Victoire Snap Goldeneyes Home Streak

The Vancouver Goldeneyes entered the game undefeated at home, but the Montreal Vicitoire came out on top in a hard-fought battle featuring Sandra Abstreiter in net for her first PWHL appearance in over 21 months. 

The Montreal Victoire Rivalry Series crew (Canada: Laura Stacey, Marie-Philip Poulin, Erin Ambrose, Nicole Gosling, Ann-Renée Desbiens) (USA: Hayley Scamurra) has racked up some miles, travelling across several time zones ahead of their matchup with the Goldeneyes. Starting their journey, travelling from Montreal to Edmonton, for the last two games of the 2025 Rivalry Series, back to Montreal, then on to Halifax for the first PWHL Takeover Tour game, then back out West to Vancouver, totalling 11,187 km (6951 mi). 

Well, the Victoire rested Ann-Renée Desbiens, Poulin wasted no time getting back into it, firing her first shot just 3 minutes into the game. Halfway through the first period, the Victoire put Abby Roque on the faceoff, allowing Poulin to be free. Roque connected with Poulin from the faceoff, giving the Victoire the first lead of the game. 

Montreal wasted no time getting back into the swing of things with Dara Greig firing in front of the net to double the Victoire’s lead, less than two minutes into the second period. The Vancouver Goldeneyes continued putting shots on net, but Sandra Abstreiter wasn’t letting up. The Goldeneyes got their first breakthrough just over 12 minutes into the second period, when Sophie Jaques fired from the blue line to bring the game within one. 

Natálie Mlýnková answered for the Victoire just minutes later on a breakaway, driving the net, taking the net with her, to give Montreal a 3-1 lead heading into the third period. 

The Goldeneyes came out fighting in the third, trying to protect home ice. Claire Thompson would drive the offensive zone with a smart drop-back pass to Michela Cava, who fired from the top of the faceoff circle for her first Goldeneyes goal. Cava was a major part of the Minnesota Frost’s offence last season, scoring 9 goals in the regular season with 10 assists. As Vancouver continues to find their footing in the league, Cava’s offensive instincts are set to play an important role in the Goldeneyes offence. 

With under 6 minutes in the third period, Shiann Darkangelo found an answer for the Victoire, looking to solidify their win. Just a minute later, Goldeneyes pulled Emerance Maschmeyer, looking to spark something on offence and find a way past Abstreiter. Vancouver had several good looks, but weren’t able to get the finish with Abstreiter blocking every effort, leading the Victoire to the first away team win in the Pacific Coliseum 4-2. 

The Montreal Victoire continue their West Coast trip on December 23rd, as they take on the Seattle Torrent, who have won back-to-back games at home. While the Vancouver Goldeneyes have a break heading into the Christmas holidays, they return to action on December 27th in Edmonton for their first stop on the Takeover Tour, taking on the Minnesota Frost.