Vancouver Goldeneyes beat Seattle Torrent in OT as PWHL expansion teams make debut

The Vancouver Goldeneyes played from behind for most of the first game.

Inside the bustling Pacific Coliseum, in front of nearly 15,000 fans, it would have been easy to panic. But every time Seattle Torrent scored, Vancouver struck back.

With less than three minutes remaining between Seattle and the coveted three points from a regulation win, Vancouver alternate captain Claire Thompson scored to force overtime.

Ultimately, it was Vancouver who struck the final blow in overtime on Friday, securing a 4-3 win over Seattle. It was the first game for both expansion teams and the beginning of what was to become a bitter rivalry on the west coast.

Goldeneyes forward Abby Boreen was the overtime hero with Teresa's perfect pass. Vanishova less than two minutes after the start of the extra frame.

“I think coming back from being down pretty much the entire game shows a lot of character,” Borin said.

Seattle's Julia Gosling scored two goals in the loss, including Seattle's first goal for the club in the first period.

Vancouver's milestone came just three minutes later when Sarah Nurse took advantage of a Seattle turnover to create a two-on-one opportunity.

Nurse's original plan was to find her teammate Michelle Karvinen, but she opted to shoot when she saw she didn't have a passing lane. The puck hit the net and her name will go down in the history books as the first goal scorer as GoldenEye.

This ended the first emotional period for the Nurse. Of all the big games she's played in her career, this one was different.

“I felt like there was something different in the air that I had never experienced,” she said.

Vancouver goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer made 18 saves in the win. It was her first regular-season game since injury curtailed a successful season with the Ottawa Charge in March.

Vancouver head coach Brian Idalski liked his team's performance on Friday.

“This group has talent, they have ability,” Idalski said. “We have to be able to put the puck in the net. There was no reason to panic. Some of the things that went wrong we can easily fix.” [It] It was kind of the first game that wasn't structured, disciplined and didn't move the pucks the way we wanted.”

Past and present

It was a night of new beginnings for women's hockey in Vancouver. The sold-out crowd set a new PWHL attendance record for the team's home arena.

A brand new video board hung from the wooden rafters of the Coliseum, above the Goldeneyes logo painted at center ice. Vancouver is the first PWHL team to become the arena's anchor tenant.

Hours before she made history as the GoldenEyes' leading scorer, Nurse was introduced as part of the team's leadership group along with Thompson and their captain, defenseman Ashton Bell.

Nurse spent some time that day walking around the Pacific Coliseum concourse, taking in the team's branding and even the new merchandise store specifically created for the Goldeneyes.

Everything about this skating rink was built for them, and Nurse had never experienced anything like this before.

“We've never been a priority before — TThat’s the top priority,” Nurse said.

While all the focus Friday was on the future, inside the 57-year-old Coliseum it was hard not to think about the past.

Players from the 1994–95 Vancouver Canucks, the last professional team to play here, were introduced at the start of the game. So did Bronson Maschmeyer, the older brother of the GoldenEyes goalie. He played for the WHL's Vancouver Giants, who were the last team to play in this arena ten years ago.

Former Team Canada star Megan Agosta, who now works as a Vancouver police officer, delivered the puck for the ceremonial face-off from soccer great Christine Sinclair.

And in the standings, all this was observed by Lori Parker, who had been waiting for this moment for years.

Twenty years ago, Parker worked as an assistant coach for the Vancouver Griffins, a team in the National Women's Hockey League. This team had the talent and speed of players like Cammy Granato and Shelley Looney.

What she saw on the Coliseum ice Friday was the same vision NWHL players and staff had at the time. But it took a while to get here, starting and ending.

“I'm proud to say [Griffins’ owner] Diane Nelson tried to make her case back then, and ultimately, if that league hadn't started, we might not even be here 20-something years later,” Parker said. “There had to be stepping stones somewhere for all of us.”

Bringing the Colosseum back to life

Seattle and Vancouver were announced as the home of the PWHL's two newest teams last spring after the league spent months searching for new markets. For Vancouver, the team's ability to play in their own arena was a huge advantage.

Coliseum staff put the finishing touches on the building last week before thousands of fans streamed through the doors Friday.

Rally towels were placed on each seat. Boxes of merchandise were unpacked for sale on site.

When it all came to life on Friday, lines for merchandise stretched across the concourse, causing a bit of stress for the league's executive vice president of business operations, Amy Shear.

But the long lines didn't seem to matter to some fans. Lots of people in the Coliseum were wearing Vancouver blue. The nurse took a second to look around the entire arena and was amazed at how many people were wearing Vancouver colors.

“It just seemed like everyone had Goldeneyes merchandise and we had a logo like two weeks ago,” Nurse said.

She turned to Scheer, who was watching the postgame press conference from the media room.

“It’s not a shadow,” she said with a laugh.

In addition to the lines of merchandise, Scheer noticed the faces of young and old people at the Coliseum booths, as well as the variety of types of people the PWHL attracts.

“It’s just a place full of joy,” she said.