It was a big weekend for women’s hockey, as both the Clarkson Cup in the CWHL and the inaugural Isobel Cup in the NWHL were awarded, to the Calgary Inferno and Boston Pride, respectively.
It was an upset of the Canadiennes of Montréal before a stunned crowd in Ottawa, as the Inferno, who won just two of six in their season series against the 21-3 Canadiennes, thrashed the powerhouse 8-3, with a pair of goals from each Blayre Turnbull, Brianne Jenner, Jessica Campbell and Rebecca Johnston. With the win, four new Canadian players (and assistant coach Gina Kingsbury) join the unofficial women’s version of the Triple Gold Club: Jenner, Johnston, Meaghan Mikkelson and women’s hockey legend Hayley Wickenheiser, finally adding the Cup to their Olympic and World Championship Golds with Calgary’s first title.
Our congratulations go out to the players, management and fans of the Inferno, with those on the roster that have also held the IHLC highlighted in bold:
| 🇯🇵 Kanae Aoki, defence 🇨🇦 Bailey Bram, forward 🇨🇦 Delayne Brian, goaltender 🇨🇦 Jessica Campbell, forward 🇨🇦 Hayleigh Cudmore, defence 🇨🇦 Jenna Cunningham, forward 🇨🇦 Sarah Davis, forward 🇨🇦 Kathy Desjardins, goaltender 🇨🇦 Laura Dostaler, forward 🇨🇦 Brittany Esposito, forward 🇨🇦 Kristen Hagg, forward 🇨🇦 Brianne Jenner, forward 🇨🇦 Rebecca Johnston, forward 🇨🇦 Gina Kingsbury, assistant coach |
🇨🇦 Erica Kromm, forward 🇨🇦 Rhianna Kurio, forward 🇨🇦 Brigette Lacquette, defence 🇨🇦 Elana Lovell, forward 🇨🇦 Meaghan Mikkelson, defence 🇯🇵 Aina Mizukami, defence 🇨🇦 Jennifer Moe, forward 🇺🇸 Jacquie Pierri, defence 🇨🇦 Jillian Saulnier, forward 🇨🇦 Blayre Turnbull, forward 🇨🇦 Louise Warren, forward 🇨🇦 Kelsey Webster, defence 🇨🇦 Hayley Wickenheiser, forward |
In Newark, New Jersey, it was the Pride who upended the Buffalo Beauts in two straight games to win the best of three series, winning the finale 3-1 on a pair of goals from Brianna Decker, and a third from U.S. team MVP Hilary Knight. While no women from the Beauts will join the Triple Gold Club, as Team USA has not won Olympic Gold since 1998, this will surely be a large stepping stone for players like Decker, Knight, Kacey Bellamy and Gigi Marvin, in the event the Americans dethrone Canada at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.
Our congratulations go out to the players, management and fans of the Pride, with those on the roster that have also held the IHLC highlighted in bold:
| 🇺🇸 Kacey Bellamy, defence 🇺🇸 Blake Bolden, defence 🇺🇸 Corinne Buie, forward 🇺🇸 Kelly Cooke, forward 🇺🇸 Brianna Decker, forward 🇺🇸 Jillian Dempsey, forward 🇺🇸 Emily Field, forward 🇺🇸 Kelsie Fralick, goaltender 🇺🇸 Alyssa Gagliardi, defence 🇺🇸 Melissa Gedman, defence 🇺🇸 Cherie Hendrickson, defence 🇺🇸 Zoe Hickel, forward |
🇺🇸 Hilary Knight, forward 🇺🇸 Denna Laing, forward 🇺🇸 Rachel Llanes, forward 🇺🇸 Meagan Mangene, defence 🇺🇸 Gigi Marvin, defence 🇺🇸 Hayley Moore, forward 🇺🇸 Brittany Ott, goaltender 🇺🇸 Amanda Pelkey, forward 🇺🇸 Casey Pickett, forward 🇺🇸 Lauren Slebodnick, goaltender 🇺🇸 Jordan Smelker, forward |
Our congratulations go out to the players from both the Pride and Inferno on their historic victories!
Photo Credit: Ottawa Sun – Yahoo! Sports – IIHF – HHOF – IOC
International Hockey Lineal Championship 