Goldeneyes show depth as veterans look for first goals

VANCOUVER, BC - The Vancouver Goldeneyes will head into their holiday break with a 2-1-0-4 record and eight points which has them in fifth spot in the PWHL standings. In their inaugural season, the Goldeneys have found some success playing at the Pacific Coliseum. 

All three of Vancouver’s wins this season have come on home ice. The Goldeneys have drawn crowds of 14,958, 12,127, 9,502, and 9,250 in their first four home games and they lead the PWHL in average attendance per game with 11,459 spectators on hand. 

Through 25 games of the 2025-26 PWHL season, total league-wide attendance is 198,402 for an average of 7,936 spectators per game.

Vancouver has started the season by scoring 14 goals which trails only Minnesota (17) and Boston (18) for the most in the league. 

Nine different Goldeneys have found the back of the net, with Abby Boreen leading the way with a trio of tallies. Claire Thompson, Sophie Jaques and Jenn Gardner have each scored two goals. 

“This is who we are,” Goldeneyes head coach Brian Idalski told The Victory Press. 

“Any given day somebody can be the player to make a play and finish off something for us. We don’t depend on one or two people to do all of our scoring and that’s what depth gives you. It gives you multiple opportunities for people to step up and make plays.” 

But while the Goldeneyes have shown that they’re a team that can get goal contributions from up and down their lineup, the scoring hasn’t come as easily for two of the team’s key players. Hannah Miller and Michelle Karvinen were brought to Vancouver with an expectation that they would score goals and contribute offensively on a regular basis. 

Miller scored 17 goals over two seasons in Toronto before being signed by the Goldeneyes. Karvinen is Finland’s all-time leading scorer at the World Championships. But seven games into the season, both players are still looking for their first goals of the season but have registered two assists each this season and combined for 19 shots on net. 

How can Idalski and his coaching staff get both players going offensively?

“That’s a great question,” Idalski said. 

“I’m going to give you a very coachy answer. I’m concerned with winning hockey games. Now, do those two producing make it easier for us to win hockey games? One hundred percent. But they contribute other things to the game and they’re mature players. I see defensively things that are happening that they’re doing. They may not be filling the stat sheet, but they’re contributing heavily and ultimately we get judged on wins and losses, not people’s individual stats.”

After starting the season on the same line, Miller and Karvinen played on different lines in the Goldeneyes’ 4-2 loss to the Montreal Victoire on Saturday. Miller skated with Katie Chan and Michela Cava, while Karvinen played with Tereza Vanišová and Anna Segedi. However, as the team looked to get back into the game, Idalski mixed up the lines for parts of the third period, with Miller and Karvinen skating some shifts together. 

“Obviously I’d like to be producing a little bit more,” Miller told The Victory Press ahead of Saturday’s game. The North Vancouver native said she has been watching video, working through practice and staying positive. 

“Try to build, stick with it, keep working on things and hopefully it will come.”

While scoring is ideal, Karvinen is focused on the greater goal of the team winning. 

“I’m always super critical of my own game,” Kavrinen said ahead of Saturday’s game. 

“You want to do your best. But more than anything, I want to be a player that you can count on in every situation. Obviously it’s nice to score, but the main thing is that we win. I think eventually it will come, we just need to keep doing the right things.”

It seemed like Miller had finally broken through late in the game on Saturday. Miller’s shot deflected off Gabby Rosenthal’s skate and eluded Montreal’s goalie before a video review determined that the puck was kicked in and the goal would not count. 

Idalski acknowledges that there’s no magic formula that puts an expansion team together, presses all the right buttons and gets the best out of each and every player. It’s a long season with plenty of time for both Miller and Karvinen to ripple the net. 

“It takes time,” Idalski said. 

“I think there was this notion that because we looked good on paper we were just going to throw our sticks out and everything was going to be perfect. In nowhere does that exist. You have to go through struggles. It takes time to build anything. Everything was new from facility to schedules to teammates, staff, so that takes time. They’re headed in the right direction and isn’t it wonderful that we all know that we’re not close to a finished product, yet we’re doing pretty well.” 

The Goldeneyes will be back on the ice when they play the Minnesota Frost on Saturday, Dec. 27 in Edmonton, Alberta as part of the Takeover Tour. Unfortunately for Vancouver, if they want to get back to their winning ways, they’ll have to figure out a way to do that more regularly on the road - they have just one home game before the league’s Olympic break. They’ll host the Toronto Sceptres on Jan. 22 at the Pacific Coliseum.

(Photo: PWHL Media)