Campbell, Vancouver Goldeneyes finding positives to build on in inaugural season

By Canadian Press on March 11, 2026.

VANCOUVER — Even in a building packed with nearly 10,000 cheering hockey fans, you can hear Kristen Campbell on the ice.

The Vancouver Goldeneyes goalie is talkative in the net, acting as a quarterback for her team.

“One of the things that I really try to do in my game is command the game. So communicating with the D, calling out the plays, just talking as much as I can to help everyone out,” Campbell said.

“I like to stay connected to everyone on the ice, and I think that just makes us work as a unit of six out there.”

The strategy helped the seventh-place Goldeneyes (5-1-3-9) push the PWHL-leading Boston Fleet to overtime on Tuesday. Boston ultimately took a 2-1 win.

Much of the game was a goalie duel, with Campbell and her Boston counterpart Aerin Frankel turning away a combined 34 shots over the first two periods.

Fleet defender Haley Winn broke the goalless deadlock early in the third, and Hannah Miller responded for the Goldeneyes late in the frame to force extra time.

Shay Maloney beat Campbell 41 seconds into overtime, lifting Boston (9-4-2-2) to its sixth straight victory.

Despite the result, Campbell liked the way her team played.

“I thought the team was really solid in front of me tonight, and honestly, I’m just really proud of our effort,” said the netminder, who made 25 saves.

“It was a great game. It could have gone either way, and once you get to overtime, it’s just a game of mistakes. I just thought we were right there the whole time. And I’m just really proud of the whole team, and know that we’ll build off of this and keep going.”

Boston tested Campbell repeatedly across the game, including on a second-period power play where Megan Keller launched a rocket on net from inside the faceoff circle.

The Goldeneyes’ goalie read the play perfectly and calmly plucked the shot out of mid-air.

“She was terrific. She gave us a chance,” head coach Brian Idalski said of the performance. “I thought she was really good on the (penalty kill). We gave up some grade-A looks there, and she was super solid. So nice outing for her.”

Campbell spent her first two PWHL seasons in Toronto before the Sceptres dealt her to Vancouver at the draft last June.

The 28-year-old from Brandon, Man., has split the Goldeneyes’ crease with Emerance Maschmeyer, and has a 2-1-0-3 record with a 2.17 goals-against average, a .918 save percentage and one shutout this season.

It’s a lighter load than she had in Toronto, where she went 16-0-0-6 with a 1.99 GAA, a .927 save percentage and three shutouts in 2024.

No matter how much she’s playing, Campbell is an important part of the team both on and off the ice, said Miller, who played with her in Toronto.

“She’s awesome. She always brings energy, great personality in the room for us. And we love playing in front of her,” she said.

“We have all the confidence in the world and in all of our goalies. … It’s one of the best feelings as a team, just having that trust and belief in your goaltenders. And we’re lucky to have them here.”

Campbell may need to take on a larger role as the season continues.

Maschmeyer missed Tuesday’s game with an upper-body injury, and Idalski said she will be evaluated further.

Taking on a bigger role doesn’t trouble Campbell, who was the starting goalie for much of her time in Toronto.

“Honestly, it doesn’t change anything for me. I’m just showing up each day and doing what I can to help our team win, sticking to my performance identity out there, and just playing my game,” she said.

“Being the last two years in Toronto, carrying a lot of that load, I think stepping in now it’s just like I’ve done this kind of 100 times. So I just want to help the team as much as I can and help us get as many points as possible down the stretch.”

The Goldeneyes are in the midst of a five-game homestand and will look to climb the table Saturday when they host the Ottawa Charge.

After pushing the league’s top team on Tuesday, the group can take confidence heading into that matchup, Campbell said.

“It’s really hard to win in this league. It’s best-on-best every night, it can go either way,” she said. “But I think, just our habits and our details and our compete level – I really think that that was one of the best games that we’ve played a full 60 minutes and really battled. Even if the pucks weren’t going in for us, we created a lot of opportunities.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 10, 2026.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press