Despite a crazy 6-5 overtime win for the Vancouver Goldeneyes, they find themselves eliminated from playoff contention with two games remaining in the season.
“I think it’s a bittersweet moment,” Goldeneyes Captain Ashton Bell told reporters after Saturday’s game. “Going into the third period, we knew we needed a regulation win to keep moving on, so that’s obviously a tough pill to swallow. But, I’m just proud of the group and how we came back and how we kept believing. Yeah, getting a win was obviously sweet… to come out on top was super special.”
After a hot start on home ice at the beginning of the season, the Goldeneyes only managed to win 8 times in regulation through 27 games. Despite a stacked lineup after expansion, the team still hasn’t quite found its stride. The Goldeneyes join the other expansion team, the Seattle Torrent, as the first two teams to be eliminated from playoff contention this season.
This is also the first time PWHL fans will see a battle in the Gold Plan. Previous seasons only had one team eliminated before the end of the regular season.
How it Happened
The Goldeneyes managed to stay in playoff contention after a win over the Seattle Torrent on Tuesday, where they eliminated the Torrent. Facing Seattle on the road on Saturday, the Goldeneyes went down 2-0 early in the game. Jenn Gardiner got her first of four goals in the game close to the end of the second period, setting up a 2-1 deficit going into the third period.
The game cracked wide open in the third period. Hannah Miller tied the game three minutes in, before Gardiner got her second to give the Goldeneyes the lead. But Barnes and Wilgren clawed back the lead for the Torrent.
Recognizing that the team needed a win in regulation to stay in the playoff hunt, Coach Idalski pulled Campbell early. Her abscene left the net empty with over four minutes remaining. When Serdachny was tripped on a breakaway with the empty net, she was awarded an empty net goal, putting the Torrent ahead by two goals.
Down, Not Out
Yet, the Goldeneyes came back. Gardiner got her third of the game with less than two minutes remaining, making it 5-4 for Seattle. And, with 1.6 seconds remaining in the third period, Hannah Miller beat CJ Jackson for her second of the game.
Despite the comeback, the Goldeneyes were still eliminated by not getting the full three points. The best outcome would be to win in overtime, keeping Seattle’s Gold Plan points at just one.
And who else but Jenn Gardiner to get that done? She got her fourth of the game just 52 seconds into overtime.
It was a gutsy win for the Goldeneyes. The elimination could have been avoided if long-standing issues hadn’t continued to plague them.
They have the worst power play percentage in the league, and went 0-3 on Saturday. Defensive breakdowns led directly to both the first and fifth goals of the game. Despite scoring six goals, all of the tallies came from the same two players. The first line was held to just two assists.
Coach Idalski told the press on Tuesday that he felt the team could be in the playoffs if the season were 82 games. Yet, with just 30 on the docket, it was too little, too late for the Goldeneyes.
What’s next?
With two games left in the season, the Goldeneyes find themselves down one point to Seattle in the Gold Plan. After taking an overtime win, the Goldeneyes held the Torrent to just one point gained. The two points Vancouver gained do not count towards the Gold Plan.
The Vancouver Goldeneyes face two tough teams at home to end the season, the Montréal Victoire and the Minnesota Frost. The Victoire and Frost have already clinched playoff spots. Both will be looking to cement themselves as the top regular-season finishers.
The Seattle Torrent will also face the Victoire and Frost at home before the end of the regular season.
Whichever team can accumulate the most points in the next two games will get first dibs in the 2026 PWHL Entry Draft.