The Vancouver Goldeneyes were unable to break the Ottawa Charge’s winning streak Friday (Jan. 9) after two empty net goals secured the Charge’s 4-2 victory.
The Charge celebrated their fifth straight win and defeated the Goldeneyes in front of a crowd of 7,889 fans at TD Place in Ottawa.
The Charge are the only second team in the PWHL this season to win five consecutive games following the Boston Fleet’s five-game winning streak at the start of the season.
Charge defender, Ronja Savolainen opened up the scoring in the first period. Anna Meixner, Brianne Jenner and Rebecca Leslie also scored for Ottawa, while their goaltender Gwyneth Philips made 23 saves.
Savolainen commented on what’s contributed to the team’s five-game winning streak, “We have huge confidence in this team. We have fun before and during the games. We believe in ourselves and everything we do out there. We’ve been paying attention to the small details in practice, and we’re taking that to the games. It’s been showing in the last games.”
Sophie Jaques and Michelle Karvinen scored for the Goldeneyes and Kristen Campbell saved 23 out of 25 shots on net. This was Karvinen’s first career PWHL goal.
Karvinen said, “There are not a lot of firsts left when you get to this point in your career but being a rookie here and getting the first one is huge and something that I will always remember. But obviously, it’s more fun getting one of those goals in a game you win. But it doesn’t take away that it’s something special.”
Vancouver Head Coach Brian Idalski felt Friday’s game was a good one.
“I thought our team competed hard and was resilient to the end. There were a lot of positives that came out of it, and we took some steps to playing a complete hockey game. I think we’re still learning some situational decision-making, we turn the puck over still too much. Some of that’s a credit to Ottawa and their pressure and speed, but I think that’s something we’re still growing in as a club.”
Goldeneyes defender Nina Jobst-Smith returned to the ice Friday for the first game this season after being on the long-term injured reserve list. She recorded 8:57 of ice time. Jobst-Smith was also named to the German Olympic women’s hockey team earlier this week.
The German- Canadian, North Vancouver native has played in five world championships and was named the top 3 player on Team Germany in 2022 and 2025.
Vancouver’s next game is in Québec City on Sunday (Jan. 11) at 2 p.m. ET. This game is a part of the 2025- 2026 PWHL takeover tour.
READ MORE: PWHL Takeover Tour returns: 16 games across Canada and U.S.
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.
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.