VANCOUVER, BC – Sophie Jaques scored the game-winner 1:24 into overtime as the Vancouver Goldeneyes closed out their inaugural season with a 4-3 victory over the two-time Walter Cup champion Minnesota Frost in front of 11,310 fans at Pacific Coliseum, earning two points to remain in contention for the first overall pick. With the win, Vancouver moved into first place in Draft Order of Selection ‘Gold Plan’ points with five, one ahead of the Seattle Torrent, who conclude their season later tonight. Should Seattle lose to Montréal, the Goldeneyes will secure the first overall pick in the 2026 PWHL Entry Draft. Jenn Gardiner led Vancouver offensively with a goal and two assists, while Hannah Miller and Jaques each recorded a goal and an assist. Kendall Coyne Schofield opened the scoring for Minnesota at 4:04 of the first period, but Gardiner responded just 49 seconds later with her ninth goal of the season to even the score. Sarah Nurse then gave Vancouver a 2-1 lead at 10:08, with Jaques picking up her first point of the night on the play. Miller extended the Goldeneyes’ lead to 3-1 with a power-play goal at 1:50 of the second period, with Gardiner collecting her second point of the game on the assist. Minnesota pushed back in the third, beginning with Kelly Pannek’s league-leading 16th goal at 1:21 to cut the deficit to one. Klára Hymlárová tied the game 3-3 at 9:26 on the power play to force overtime. Jaques sealed the win early in the extra frame, scoring her ninth goal to set a new single-season record for PWHL defenders, with assists from Miller and Gardiner. Emerance Maschmeyer made 28 saves to earn her seventh win of the season, while Marlène Boissonnault stopped 20 shots in her PWHL debut. Minnesota now awaits its semifinal opponent between Boston and Montréal, with first place still to be determined. Once final standings are set, the top seed will have 24 hours to select its semifinal opponent between third-place Minnesota and fourth-place Ottawa.
QUOTES
Goldeneyes Head Coach Brian Idalski on winning in OT after Minnesota tied it: “It's nice to end on a win streak and playing well; I'm proud of the group for finishing and playing the right way. Unfortunately, that's been something that has happened more than a few times. There wasn't a reason to panic — we had been there before. We had to go back to work and do what we were doing that got us there in the first place.”
Vancouver forward Hannah Miller on the support from the fans at the team’s final game: “It's obviously super special. I've said it before, but growing up here and falling in love with the game here, playing minor hockey here — it means a lot. When the announcement was made last season that Vancouver was going to get a team, it was super exciting. Just to see, from game one all the way to this afternoon's game, the support from the fans and everyone around the community when you're out and about, it really is a hockey city. I'm just super proud to represent Vancouver and be able to play here.”
Frost Head Coach Ken Klee on team’s growth this year compared to last: “I think every year’s different. We’ve had a pretty solid core being able to stick with us, but obviously with expansion, we lost a lot of great players for us. This group had to come together just like every team. When you put a new team together, every year is a little bit different. Everyone has a different role; everyone is fitting in differently. For us, it’s just all about them knowing that they all have a role and they all are important. Whether you’re playing 10 minutes or you’re playing 20 minutes, you have a role and a job to do. We have an expectation for them, and they have an expectation of themselves, which is great.”
Frost Captain Kendall Coyne Schofield on the mindset going into the playoffs: “I think the mindset is celebrating the wins of the regular season, the successes we’ve had. Obviously, learning from the games we’ve lost are the moments we can get better from. Now let’s turn the page, and the new season begins — and that’s playoff hockey. That’s the best hockey that there is.”
NOTABLES
Vancouver won four straight games for the first time all season and scored a combined 18 goals in those games, an average of 4.5 goals per game. Their season average in 26 games prior to the win streak was 1.92 goals per game. This was the seventh time in 13 games at Pacific Coliseum the Goldeneyes scored four or more goals.
Minnesota wins the season series 12-3 in points, outscoring Vancouver 18-12 across five games. The Goldeneyes finish their inaugural season earning at least three points against every opponent.
The Frost have lost four straight games (0-0-1-3) for the first time since losing five straight (0-0-0-5) to end the inaugural season, prior to their first Walter Cup run.
Minnesota (3-5) set a PWHL record with eight overtime decisions this season, and Vancouver (3-4) is tied for second all-time with seven, alongside Boston last season (2-5). Both teams are the first in PWHL history to play an entire season without a shootout.
Vancouver finished its inaugural season with 24 points in 13 games on home ice with a 6-2-2-3 record, excluding the two Takeover Tour games in Edmonton where they served as the home team for an overtime loss and regulation loss. Their 24 points at Pacific Coliseum are the most by a PWHL team in a single venue in its inaugural season.
Minnesota finished the road portion of its season with 25 points in 17 games with a record of 5-3-4-5, including the two Takeover Tour games where they served as the home team for an overtime loss in Chicago and a regulation win in Denver. Their 50 total points is a new team record, six more than their 44 points in the 2024-25 season.
The Frost became the third team in PWHL history to score 20 power-play goals in a season, finishing with the league’s top ranked efficiency at 23.0%.
Minnesota finished the season with 32 first-period goals, most in the PWHL, including 10 in the game’s first five minutes.
The Goldeneyes finished the season undefeated in eight games when leading after two periods. This was just their fifth win in 22 games when allowing the game’s first goal (2-3-4-13), tied with the Frost for the lowest points percentage in such games (.242).
Kelly Pannek scored her league-leading 16th goal of the season, currently the third-highest single-season total in PWHL history behind Natalie Spooner (20) and Marie-Philip Poulin (19). The Frost alternate captain also sits in a four-way tie for second in the league with 17 assists following this evening’s game. Her record 33 points in 30 games includes eight in five games against Vancouver.
Sophie Jaques scored her ninth goal of the season on the overtime winner, becoming the first defender in PWHL history to reach the mark. She also recorded 10 shots on goal, tying the league record for a single game and setting a new record among defenders. After recording two points tonight, Jaques finishes her season leading Vancouver with 20 points and is the first defender to record 20 or more points in multiple seasons.
Jenn Gardiner had a goal and two assists for her fourth multi-point game of the season, finishing the campaign with 19 points (9G, 10A) to surpass her point output (18) as a rookie last year with Montréal. Nine of the Surrey native’s 19 points have been recorded in her last six games played, including six of her nine goals on the season.
Hannah Miller tallied two points, including her seventh goal of the season, with four of her markers being scored in her last four games. Today’s tally was her first on the power play this season, giving her six career goals on the advantage. The North Vancouver native finished her third PWHL campaign with nine points in her last six games, totalling 18 points in 30 games played, third among all Goldeneyes players.
Sarah Nurse scored her ninth goal of the season, tied for the team lead, and had 15 points in 19 games. The alternate captain finished her first campaign with Vancouver on a four-game point streak (3G, 1A).
Kendall Coyne Schofield scored her 12th goal of the season, finishing her third PWHL regular season with 23 points in 23 games, one shy of the 24 she recorded in 30 games last season, but with the highest points-per-game average of her career. Her 12 goals match her career high set in 2024-25, reaching the mark in seven fewer games.
Klára Hymlárová scored her third goal — and first power play marker — of the season. The forward finishes the season with career highs in all offensive categories with eight points (3G, 5A) in 29 games played after recording two points (1G, 1A) in 29 games last season.
Emerance Maschmeyer finishes her third PWHL campaign with seven wins in 19 appearances, bringing her to 22 career victories, tied for fifth-most in PWHL history. Her 501 saves this season contributed to a .916 save percentage that ranked sixth, and brought her career total to 1,502 saves, third-most all-time. The 2025-26 campaign was the first season in which the goaltender did not record an assist.
Britta Curl-Salemme became the first skater in PWHL history to record 18 assists in a season, tripling her assist output from her rookie season. The sophomore forward finished the season with 29 points, third among all Frost players, setting new career benchmarks in points, goals and assists.
Kendall Cooper tallied her 17th assist of the season, currently sitting in first in the category among all rookies, and tied for second among all PWHL players. The 2025 first-round pick finishes her first PWHL regular season tied with Haley Winn as the top scoring rookie defender at the conclusion play.
Mae Batherson recorded her third multi-point game of the season and finished 2025-26 with 15 points (3G, 12A) in 30 games, a 12-point increase from her rookie campaign with the Frost in 25 GP. The second-year defender sits second among Frost blue liners in scoring, four points behind Cooper (19).
Grace Zumwinkle recorded an assist, finishing the regular season with career highs in goals (13), assists (11) and points (23). The third-year forward had points in five of six to end the season, tallying eight points (4G, 4A) across that stretch.
Marlène Boissonnault made her first career start in her third year in the PWHL, becoming the 20th different goaltender to see action this season. The New Brunswick native, who has been a member of the Frost for parts of the past two seasons after spending the 2024 campaign with Montréal, last played a professional game in 2022-23 as a member of Team Harvey’s in the PWHPA. I
Abby Boreen finished the 2025-26 campaign on a three-game point streak (3A), notching her fifth assist of the season with the primary helper on Miller’s second-period goal. The 26-year-old had nine points (4G, 5A) in 30 games played with Vancouver this season.
Mellissa Channell-Watkins recorded her second assist of the season, providing the lone assist on Gardiner’s first-period goal. She finishes the season with two points (2A), both of which were recorded in her last four games played.
Sidney Morin has played a full three regular seasons in the PWHL, suiting up for the 84th time tonight. Her first 54 games were spent in Boston before compiling 30 with her home state Minnesota. Pannek is the only player to compete in every game in the Frost's three-year history.
THREE STARS
1. Sophie Jaques (VAN) OTWG, 1A
2. Jenn Gardiner (VAN) 1G, 1A
3. Mae Batherson (MIN) 2A
STANDINGS
Minnesota: 50 PTS (13-3-5-9) – 3rd Place
Vancouver: 37 PTS (9-3-4-14) – 6th Place — 5 GOLD PLAN POINTS
UPCOMING SCHEDULES
Minnesota: 2026 PWHL Walter Cup Playoffs - GAME 1 TBD