‘Something different was in the air’: First game a special experience for Goldeneyes

VANCOUVER – Sarah Nurse has won Olympic gold. She’s long been a trailblazer for women’s hockey. 

Yet Friday’s matchup was a special one for the Canadian star as she helped the Vancouver Goldeneyes to a 4-3 overtime win over the Seattle Torrent in their first-ever game.

“I’ve played a lot of hockey games — a lot of really big hockey games — and I’ve never felt the emotion and I’ve never felt emotional like I have in that first 20 minutes of the game,” Nurse said. “It felt like something different was in the air, like I’ve never experienced it.”

It’s been nearly seven months since Vancouver was awarded the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s first expansion team. Seattle followed a week later. 

Excitement over the new clubs has only grown since.

A sellout crowd of 14,958 packed Vancouver’s historic Pacific Coliseum to watch the Goldeneyes and Torrent battle on Friday. 

The enthusiastic fans jumped to their feet with less than three minutes to go in the first period when Nurse picked off a puck in the neutral zone, skated up the ice looking as if she was going to pass, then fired a shot past the Torrent goalie Corrine Schroeder for the Goldeneyes’ first-ever goal. The tally levelled the score at 1-1. 

Claire Thompson had a goal and an assist for Vancouver (1-0-0-0), while Gabby Rosenthal scored early in the third. Emerance Maschmeyer stopped 24 of the 27 shots she faced.

After helping out on Rosenthal’s goal, Abby Boreen shovelled a puck into the side of the net 96 seconds into overtime for the victory. 

“That was a pretty surreal moment for me and just our whole team in general, to come back from being down practically the whole game,” Boreen said. “I think it shows a lot of character in the room.”

Julia Gosling contributed two goals for Seattle (0-0-1-0) and Hannah Bilka scored the visitors’ third of the night. Schroeder made 23 saves. 

The game was a “great start” for the Goldeneyes, said head coach Brian Idalski. 

“Having tomorrow off, that after party really would have sucked if we hadn’t pulled that one off,” he said. 

“I thought our group did a great job right from the hop in managing emotions and playing well. And hopefully enjoying the experience all the way around. And something they remember for the rest of their lives.”

The atmosphere was “unreal,” the coach said. 

Even Vancouver’s opponents agreed. 

“Whenever there’s an opportunity to have a big game, it’s phenomenal to have 15,000-plus fans in the stands cheering you, booing you. It doesn’t matter,” said Torrent star Hilary Knight. 

“It’s a testament to the work that we’re putting in, day in and day out. And these games are really tight and competitive, and the fans should be in for a ride for the season.”

Part of what makes Pacific Coliseum a unique stadium is that the Goldeneyes are the main tenant. Larger-than-life images of their players are plastered on pillars. The gift shop only sells the team’s merchandise. Vancouver’s logo is at centre ice — the only PWHL club to have it there year round. 

The team has watched everything come together in recent weeks, Nurse said, and seeing the rink fill with fans — Goldeneyes fans — on Friday was special. 

“Just knowing that everything is ours, we are the priority,” she said. “We’ve never, ever been a priority before, the main priority. We may have been priority number 2,3,4,5,6. But to be No. 1 is something that we’ve never experienced. And I think it’s what’s going to set the standard for the rest of the league, the rest of professional hockey in the future.”

Back in the stands on Friday, many held signs proclaiming “Future Goldeneye” and “Everyone watches women’s sports.” Many young girls sported their own team’s jerseys. Others wore crisp new Vancouver merchandise. 

Rosenthal saw the kids from her spot on the blue line during the pre-game ceremonies. 

“That’s super special,” said the Vancouver forward, tears forming in her eyes and her voice catching in her throat. “For me, I specifically have younger siblings, one that’s a U-12. So I think that’s super cool that she’s able to look up to us and to everyone.” 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2025.