Ottawa Charge team captain Brianne Jenner is now tied for the PWHL single-game record after scoring two goals and getting two assists in Wednesday night’s game against the Vancouver Goldeneyes.
The Charge defeated the Goldeneyes 5-1 on Wednesday night (Nov. 27) at TD Place in Ottawa.
Jenner opened up the scoring on a power play in the first three minutes of play, giving the Charge a one-point lead going into the second period.
Charge’s Mannon McMahon scored in the 14th minute. Then, just over a minute into the third period, Rebecca Leslie scored for the Charge, with an assist by Brianne Jenner and Rory Gilday.
Several minutes later, on a power play, Claire Thompson scored the only goal of the night for the Vancouver Goldeneyes. The Charge responded with Anna Meixner scoring in the 14th minute with an assist by Jenner.
Then, in the 18th minute, Jenner scored on an empty net, bringing the final score to 5-1 for the Charge.
Brianne Jenner said, “I set a lot of goals in terms of my process, but no so much on outcome. I try to focus on the details that I am doing to help our team win. The power play is something that we’ve been working on in practice. We wanted to create momentum for the team. To be able to execute Gabbie’s (Hughes) draw like we did, and Rory (Guilday) did and then just put one puck on net quickly, it was part of the process that we we’re focusing on. It was nice to see that pay off.”
Charge head coach Carla MacLeod said on moving Brianne Jenner to centre for this game: “We’re always trying to find the right chemistry and put players in a position to be successful. She’s got such a history of playing both wing and centre. It sparked from a conversation we had with her a couple of days ago. I thought it would give us a different look. Obviously, she ran with it and her line was tremendous tonight.”
Former Charge goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer and players Ashton Bell and Tereza Vanišová returned to TD Place Wednesday, but this time in Vancouver Goldeneyes colours.
Maschmeyer made 30 saves during the game for the 12th time in her career.
Vancouver head coach Brian Idalski said, “It’s early in the year, but sometimes we have a tendency to want to make an extra play, because we can and we’re skilled. Sometimes simple is what’s best. I thought when we were playing a little bit like them and getting pucks deep and attacking quick in transition, we looked like a good hockey team. We’re still sorting some things out, but for the most part, I thought there was some good opportunities to grow our roster, to grow our game and get everyone involved. We’ll take the positives, and we’ll work on the things we can tighten up.”
Sarah Nurse was unable to play in Wednesday’s game due to an upper-body injury and is listed as day-to-day.
The Goldeneyes won their home opener in overtime in front of a sold-out crowd at the Pacific Coliseum on Nov. 21.
Vancouver plays Saturday again at 9 a.m. PT against the New York Sirens.
The PWHL entered its third season on Nov. 21 with its original six teams: Toronto Sceptres, Montreal Victoire, Ottawa Charge, Minnesota Frost, Boston Fleet, and New York Sirens, along with the two new teams, Vancouver Goldeneyes and Seattle Torrent.
In Canada, Tuesday night games will stream on Prime Video, Wednesday night games will be on TSN, Thursday night games will air on TSN and Sportsnet. Friday, Saturday and Sunday games will air on CBC, TSN, and Sportsnet.
Friday’s (Nov. 21) season opener between Toronto Sceptres and Minnesota Frost will air on TSN at 4 p.m. EST, followed by Vancouver Goldeneyes vs. Seattle Torrent at 7 p.m. PT on TSN.
READ MORE: Vancouver Goldeneyes win home opener against Seattle
About the Author: Anna Burns
I cover breaking news, health care, court, Vancouver Rise FC, Vancouver Goldeneyes and social issues-related topics for the Surrey Now-Leader. anna.burns@surreynowleader.com Follow Anna on Twitter.