Sceptres, Goldeneyes Win On Opening Night

The 2025-26 PWHL season kicked off Friday with two games; both of them thrillers decided by one goal.

Sceptres 2, Frost 1

Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul played host to the opening matchup between the Minnesota Frost and Toronto Sceptres. In a pre-game ceremony, PWHL EVP of Hockey Operations Jayna Hefford greeted the enthusiastic fans prior to the banner raising that honoured last year’s Walter Cup championship team.

Just four minutes into the game, Kendall Coyne Schofield channeled the pre-game adrenaline into a burst of speed that resulted in the game’s opening goal, streaking by Sceptres defender Allie Munroe for a partial breakaway, then getting the better of goalie Raygan Kirk.

Moments later, Minnesota’s Kelly Pannek was awarded a penalty shot after being impeded by Daryl Watts on a breakaway. But Pannek – despite several zigzag moves to try to get Kirk to flinch, couldn’t successfully elevate her backhand attempt.

Toronto equalled the score when star defender Ella Shelton pinched from the right point and converted a cross-ice feed from Natalie Spooner after a crowd of players converged in front of Frost goalie Maddie Rooney. It was Shelton’s first goal in a Sceptres uniform, having been obtained from New York in a blockbuster trade last summer.

The second period was goalless.  In the third frame, Toronto rookie Kiara Zanon was the beneficiary of a breakout pass from Emma Maltais, streaking down the left wing before beating Ronney, top shelf, for her first career PWHL goal.

From then on, Kirk held the fort, stopping all twelve shots that came her way in the final period, including no fewer than a pair of game savers in the last minute of play. She made 30 saves overall in the victory.

“I thought she was great,” Toronto coach Troy Ryan said of his goalie.  “The comment was just made that there wasn’t a lot of second and third opportunities. Just gave us a chance to play and a chance to win, to be honest. “

Noteworthy: Toronto was missing Renata Fast – the reigning Defender of the Year – due to an upper-body injury.  The Sceptres’ Daryl Watts sustained an injury after an unpenalized hit from Abby Hustler of Minnesota, but skated off under her own power and was able to finish the game.  Pannek’s penalty shot was the fifth in PWHL history. None have been successful. Attendance was 9,138.

Goldeneyes 4, Torrent 3 (OT)

In a historic duo of the PWHL’s expansion cousins, the Vancouver Goldeneyes and Seattle Torrent played in front of a sellout crowd at Pacific Coliseum – the Goldeneyes’ home rink – for each team’s inaugural game.

The back-and-forth affair saw both teams exchange goals for three periods, right up until Vancouver defender Claire Thompson knotted the game at 3-3 with just 2:03 left in regulation.  In overtime, Goldeneyes forward Abby Boreen brought the fans to their feet, netting the winner. Netminder Emerance Maschmeyer made 23 saves in the victory.

Sarah Nurse had the first goal in Vancouver history, and Gabby Rosenthal scored her team’s other tally. Meanwhile, Julia Gosling led the way, scoring twice for Seattle, including the opener, the first-ever goal for the Torrent.  Hannah Bilka also found the net for Seattle.  Corinne Schroeder had the overtime loss, also making 23 steps, as did her opponent.

Noteworthy: Both of Gosling’s goals were scored at even strength.  Last year, the forward registered four goals – all on the power play – in 30 games. International soccer legend Christine Sinclair, a native of Burnaby, B.C., dropped the puck for the ceremonial opening faceoff. Attendance was 14,958.