Montreal on Three-Game Slide

The Montreal Stars (12-3-1) have dropped into second place behind the Boston Blades (14-2-0) after a three-game losing streak that began Jan. 8 with a 3-1 loss, at home, to the Toronto Furies (5-6-4).

Gigi Marvin, Erika Lawler and Whitney Naslund pose during an autograph session at the International Ice Skating Centre. CWHL Images

The Blades played host to the Stars this weekend, where they handed the visiting team a pair of losses.

On Saturday, Montreal took a 2-0 lead into the second period with goals from Caroline Ouellette and Sarah Vaillancourt, but went on to lose 3-2 in a shootout.

Kacey Bellamy (shorthanded) and Whitney Naslund scored for Boston in the second period.

In the shootout Ouellette and Meghan Agosta, the league’s top two scorers, were stopped by Mandy Mackrell while Kelli Stack and Bellamy both beat Catherine Herron for the win.

On Sunday, Bellamy netted two, including the game winner, as Boston defeated Montreal 6-2 despite the Stars going 2-for-5 on the power play and outshooting the Blades 36-27.

Jenny Lavigne allowed four goals on 13 shots and was replaced by Herron in the second period.

Erika Lawler, Kate Buesser, Alyssa Wohlfeiler and Naslund also scored for the Blades while Caitlin Cahow and Stack had two and three assists, respectively.

Boston is on an eight-game winning streak.

Brampton Jumps to Third Place

With back-to-back wins over the Burlington Barracudas (1-14-0), the Brampton Hockey Club (6-5-2) has moved into third place, pushing the Toronto Furies (5-6-4) into fourth.

Vicki Bendus scored a hat trick and Jayna Hefford added two of her own as Brampton broke a four-game losing skid to start the New Year with an 8-1 routing of the Barracudas.

Lori Dupuis, Cherie Piper and Kerri Palmer also scored for Brampton.

Burlington goaltender, Christina Kessler, suffered a lower body injury during a scramble in front of the net in the first period and was replaced by Mandy Cronin.

For a detailed recap of the game, read this article on the CWHL website.

On Sunday, Bendus and Piper had two goals apiece as Brampton beat Burlington 5-3.

Gillian Apps also scored for Brampton, while Sarah Dagg, Sommer West and Samantha Shirley scored for the Barracudas.

CWHL Season Review

As the two-week holiday break comes to a close in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL), teams who had a slow start to the season will try to turn things around in the New Year.

Heading into the break, the last place Burlington Barracudas (1-8-0) got their first win of the season against the Toronto Furies (4-5-4) in overtime.

With a new head coach, the Barracudas are looking to improve their stats and move up the ranks in the second half of the season.

“This team is good enough to win,” says Burlington coach Robin Bird. “This team can win. They just have to stay positive when they’re down, no matter what happens.”

The Barracudas will have a tough challenge in their first opponent of the New Year, the surging Boston Blades (8-2-0), at home at Appleby Arena on Jan. 7 and 8.

In their inaugural season last year, the Blades only mustered 10 wins in 26 games mostly due to a small roster, including several part-time players which resulted in a very short bench at most games.

“This season, we have added both quantity and quality,” says Boston general manager Paul Hendrickson. “Our new players include USA national team players Molly Schaus, Kelli Stack, Gigi Marvin, and Meghan Duggan (joining this month) as well as several talented non-national team players. As a result, we have had a full bench for every game, as well as a significant influx of highly talented players.”

 

The second place Blades carry a four-game winning streak into the New Year, chasing the first place Montreal Stars (11-1-0) who are currently on a hot eight-game winning streak.

Boston handed Montreal their only loss of the season, 4-2, back on Nov. 19.

“We have a lot of new players, so we are still settling in to standard line combinations, power play and penalty kill units,” says Hendrickson. “We hope to reach our peak performance level as we approach the playoffs and the Clarkson Cup.”

The defending Clarkson Cup champion Montreal Stars are hosting the Furies at Desmarteau Rink, also on Jan. 7 and 8, where Toronto will be looking for a fresh start with new coaches behind the bench.

The match up features a handful of 2010 Canadian Olympic gold medalists including tournament MVP and CWHL first pick Meghan Agosta who leads the league in scoring with 21 goals and 14 assists in 12 games.

After Agosta, the Stars boast another five players who top off the six leading scorers in the league; Caroline Ouellette (17 goals, 17 assists), Sarah Vaillancourt (7 goals, 18 assists), Vanessa Davidson (10 goals, 8 assists), Noemie Marin (7 goals, 11 assists), and Catherine Ward (1 goal, 17 assists).

Both the Brampton Hockey Club (4-5-2) and the newly added Alberta Hockey Club (3-4-0) have the weekend off as their game was postponed until February.

CWHL Outreach Games and Cancer Fundraiser

Toronto Bests Brampton in Outreach Game

Tessa Bonhomme (Toronto) and Jayna Hefford (Brampton) line up for a ceremonial puck drop at the civic centre in Brantford for a CWHL outreach game where the Furies won 5-4 in a shootout. Photo By: CWHL Images

On Wednesday Nov. 30 the Brampton Hockey Club and the Toronto Furies brought CWHL action to the Civic Centre in Brantford, where the Furies were on the winning end of a 5-4 shootout.

Toronto’s fourth shooter, Jess Scanzano sealed the game for the Furies.

Bringing a CWHL game to Brantford was about developing girls hockey at the minor level, giving the young players something to aspire to. With over a handful of Olympic gold medalists on the ice, the high scoring game did not disappoint.

Cherie Piper, who had two goals in the loss, gave Brampton a 2-0 lead at 10:10 in the first period.

Near the end of the first period, Tessa Bonhomme cut Brampton’s lead in half with a power play goal. Bonhomme added another goal early in the second period to tie the game.

The scoring would continue to go back-and-forth the rest of the game.

Ashley Riggs gave Brampton the go-ahead goal in the second period but Francis McPhail tied the game again just over five minutes later.

Kori Cheverie scored early in the third period for the Furies for the 4-4 tie.

After four rounds of a scoreless shootout, Scanzano finally beat Liz Knox.

Furies and Stars “stick it” to cancer

Members of the Montreal Stars and Toronto Furies at Windsor Arena as part of the Stick it to Cancer fundraiser. Photo by: CWHL Images

Windsor Arena was the host of a Stick it To Cancer fundraising event the weekend of Nov. 26 and 27 where Montreal and Toronto faced off in back-to-back games as No. 1 draft pick Meghan Agosta played in her hometown for the first time in six years.

Canadian rock band, The Trews, played a soldout show at the after-party Saturday at the Capitol Theatre.

Agosta would not disappoint as she scored a hat trick and added two assists in the Stars 12-3 whopping of the Furies in Saturday’s game, which earned her the title of first star.

Caroline Ouellete also had a hat trick and two assists while Bianca Della Porta and Vanessa Davidson each had two goals. Noemie Marin and Sarah Vaillancourt also added a goal apiece.

Kori Cheverie (2) and Jennifer Brine scored for Toronto.

In Sunday’s rematch, the Stars came out on top again, 8-4 with another hat trick from Agosta.

Hometown hero Meghan Agosta had a hat trick in each of Montreal's wins. Photo By: CWHL Images

Ouellette, who scored one goal and added four assists in the win, had nine points over the weekend and leads the league in scoring.

Marin, Davidson and Lisa-Marie Breton-Lebreux each had a goal and an assist for the Stars.

Scoring for the Furies were Brine, Cheverie, Lexi Hoffmeyer and Kelly Zamora.

Money raised from the weekend will go to the Windsor and Essex County Cancer Centre Foundation and Hospice of Windsor and Essex County. Roughly 600 spectators showed up for the event, which the CWHL would like to make annual.

Apps Scores Big as Brampton Thrashes Toronto

Tessa Bonhomme, in a photo from Nov. 27, had a goal in the Furies loss Saturday. Photo by: CWHL Images

Ashley Riggs scored twice and Gillian Apps had a goal and three assists as the Brampton Hockey Club walked over the Toronto Furies 7-2 in Canadian Women’s Hockey Day action at the Ricoh Coliseum.

Apps, a two-time Canadian Olympic gold medalist, is the granddaughter of Hockey Hall of Fame member Syl Apps who played for the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1936 to 1948 and daughter of Syl Apps, Jr. who played 10 seasons in the NHL.

Andrea Ironside opened the scoring for Brampton with a soft backhand that trickled by Sami Jo Small, who was later pulled in the third period.

On a power play in the second period, Molly Engstrom gave Brampton a 3-0 lead on a goal through Small’s legs. Later in the period, Riggs scored her second of the game when she shoveled a loose puck over Small, who was sprawled in the crease.

Cherie Piper scored Brampton’s sixth goal of the game in the third and added two assists.

On the same shift, Jayna Hefford buried a rebound giving Brampton a 7-0 lead, ending Small’s night between the pipes.

Toronto finally got on the scoreboard on a tip in goal by Jennifer Brine, who also had an assist in the loss.

Recent Battle of The Blades winner, Tessa Bonhomme would add a powerplay goal late in the third.

Brampton’s next game is Dec. 10 against the Montreal Stars while Toronto will host the Boston Blades at George Bell Arena the same day.