Sport Photos
PWHL Vancouver Goldeneyes took down Montréal Victoire in a 4-3 thriller
Fresh off a gutsy win against Seattle, the Vancouver Goldeneyes returned to the Pacific Coliseum to host the league-leading Montréal Victoire in front of a packed crowd of 10,946. Despite a late Hayley Scamurra hat trick, the Goldeneyes held on to win 4-3 in regulation, earning three valuable gold plan points in the race for the first overall draft pick.
As It Happened
On Tuesday night, the Goldeneyes celebrated the South Asian Heritage and South Asian communities across British Columbia and beyond. The Abbotsford Canucks’s Arshdeep Bains, a high school classmate of fellow Surrey native Jenn Gardiner, was here at the Rink on Renfrew for the ceremonial puck drop.
The “Souuuup!” and “Holy moly what a goalie!” chants broke out early in the first period as Kristen Campbell made a pad save against Catherine Dubois. Vancouver and Montréal both put up 14 shots through the first two periods, but it’s Vancouver with the two-goal lead heading into the dressing room. The Goldeneyes opened the scoring fifteen minutes into the game. Tereza Vanišová took advantage of a Montréal turnover and set up Sarah Nurse’s eighth goal of the season. A tripping penalty to Jessica DiGirolamo gave Vancouver a power play at 7:36 of the second period. Vancouver’s captain Ashton Bell converted it with a stunning snipe to double the lead.
The third period turned into an emotional roller coaster for the fans on both sides. Vanišová, already with two assists under her belt in this game, drove the net to get past Sandra Abstreiter, extending Vancouver’s lead to three. Less than four minutes later, The Goldeneyes added a fourth goal with Claire Thompson firing a mesmerizing one-timer. With the assist on this goal, Sophie Jaques became the first PWHL defender to reach 50 career points. Desperate for a goal, the Victoire pulled the goaltender with more than eight minutes left in the game. Hayley Scamurra put on a show to score three goals in just two minutes and forty-four seconds to stun the crowd. Suddenly, it’s a one-goal game. The fastest hat trick in the PWHL history made the final five minutes of the game a nerve-wrecking time for the home fans. “Everyone got their money’s worth, on the edge of the seat right till the end,” Vancouver Head Coach Brian Idalski commented at the post-game press conference. As the final horn went off at the Pacific Coliseum, Montréal ran out of time for an equalizer, receiving their first regulation loss in seventeen games. Kristen Campbell held on with 25 saves, becoming the third PWHL goalie with 30 career wins.
The victory marked Vancouver’s first win against the Montréal Victoire and the first time winning three games in a row.
Three Stars
★Tereza Vanišová (#13) Vancouver Goldeneyes (1G 2 A)
★★ Hayley Scamurra (#16) Montréal Victoire (3G)
★★★Ashton Bell (#21) Vancouver Goldeneyes (1G)
Up Next
The Victoire remain on the road for the final game of the regular season against the Seattle Torrent. The Goldeneyes will wrap up their inaugural season this Saturday as they host the two-time defending Walter Cup champion Minnesota Frost on the Pride celebration.
Vancouver: Saturday, Apr. 25 vs. Minnesota at 4 p.m. PT / 6 p.m. CT / 7 p.m. ET
Montréal: Saturday, Apr. 25 at Seattle at 7 p.m. PT / 10 p.m. ET
Check out our favourite photos of the game below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
PWHL VANCOUVER GOLDENEYES v MONTREAL VICTOIRE
All Photo Credit: Cindy Shi
Sport Photos
NSL Vancouver Rise Boost Playoff Hopes with Victory Over Calgary Wild
Vancouver Rise FC have ended their season on a high note and improved their chances of
reaching the playoffs after defeating Calgary Wild FC 3-2 at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, BC. The Rise delivered under pressure thanks to a beautiful goal from Mia Pante as well as a much-needed second-half strike from Jessica DeFilippo.
The Rise marked the scoresheet twice in the first half, leading the Wild 2 to nil at the 35-minute mark after Alex Lamontagne connected with Pante who cleared the goalkeeper and calmly hit the back of the net.
Calgary responded before halftime, however, as Josie Aulicino found the net with a strike from outside the penalty area, cutting the deficit to 2-1 and keeping halting what at times looked like a runaway train.
Calgary largely dominated the second half, forcing Vancouver onto their back feet. Vancouver was pinned in their own zone, unwillingly defending their lead as Calgary took shot after shot on goal. A quiet crowd got to their feet for their Captain Shannon Woeller who made her first appearance of the season in the 88-minute mark, leaving the bench to steady the team in the final few minutes.
Despite the early charge, Vancouver managed to record the win and take the points, if in a
somewhat anxiety-filled final 45. The three points keep the Rise in the playoff conversation, with the final result to be decided Monday as Halifax faces off against AFC Toronto.
Check out our favourite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
VANCOUVER RISE FC v CALGARY WILD FC
All Photo Credit: Jason Martin
Sport Photos
WWE Monday Night Raw Keeps the Momentum Rolling in Ottawa
WWE Monday Night Raw rolled into Ottawa on August 24 with plenty of moving pieces and a clear focus on building toward the next major chapters for both the men’s and women’s divisions. From LA Knight’s confrontation with Roman Reigns to Stephanie Vaquer’s return, a World Heavyweight Championship tournament, and a heated Oba Femi-Bron Breakker contract signing, the episode packed a lot into three hours without losing sight of its bigger stories.
This was a busy, storyline-heavy episode built almost entirely around momentum heading toward Sunday Night’s Main Event on September 6. LA Knight opened the show by calling out World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns, only for Solo Sikoa to interrupt and thank Knight for backing him up the previous week, before the Usos showed up and set a tag match in motion for later in the night. That opening angle paid off with a hard-hitting brawl, and the show closed with Knight, Sikoa, and both Usos left laid out while returning duo Royce Keys and OTM stood tall over the wreckage.
In the ring, the standout was Stephanie Vaquer‘s return match against Roxanne Perez, which saw Judgment Day interference from Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez met by a counter from Becky Lynch. Vaquer sealed the win by dodging a moonsault and connecting with a butterfly backbreaker into a lungblower combo, and the post-match staredown with Lynch added a nice extra layer of tension. It fed directly into the next chapter of her title chase, with Vaquer told backstage that she’ll get her shot at Liv Morgan‘s Women’s World Championship on the September 7 RAW.
The tournament for a World Heavyweight Championship shot also moved forward, with Penta defeating LA Parka and Rey Fenix defeating Dragon Lee to set up a Penta-vs-Fenix final. The Penta/Parka match got a nice reaction, as Parka survived a Penta Driver and answered with a top-rope Spanish Fly before Penta eventually got the win.
The other big story beat was the contract signing for Oba Femi vs. Bron Breakker. Breakker accused Femi of taking the spot he used to hold and vowed to make him live in his shadow, while Femi shot back that Breakker could’ve been the future of WWE in a different era, just not while he’s around. The segment boiled over into a physical confrontation, with Breakker jumping Femi before Austin Theory got involved, and Femi eventually powering back to put Theory through a table.
Overall, this felt like a well-paced go-home-style episode even though the pay-per-view is still two weeks out: hot angles up top and at the close, a satisfying tournament advancement, and a women’s division storyline that’s clearly building toward something bigger
Check out our favourite photos of both Monday Night Raw and Smackdown below or head to our Facebook page for the full galleries: Raw – Smackdown
WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW
All Photo Credit: Kieran Delport