VANCOUVER — Ashton Bell couldn’t sleep Thursday night.
The anticipation and excitement of writing the next chapter in women’s hockey history kept the Vancouver Goldeneyes captain awake.
It’s been nearly seven months since the Professional Women’s Hockey League announced Vancouver would be the first city to get an expansion team. On Friday, the Goldeneyes will play their first game against their fellow expansion side, the Seattle Torrent.
“We’re growing hockey here out West so I think it’s going to be nothing like I’ve experienced before,” Bell said. “And I can’t wait to see what the fans will bring in. The energy in this building is going to be incredible.”
A sold-out crowd of more than 15,000 fans is expected to take in the game at Vancouver’s historic Pacific Coliseum.
Goldeneyes head coach Brian Idalski wants his players to embrace the scene.
“Probably the largest crowd a lot of people have been in and around and experienced. And obviously there’s a lot of energy that comes in with that, and you don’t want to be overstimulated in that situation,” he said.
“But at the same point, we want to lean into it, want people to take it all in the smells, the sounds, the experience. A lot of good memories come out of being a part of something like this.”
More than $6 million went into refurbishing the arena into the Goldeneyes’ home. Fresh royal blue paint coats the walls and images of players — including homegrown forward Jenn Gardiner — stand out on pillars around the rink.
The gold, rust and blue Goldeneyes logo stares up from centre ice. Vancouver is the only PWHL team that is the main tenant in its home rink, and the lone club to have its logo at centre ice year round.
“I just know that nothing can prepare me when this crowd is filling the building, and the players take the ice,” said Cara Gardner Morrey, Vancouver’s general manager. “I’m trying to imagine it, but I think it’s going to take my breath away.”
Being part of this moment in women’s hockey is humbling and exciting, she added.
“I feel a responsibility to do it right and make sure it not only survives, but flourishes and thrives,” she said. “So there’s a little bit of pressure there where it’s exciting, but I want to make sure we deliver on this.”
Many players on the Goldeneyes roster have already witnessed major moments in women’s hockey, including the birth of the PWHL.
Canadian forward Sarah Nurse helped found the league and is a face of the sport on the international stage.
Coming into the first-ever Goldeneyes game feels different than the first-ever PWHL game, she said.
“I think that first game day, we all approached it with hopeful optimism,” said Nurse, who spent two seasons playing for the Toronto Sceptres before signing with Vancouver in June. “We obviously were very hopeful that things were going to look great, they were going to be great, that butts were going to be in seats.”
The league and the sport have grown massively over the last two years, she added.
“And I think today, we’ve been able to establish this standard of excellence with our league and how we operate and how we just do day-to-day business,” Nurse said. “And so as we go into today, it’s like we’re stepping into — and I think it’s crazy for me to say this, we’re only in year three of the league — but we’re stepping into the standard of excellence. And I think tonight we’re even going to be able to raise the bar.”
A crowd of young female hockey players took in Vancouver’s morning skate from the stands on Friday. Before leaving the ice, several players stopped to sign autographs and take photos with the kids.
Seeing the young faces in the stands is part of what brings Bell to the rink every day.
“They’re my motivation. They’re why I keep doing this,” she said. “Just to inspire those groups of girls to dream big one day and to know that they can aspire to be playing professional hockey one day, which is pretty cool.
“Because as a young girl myself, I didn’t have those role models to look up to, and didn’t know this was a possibility.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2025.
Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press
