The Vegas Vanguards kick off their first PWHL training camp in just one week. One of the biggest questions heading into camp surrounds the team’s goaltending. Four goaltenders will be at camp, but Nicole Hensley is the only netminder signed so far.
Hensley is the likely starter, but she’ll need some help. PWHL teams must have three goaltenders on their roster, so two spots are available, with three players competing.
The other three goaltenders invited to Vanguards camp are Logan Angers, Lauren Bench, and Saskia Maurer. Two of those three will likely get the final spots, though Vegas can technically sign any free agent goalie before the season starts.
Logan Angers
Logan Angers joined the Ottawa Charge fresh off five years at Quinnipiac. She had good numbers with the Bobcats, including a 1.80 goals-against average (GAA) and .928 save percentage (SV%) over 98 games. She joined the Charge in 2024 but is still looking to make her PWHL debut.
Emerance Maschmeyer’s injury in March 2025 opened the door for Angers. She still didn’t actually get to play, but she did dress as backup for eight games in the regular season. She also continued in that role through eight playoff games.
Angers signed a one-year contract with Ottawa in July 2025. She played in one preseason game against Toronto in November 2025, allowing 3 goals on 15 shots and subsequently being cut from the team. Kendra Woodland served as the team’s third goalie for 2025-26 instead.
Lauren Bench
Over the years of her pro career, Lauren Bench has dipped back and forth between the SDHL and North America. She opened her pro career with MoDo in the SDHL, notching three shutouts in her rookie season. She then signed with the Montréal Force of the Premier Hockey Federation just days before the league folded in June 2023.
Bench went on to join the PWHL’s Minnesota franchise but never appeared in a regular-season game. She played 27:14 in an exhibition game against Toronto in 2023, allowing 3 goals on 20 shots. She signed a standard player agreement in February 2024, and the team won the inaugural Walter Cup. The following season, in another exhibition game, she allowed 2 goals on 11 shots in 29:31 against New York.
Last season, she joined Djurgården IF in the SDHL. In 27 games, she registered a 2.28 GAA and .917 SV% with an 11-15-0 record. Now, she’s in search of a contract and a potential return to North America.
(Meanwhile, Djurgården’s Pia Dukaric has a 1.98 GAA and .932 SV% in eight games, while Lia Leiderö Palmlöv has a 7.17 GAA and .825 SV% in two games. I wonder if Bench would entertain a return to Djurgården if she fails to make a PWHL roster?)
Saskia Maurer
Vegas selected Saskia Maurer in the fourth round with the 41st overall pick, and she seems like a likely choice to sign. Maurer has plenty of international experience with Switzerland, including at the Olympics and World Championships.
Aside from two seasons at the University of St. Thomas, the 25-year-old has played overseas for most of her career. Last season, she put up a 1.93 GAA in 21 games with SC Bern Frauen in the SWHL. She appeared in one Worlds game, earning a win and a 0.97 GAA.
Earlier this year, she was part of the bronze-medal-winning Swiss team at the Olympics. In three Olympic games, she went 1-2-0 with a .918 SV% and 3.25 GAA.
Maurer’s already been busy this season, too. In nine games with her SWHL team, she’s 6-3-0 with a 1.46 GAA and .894 SV%. She’s currently representing her country at the Women’s World Championship, splitting duties with Andrea Brändli (Detroit Clutch).
This week at Worlds, Maurer made 33 saves in Switzerland’s 2-1 overtime win over Czechia on Nov. 8. She then put up 28 saves in their 3-1 loss to Germany on Nov. 11. Switzerland will face Sweden in Friday’s quarterfinal.
Who will land the spots?
Signing and playing in the PWHL would be an adjustment for Maurer, but she’s already used to suiting up against some of the league’s highest-caliber players. Her pro and international experience, including an Olympic medal, would help bolster a team that will be looking to build chemistry quickly. It also helps that she’s already been in action this season, so she’s not coming into camp cold. Maurer would be a suitably backup for the Vanguards, and quite frankly, I’d be surprised if the team didn’t sign her.
It then comes down to Angers and Bench for the final spot. I’d expect to see one or both of them in action at Vegas’ preseason scrimmages for their first real tests. The Vanguards face the Frost on Nov. 22 and the Goldeneyes on Nov. 24. I’d suggest having Hensley and Bench split one game and Maurer and Angers split the other. This way, all four get some time out there, but the three who have something to prove get a real chance to do so.
Both Bench and Angers only have preseason playing experience in the PWHL, so there’s no real edge either way. Angers did serve as backup for part of a regular season and playoffs, so she may perhaps have a little more experience in that sense. Realistically, it comes down to those scrimmages and what the coaching staff sees in camp. Who will stand out? Or is there another goaltender around the league who could find themselves out of a spot and looking for a home?
