus,” he said. “I thought that our response throughout was pretty darn good. So adversity builds character, and so we got plenty of that.”

Tereza Vanisova scored and notched a pair of assists for Vancouver, while Sarah Nurse registered her eighth goal of the season. Claire Thompson and Ashton Bell also scored. 

Nicole Gosling had three helpers for the Victorie (16-5-2-6), and Erin Ambrose contributed two assists. Abstreiter made 18 saves. 

Vancouver was eliminated from playoff contention Saturday with a 6-5 overtime win against the Seattle Torrent.

Under PWHL rules, though, the club is still competing for the top spot in this year’s draft. The honour is awarded to the team that picks up the most points after being deemed ineligible for the post-season. 

Those points — known as “gold plan points” — are particularly important amid uncertainty around how the rest of the draft will be determined due to possible expansion, Idalski said. 

“We know that if you win that, you get the first pick. So we can control that,” he said. “And that’s kind of just a sidebar to us finishing on a high note, and just wanting to play the right way and win some games down the stretch here.” 

Vancouver now has three points, while Seattle has one. The Torrent have two games left to play while the Goldeneyes have one. The New York Sirens, who were eliminated with a 1-0 overtime win over the Toronto Sceptres on Tuesday, have one game left and cannot earn enough “gold plan points” to win the first-overall draft pick. 

Montreal, meanwhile, sits atop the PWHL standings and is fighting the Boston Fleet for first place and the right to pick their semifinal opponent. 

There are still aspects of the game the Victoire want to work on as they make a post-season push, said Ambrose — including their 6-on-5 play. 

“Those situations are going to come up during playoffs,” said the veteran defender, who had two assists Tuesday. “So (it’s important) for us to be able to get those reps, and obviously not just reps, but some success on it. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get a fourth, but to get three is pretty big.”

JAQUES MILESTONE

Goldeneyes defender Sophie Jaques registered an assist on Thompson’s third-period goal and became the first PWHL blueliner to put up 50 points. 

“That’s just a microcosm of the kind of impact player she is, and her shot and ability to create offence from the blue line,” Idalski said. “So huge accomplishment for her.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2026.