‘It’s a good group’: Vancouver Goldeneyes poised for playoff push after snapping skid

By Canadian Press on March 19, 2026.

VANCOUVER — Brian Idalski believed his Vancouver Goldeneyes were playing hockey the right way, even when the results weren’t coming.

Puck luck played a part, the head coach said, and he thought that if the team kept creating opportunities, the goals would come.

He was right.

The Goldeneyes’ offence erupted on Wednesday and Vancouver downed the New York Sirens 5-2 to snap a four-game losing skid.

“That’s the way the game goes. It’s how you continue to do the right things even if you’re not getting the outcome where things aren’t going your way,” Idalski said. “But credit to our club for being resilient here the last few games. They didn’t get down and stuck to it, and they’re starting to come out on the other side.”

The Goldeneyes came into the game with the fewest goals scored in the league (35). The team’s two previous outings were overtime losses where an extra goal would have made all the difference.

Staying the course hasn’t been easy amid a string of rough results, admitted forward Mannon McMahon.

“I think we’ve been doing all the right things up until this point. It’s kind of hard when you’re doing all the right things and the game doesn’t necessarily go your way,” said the forward.

“So doing all the right things again tonight, and then kind of having the game go our way, I think it leads us in the right direction. … It’s super exciting for us, and we’re just going to keep building off of it.”

Wednesday’s win was a crucial one for Vancouver, who still sit seventh in the PWHL standings. Collecting three points, though, brought the club within three points of the sixth-place Sirens.

With just 10 games left on the regular-season schedule, Goldeneyes captain Ashton Bell said it’s a good time for the team to be rounding into form.

“I’m really excited on where our group’s headed,” she said. “We had a great few games here at home coming off the (Olympic) break, and I think they’re just continuing to get better. And it was rewarding to get that win tonight.

“We feel like we’ve been so close the last few games, and to be able to put some goals on the board and get three points tonight was huge for our group.”

Vancouver’s goals came from five different players on Wednesday, with six more chipping in assists.

Anna Shokina opened the scoring on a first-period power play and Anna Segedi tallied her first goal in PWHL play less than two minutes later. Sophie Jacques gave the Goldeneyes a 3-1 lead heading into the first intermission.

The Sirens battled back in the middle frame, peppering Vancouver goalie Kristen Campbell with shots and using their physicality to challenge the home side.

Tereza Vanisova cut the tension 5:27 into the third with a shot from inside the faceoff circle. New York goalie Kayle Osborne got her blocker in the puck’s path but it bounced up and back, landing in the net to give the Goldeneyes a 4-2 lead.

McMahon rounded out the scoring with an empty-net strike with 18 seconds left on the clock.

“We’re starting to see chemistry among all four lines, and we have a lot of depth. We knew that coming into this season, and now we’re starting to execute and produce more offence, which is great heading forward,” Bell said. “And, yes, it’s something that we’re excited about. We’re in a good spot now.”

The work is still far from finished, Idalski said.

Vancouver’s play in the neutral zone needs work, the coach said, and the group can manage the puck better. For now, they’ll focus on executing their details.

“We’ll hit it with film, we’ll talk about it, and we’ll walk through some things,” he said. “But I definitely still think we can be more dialed in certain situations on how we want to play and what that looks like.”

There have been a lot of lessons 20 games into the Goldeneyes’ inaugural season, Idalski added.

Now it’s time to put the hard-earned knowledge to use.

“I was familiar with personnel, understanding what was possible,” he said. “I learned that they want freedom to make plays, but that structure is still very important at this level. And creating more absolutes for them to be comfortable with that structure.

“It’s a good group. We’re playing now like we thought was possible early in the year, so hopefully we can continue that through these last 10 games.”