Vancouver forward Jenn Gardiner made PWHL history on Saturday, scoring four goals to lead the Goldeneyes to a dramatic 6-5 overtime victory over Seattle at Climate Pledge Arena.
Gardiner's performance set a new PWHL single-game scoring record. The 24-year-old also notched the PWHL expansion team's first-ever hat trick in front of 12,719 fans.
The lead changed three times during regulation. Vancouver tied the game at 5-5 with less than two seconds remaining in the third period, before Gardiner secured the overtime winner just 52 seconds into the extra frame.
Hannah Miller assisted on the winning goal while contributing two goals and two assists of her own. Either Gardiner or Miller factored into every Vancouver goal, with Sophie Jaques adding three assists for the Goldeneyes.
The victory completed a season-series sweep for Vancouver. The Goldeneyes finished 2-0-2-0 against fellow 2025/26 addition Seattle in their inaugural PWHL campaign.
Vancouver Misses 2026 PWHL Playoffs Despite Historic Win
However, the win couldn't save Vancouver's playoff hopes, as the Goldeneyes joined the already-eliminated Torrent outside the postseason picture. Both expansion teams now battle for prime draft positioning through the league's innovative Gold Plan initiative.
"I'm just proud of the group and how we came back and we kept believing," captain Ashton Bell said. "To see that line do so well was pretty cool to watch."
Seattle defenders led the Torrent's offensive charge. Anna Wilgren scored her first two goals with Seattle, while Cayla Barnes recorded her first career multi-point game with one goal and two assists after captain Hilary Knight opened the scoring.
Vancouver scored six goals for the first time in franchise history, as both teams combined for 11 goals and seven third-period tallies — new PWHL records.
The two newest PWHL teams are re-introducing themselves this week, as the third-year league officially revealed the team names and branding for 2025/26 expansion sides Seattle Torrent and Vancouver Goldeneyes on Thursday.
"The Seattle Torrent and Vancouver Goldeneyes are bold, distinctive, and true to who we are as a league," PWHL EVP of business operations Amy Scheer said in a league statement. "Each team identity is deeply connected to its home — Seattle draws inspiration from the waterways that shape its landscape, and Vancouver from its abundance of unique wildlife."
While the Torrent's letter "S" evokes Seattle's waterways, Vancouver's branding utilizes a local city bird — the "fiercely protective Common Goldeneye" — for "its speed, strength, and precision in flight."
"The Goldeneyes name is powerful, bold, and tough," said Vancouver forward and local product Jenn Gardiner. "This identity is a perfect reflection of who we are, where we come from, and that we will be relentless to play against every single night."
While the PWHL always planned to unveil the expansion sides' individual identities ahead of the 2025/26 season, both teams will still follow suit from the league's inaugural year by sporting generic PWHL branding throughout their debut campaigns.
In what Scheer calls "the start of an incredible Pacific Northwest rivalry," both the visiting Seattle Torrent and host Vancouver Goldeneyes will make their PWHL debuts against each other when the puck drops on the league's third season on Friday, November 21st.
How to purchase Seattle Torrent and Vancouver Goldeneyes merch
While the Torrent and Goldeneyes will don generic jerseys this season, fully branded merchandise for the 2025/26 PWHL expansion teams hit the league's online shop for fans to purchase on Thursday.