The 2010–11 CWHL season is the fourth in the history of the
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 leag ...
but was considered a reboot for the league after a major restructuring as an organization. For the season, the league was to run on a budget of $500,000 and players will pay for their own equipment.
As part of the restructuring, officially, all five CWHL teams in the 2010–11 season were referred to by the league as their locations without any monikers and were considered "new" teams.
However, since most of the locations had teams in the previous seasons, they were still commonly referenced as their monikers. The league returned to the team name usage for the
following season.
Offseason
Prior to the season, the league underwent a structural reorganization. The CWHL considered the restructure a relaunch of the league.
Among the changes included the
Mississauga Chiefs
The Mississauga Chiefs were a professional women's ice hockey team that played in the Canadian National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) and the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). They played in Mississauga, Ontario at the Hershey Centre and the ...
,
Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member ...
and
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 Ontario ...
teams ceasing operations, adding a new team in Toronto, and expanding into the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
with a team in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
. The relaunch also branded the five teams after their respective locations, simply calling them
Boston CWHL, Brampton CWHL,
Burlington CWHL, Montreal CWHL, and
Toronto CWHL. However, the CWHL teams that were playing in previous markets were commonly referred to as their former names, the Boston team called itself the
Boston Blades
The Worcester Blades were a professional women's ice hockey team in the Canadian Women's Hockey League, based in Worcester, Massachusetts, and played their home games at the Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center. The team began play in the 2010–11 ...
, and the new Toronto team was sometimes called Toronto HC.
The league held its
first player draft on August 12, 2010, although it was only for the three
Greater Toronto Area teams as the league decided that since they do not pay a salary, it would be unfair to force players to be based outside their hometown.
The event was held at the
Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.
On September 11, the
Centre Etienne Desmarteau in Montreal, Quebec, named one of the rinks in the arena in
Caroline Ouellette
Caroline Ouellette (born May 25, 1979) is a Canadian retired ice hockey player and current associate head coach of the Concordia Stingers women's ice hockey program. She was a member of the Canadian national women's ice hockey team and a memb ...
's honour.
On September 17, former
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...
goaltender
Erin Whitten was named head coach of the Boston expansion franchise.
News and notes
*November 20–21: Montreal swept Brampton in a two-game series. The battle between the top two teams in the Canadian Women's Hockey League resulted in Montreal remaining undefeated. The November 20 game involved a pre-game salute. Montreal recognized
Angela James
Angela Diane James (born December 22, 1964) is a Canadian former ice hockey player who played at the highest levels of senior hockey between 1980 and 2000. She was a member of numerous teams in the Central Ontario Women's Hockey League (COW ...
, the head coach of Brampton for her historic induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame, and held a minute of silence for the passing of Pat Burns at the Étienne Desmarteau Arena.
*December 19: Boston came from behind to defeat Montreal. In doing so, they broke up Montreal's bid for an undefeated season. Boston goalie Mandy Cronin stopped 74 shots to lead Boston to victory. Montreal had an early 2-0 lead. In the second period, Blades' player Sam Faber scored on an assist by Jess Koizumi. In the third period, Koizumi would tie the game. With 3:24 to play in the game,
Angela Ruggiero scored the game-winning goal. She was assisted by Sam Faber and Haley Moore.
*January 16:
Gillian Apps scored her seventh goal of the season 2:42 into overtime as Brampton defeated Boston by a 4–3 tally. The win was the fifth in a row for Brampton and 11–6 on the season. The five game win streak was the best in the league. Brampton had yet to lose a game in 2011. In addition, they outscored their opponents 23–9 during the streak.
*January 18, 2011: Brampton competed against Montreal at the Invista Centre in Kingston, Ontario. This was team captain
Jayna Hefford
Jayna Hefford (born May 14, 1977) is a Canadian retired ice hockey player and current chairperson of the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association.
During her career, she won multiple medals at the Winter Olympics and IIHF World Women's C ...
's hometown and her number 15 was raised to the rafters of the Invista Centre on behalf of the Kingston Area Minor Hockey Association. As of 2012, no sweaters bearing Hefford's number will be used in Kingston Minor Hockey.

*January 21:
Georgetown, Ontario
Georgetown is a large unincorporated community in the town of Halton Hills, Ontario, Canada, in the Regional Municipality of Halton. The town includes several small villages or settlements such as Norval, Limehouse, Stewarttown and Glen Wil ...
, hosted a game between Brampton and Toronto. The game featured eight former Olympians (from Brampton, Gillian Apps, Jayna Hefford, Lori Depuis, Delaney Collins and Molly Engstrom, and from Toronto, Sami Jo Small, Tessa Bonhomme and Jennifer Botterill). Brampton prevailed by a 5–2 tally.
*January 29: Montreal raised awareness and funds for the Fondation du cancer du sein du Québec (FCSQ). The game featured the Montreal club in pink at
Centre Etienne Desmarteau versus Boston. Montreal prevailed by a 3–0 score (goals scored by: Stephanie Denino,
Sarah Vaillancourt and Tawnya Davis). 800 persons came to support the cause.
*February 12:
Brampton
Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a lower-tier municipality within Peel Region. The city has a population of 656,480 as of the 2021 Census, making it the ...
topped
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
for tenth straight victory, Montreal and Toronto win one game each.
*February 19: at the Mastercard Centre,
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...
faced off against
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
for a special event for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. There were over 500 people in attendance and many fun events for all those involved.
*February 27: For their last match of the regular season, Montreal ended up on the winning side, defeating Boston 4–1 solidifying their hold on first place in the league.
Team captains
Board of directors
*January 25, 2011: The CWHL announced its board of directors for the upcoming season.
Final standings
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime Losses, SOL = Shootout Losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, Pts = Points.
Statistics
Scoring leaders
Goaltending leaders
Attendance
Awards and honors
Source:
* Most Valuable Player:
Caroline Ouellette
Caroline Ouellette (born May 25, 1979) is a Canadian retired ice hockey player and current associate head coach of the Concordia Stingers women's ice hockey program. She was a member of the Canadian national women's ice hockey team and a memb ...
, Montréal
*
Angela James Bowl
The Angela James Bowl was a women's ice hockey trophy introduced in 2007-08 to recognize the top points scorer in the newly formed Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). The trophy was donated in order to help preserve the statistical history of th ...
: Top Scorer
Caroline Ouellette
Caroline Ouellette (born May 25, 1979) is a Canadian retired ice hockey player and current associate head coach of the Concordia Stingers women's ice hockey program. She was a member of the Canadian national women's ice hockey team and a memb ...
, Montréal
* Outstanding Rookie:
Sarah Vaillancourt, Montréal
* Coach of the Year:
Patrick Rankine, Montréal
CWHL Top Players
* Top Forward:
Caroline Ouellette
Caroline Ouellette (born May 25, 1979) is a Canadian retired ice hockey player and current associate head coach of the Concordia Stingers women's ice hockey program. She was a member of the Canadian national women's ice hockey team and a memb ...
, Montréal
* Top Defender:
Angela Ruggiero, Boston
* Top Goaltender:
Kim St-Pierre, Montréal
CWHL All-Stars
First Team All-Stars
* Goaltender:
Kim St-Pierre, Montreal
* Defender:
Angela Ruggiero, Boston
* Defender:
Annie Guay, Montreal
* Forward:
Caroline Ouellette
Caroline Ouellette (born May 25, 1979) is a Canadian retired ice hockey player and current associate head coach of the Concordia Stingers women's ice hockey program. She was a member of the Canadian national women's ice hockey team and a memb ...
, Montreal
* Forward:
Jayna Hefford
Jayna Hefford (born May 14, 1977) is a Canadian retired ice hockey player and current chairperson of the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association.
During her career, she won multiple medals at the Winter Olympics and IIHF World Women's C ...
, Brampton
* Forward:
Sarah Vaillancourt, Montreal
Second Team All-Stars
* Goaltender:
Laura Hosier
Laura may refer to:
People
* Laura (given name)
* Laura, the British code name for the World War I Belgian spy Marthe Cnockaert
Places Australia
* Laura, Queensland, a town on the Cape York Peninsula
* Laura, South Australia
* Laura Bay, a bay o ...
, Brampton
* Defender:
Britni Smith, Toronto
* Defender:
Molly Engstrom
Molly Marie Engstrom (born March 1, 1983) is an American retired ice hockey player and the cuurent head coach of the Maine Black Bears women's ice hockey program in the Hockey East (HEA) conference of the NCAA Division I. During her playing ca ...
, Brampton
* Forward:
Jennifer Botterill, Toronto
* Forward:
Sam Faber, Boston
* Forward:
Noemie Marin, Montreal
CWHL All-Rookie Team
* Goaltender:
Christina Kessler, Burlington
* Defender:
Britni Smith, Toronto
* Defender:
Kacey Bellamy
Kacey Lee Bellamy (born April 22, 1987) is an American ice hockey defender for the Calgary section of the PWHPA, an Olympic Silver medalist, and seven-time IIHF World Women's Championship winner. She currently plays for the Boston Pride in th ...
, Boston
* Forward:
Sarah Vaillancourt, Montreal
* Forward:
Sam Faber, Boston
* Forward:
Kori Cheverie, Toronto
CWHL Monthly Top Scorer
* October:
Noémie Marin
Noémie Marin (born April 5, 1984 in Acton Vale, Quebec) is a former two-sport athlete that played ice hockey and softball. She was a four-time Clarkson Cup winner and she retired as the CWHL's all-time leading goalscorer.
Softball
In soft ...
, Montreal
* November:
Caroline Ouellette
Caroline Ouellette (born May 25, 1979) is a Canadian retired ice hockey player and current associate head coach of the Concordia Stingers women's ice hockey program. She was a member of the Canadian national women's ice hockey team and a memb ...
, Montreal
* December:
Caroline Ouellette
Caroline Ouellette (born May 25, 1979) is a Canadian retired ice hockey player and current associate head coach of the Concordia Stingers women's ice hockey program. She was a member of the Canadian national women's ice hockey team and a memb ...
, Montreal
* January:
Caroline Ouellette
Caroline Ouellette (born May 25, 1979) is a Canadian retired ice hockey player and current associate head coach of the Concordia Stingers women's ice hockey program. She was a member of the Canadian national women's ice hockey team and a memb ...
, Montreal
* February:
Caroline Ouellette
Caroline Ouellette (born May 25, 1979) is a Canadian retired ice hockey player and current associate head coach of the Concordia Stingers women's ice hockey program. She was a member of the Canadian national women's ice hockey team and a memb ...
, Montreal
Postseason
Brampton travelled to Montreal and Toronto went to Boston for the first round of the playoffs. Montreal and Toronto won each of their matches against their opponents to participate in the
Clarkson Cup Championship.
Clarkson Cup
The
2011 Clarkson Cup
The 2011 Clarkson Cup was contested at the Barrie Molson Centre in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. The four competing teams included three from the Canadian Women's Hockey League and one from the Western Women's Hockey League. All teams played e ...
was held March 24–27, 2011. The four competing teams included three from the
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 leag ...
and the champion team of the
Western Women's Hockey League
The Western Women's Hockey League (WWHL) was a women's hockey league in Canada. The league was established in 2004, and consisted of teams in Canada (some former National Women's Hockey League teams) and one from the United States. The league offic ...
, the
Minnesota Whitecaps
The Minnesota Whitecaps are a professional ice hockey team in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF; formerly known as the National Women's Hockey League). They play in Richfield, Minnesota, part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, at ...
.
Championship game
March 27: The final game concluded with the Montreal team defeating Toronto 5–0. Montreal got off to a 2–0 lead in the first period with the first goal scored by
Noemie Marin on a backhand shot as she converted a pass from
Caroline Ouellette
Caroline Ouellette (born May 25, 1979) is a Canadian retired ice hockey player and current associate head coach of the Concordia Stingers women's ice hockey program. She was a member of the Canadian national women's ice hockey team and a memb ...
and the second goal scored off a face off in the Toronto end when
Dominique Thibault took the draw and
Vanessa Davidson Vanessa may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Vanessa'' (Millais painting), an 1868 painting by Pre-Raphaelite artist John Everett Millais
* ''Vanessa'', a 1933 novel by Hugh Walpole
* ''Vanessa'', a 1952 instrumental song written by Bernie ...
put a shot behind goaltender
Sami Jo Small. The lone goal of the second period was scored by
Sabrina Harbec
Sabrina Harbec (born March 20, 1985) is a hockey player and the third winner of the Angela James Bowl after leading the CWHL with 15 goals and 39 assists in 29 games. Her performance helped the Stars finish first overall in league standing ...
on an outside drive cutting by
Annie Guay. Harbec drew the goalie across the crease and put the puck in the top corner. The shots at the end of the second period were 34 to 17 in favour of the Montreal.
Montreal added two more goals in the third period to win 5–0. At 5:33,
Julie Chu
Julie Wu Chu (born March 13, 1982) is an American-Canadian retired Olympic ice hockey player who played the position of forward on the United States women's ice hockey team and the position of defense with Les Canadiennes of the Canadian Wo ...
passed to
Caroline Ouellette
Caroline Ouellette (born May 25, 1979) is a Canadian retired ice hockey player and current associate head coach of the Concordia Stingers women's ice hockey program. She was a member of the Canadian national women's ice hockey team and a memb ...
and made a low shot for a goal. The final goal of the game was scored with 2:42 left as
Sarah Vaillancourt picked up a pass from Ouellette and scored from about five feet out. Toronto goalie
Sami Jo Small played well in defeat as Montreal controlled the game outshooting Toronto 51 to 26. Toronto did threaten offensively early in the game and could have turned the contest around but Montreal goalie,
Kim St-Pierre, came up with exceptional saves
to earn the shutout and ultimately crown
Montreal Stars
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...
as the 2011 Clarkson Cup Champions.
Awards and honors
See also
*
2010–11 Boston Blades season
*
2010–11 Montreal Stars season
*
2011 Clarkson Cup
The 2011 Clarkson Cup was contested at the Barrie Molson Centre in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. The four competing teams included three from the Canadian Women's Hockey League and one from the Western Women's Hockey League. All teams played e ...
References
External links
CWHL.ca
External news story
* Cassie Campbell-Pascall, 2010 helped grow women's hockey o
February 9, 2011.
Montreal hopes Clarkson Cup win promotes women's hockey leaguein Globe and Mail, March 27, 2011
{{DEFAULTSORT:2010-11 CWHL season
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