Samantha Shirley (born May 2, 1983) is a former women's ice hockey player and member of the

Canada women's national inline hockey team Canada women's national inline hockey team is the national team for Canada, which participates at the FIRS Inline Hockey World Championships, an event by the Comité International de Roller In-Line Hockey (CIRILH), an organization and disciplin ...

, appearing at eight FIRS Inline Hockey World Championships.

Playing career

Ice hockey

Shirley joined the

Mercyhurst Lakers women's ice hockey The Mercyhurst Lakers women's ice hockey team is a college ice hockey program representing Mercyhurst University in NCAA Division I competition as a member of the College Hockey America (CHA) conference. They play in Erie, Pennsylvania at the Me ...

program in the autumn of 2002. Tying for the team lead in the 2002–03 Mercyhurst Lakers women's ice hockey season, Shirley captured the

College Hockey America College Hockey America (CHA) is a college ice hockey conference in the United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The conference is made up of five women’s teams, with two in Pennsylvania; two in New Y ...

Rookie of the Year Award. Serving as team captain for the 2005–06 Mercyhurst Lakers women's ice hockey season, gracing the ice in all 37 games. Her 11 goals ranked fourth while her 26 points ranked fifth on the Lakers. Of her 11 goals, three were game winners. Following Mercyhurst, Shirley turned professional, joining the Switzerland women's ice hockey league EV Zug Damen for their 2006–07 season. The following season, she would join the

Vaughan Flames The Vaughan Flames was a professional women's ice hockey team in the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). The team played its home games at Vaughan Sports Village in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. History In 1995 the Vaughan Flames joined the Ontari ...

of the newly formed

Canadian Women's Hockey League The Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL; french: Ligue canadienne de hockey féminin ‒ LCHF) was a women's ice hockey league. Established in 2007 as a Canadian women's senior league in the Greater Toronto Area, Montreal, and Ottawa, the league ...

. Of note, she would spend the last two seasons of her CWHL career competing for the

Burlington Barracudas The Burlington Barracudas were a professional women's ice hockey team based in Burlington, Ontario. They were one of the founding teams of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) from its inaugural season in 2007 until 2012. The Barracudas� ...

. Shirley appeared in 121 regular season games in CWHL play. On November 18, 2011, Shirley was one of several Burlington Barracudas players (including

Christina Kessler Christina Kessler (born May 28, 1988) has competed for the Canadian National women's ice hockey team. Her debut with Team Canada was at the 2010 Four Nations Cup where she was part of the gold medal-winning squadron. She played for th ...

, Shannon Moulson,

Ashley Stephenson Ashley Stephenson (born November 22, 1982) is a former two-sport athlete from Ontario who played baseball for Canada women's national baseball team and ice hockey in the original NWHL and the CWHL. She won a silver medal at the 2015 Pan American ...

, Jana Harrigan, Amanda Shaw,

Annina Rajahuhta Annina Rajahuhta (born 8 March 1989) is a Finnish retired ice hockey forward, currently serving as co-head coach of the Kiekko-Espoo girl's under-16 and under-18 teams. She played ten seasons with the Finnish national team, winning bronze medal ...

, Amanda Parkins, and Lindsay Vine) that competed in the first ever

Hockey Helps the Homeless Hockey Helps the Homeless (HHTH) is a volunteer-driven charitable organization established in 1996. HHTH annually hosts Pro-am and Collegiate hockey tournaments in 15 cities across Canada where all funds raised locally will directly make an impact ...

Women's Tournament. Said tournament was held at the Magna Centre in Newmarket, Ontario.

Inline hockey

Debuting with the national team in 2005, Shirley captured her first gold medal at the FIRS Inline Hockey World Championships. Versus host Italy at the 2009 FIRS Worlds, Shirley scored a pair of goals in a 6-0 Canadian victory, clinching a semi-final berth. Earlier in the tournament, Shirley registered a goal and two assists in a convincing 13–2 rout of Australia. A Canada Day 2009 contest versus Team Finland resulted in a 15–3 victory, as Shirley scored twice. At the 2010 FIRS Worlds, it marked Shirley's fifth consecutive appearance with the Canadian contingent. As a side note, former Mercyhurst Lakers teammates,

Michelle Bonello Michelle Bonello (born March 10, 1985) is a women's ice hockey player who has also competed for the Canada women's national inline hockey team, having participated at seven FIRS Inline Hockey World Championships With regards to Bonello's women's ...

and

Jackie Jarrell Jackie Jarrell (born May 16, 1985) is a former women's ice hockey player and current member of the Canada women's national inline hockey team, having debuted in 2006. Playing career Ice hockey Having played minor hockey with a pair of boys teams ...

, also spent time with the Inline National Team.

Awards and honors

NCAA

*2003 All-CHA Rookie Team *2003 CHA All-Tournament Team *2003 CHA Rookie-of-the-Year * CHA Offensive Player of the Week (week of November 10, 2003) * CHA Offensive Player of the Week (week of December 8, 2003) * CHA Offensive Player of the Week (week of January 13, 2004) * CHA Offensive Player of the Week (week of January 27, 2004) * 2004 CHA First Team All-Star * 2004 CHA All-Academic Team * 2005 CHA All-Conference Second Team

Other

*Samantha Shirley, Toronto Orange Crush: Top Scorer – 2007 CBHA Women's Nationals

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shirley, Samantha 1983 births Living people Canadian women's ice hockey forwards Canadian women's national inline hockey team players Mercyhurst Lakers women's ice hockey players Ice hockey people from Mississauga