West Coast Rivalry Continues Tonight

It’s a Tuesday night battle between the league’s newest teams, who are both looking to keep the playoff dream alive while the Gold Plan starts to creep in. 

After the first PWHL expansion, the league’s newest teams looked stacked with some of the biggest names in the league like Hilary Knight and Claire Thompson, but the season unfolded in a way no one expected when we first saw the rosters with both teams falling to the bottom of the standings. 

While the West Coast expansion hasn’t been the most successful on the ice, off the ice it’s helped secure national broadcast deals within the US and brought in the league’s biggest home crowds averaging over 11,000 fans a game. 

So far this season the Vancouver Goldeneyes are 2-0 against the Seattle Torrent starting in their inaugural game, where the Goldeneyes fought back finding a 4-3 win in overtime to claim the first-ever expansion team win in front of a sold-out crowd at Pacific Coliseum. Their next head-to-head was the Takeover Tour in Denver where Vancouver found a commanding 3-1 win. 

For Vancouver, defenders Claire Thompson and Sophie Jacques continue to lead the Goldeneyes with a combined 29 points. The blue line pair has continued to make waves as the biggest two way threat in the league whether it’s Thompson closing in or a classic Sophie snipe, watch out for this pair as they turn it up on both ends. 

While for Seattle, it’s been Julia Gosling and Alex Carpenter leading the offensive efforts. After struggling in Toronto her rookie year, Gosling has gelled with the Torrent system, hitting the ground running with the first two goals in franchise history in their inaugural game against Vancouver. While Carpenter has continued doing what she’s always done, reunited with USA linemates Hilary Knight and Hannah Bilka. 

The teams now go head-to-head in back-to-back games starting tonight in Vancouver before heading to Climate Pledge Arena for the Goldeneyes’ first appearance in Seattle. Be sure to tune in as the league’s newest rivalry continues to grow.