Local players Chan, Gardiner turn hometown heroes for Goldeneyes against Charge

A few months ago, Katie Chan was playing hockey overseas.

Now she's scoring goals in front of a hometown crowd.

The 22-year-old forward from Richmond, B.C., notched her first PWHL goal in dramatic fashion and helped bring her Vancouver Goldeneyes to a 2-1 win over the Ottawa Charge on Tuesday.

Hannah Miller set up the strike, blasting a shot off from inside the faceoff circle — only to see it turned away by Charge goalie Gwyneth Philips.

The puck popped out to Chan, stationed at the side of the net, who swatted it in from mid-air to give Vancouver a 1-0 lead 7:50 into the game.

The next moments were a blur to Chan, who said she "blacked out because the fans went crazy."

"It was a really surreal moment, for sure," she said. "It was definitely a dream come true. To be able to be home and to score my first goal really meant the world to me."

Chan was one of three local players to put up points for Vancouver (3-3-0-0) on Tuesday.

Miller hails from North Vancouver, B.C., and Jenn Gardiner, who's from Surrey, B.C., added the home side's second goal 3:36 into the second period.

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The top-line forward picked a puck off a stick in the neutral zone, sprinted into Ottawa territory while holding off Charge defender Rory Guilday, and fired a shot in off the crossbar for her second goal of the season.

Both of the tallies have come in Vancouver, and the privilege of playing in front of friends and family isn't lost on Gardiner.

"It's pretty special," she said. "Just to know the future of female hockey in B.C. as a whole, and where it's going, it's going to be an incredible future.

"And to see all the young girls in the crowd, it means so much to all of us who grew up here and maybe