The 2011–12
CWHL season was the fifth in league history. Regular season play begun on October 22, 2011, as the defending champion
Montreal Stars
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
hosted the
Brampton Thunder
The Markham Thunder was a professional women's ice hockey team in the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). From 1998 through 2017, the franchise was known as the Brampton Thunder and Brampton Canadettes-Thunder before relocating from Brampton, O ...
. The league expanded from five teams to six as
Team Alberta (CWHL) joined the league for competitive play. The
2012 Clarkson Cup in
Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York (s ...
was also contested between the Stars and Thunder, with Montreal winning its second consecutive title.
Offseason
News and notes
* April 19: The league announced on April 19, 2011, that it would merge with 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 offi ...
for the 2011-12 season. The merger featured one team based in
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...
and
Calgary
Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...
and was a combination of the former WWHL franchises the
Edmonton Chimos and
Strathmore Rockies. The team would play their games in various locations around Alberta. Strathmore Rockies founder
Samantha Holmes-Domagala
Samantha Holmes (born June 23, 1977) played for the Canadian national women's ice hockey team from 2000 to 2005. She is also the founder of the Strathmore Rockies ice hockey team.
Early life
As a child, Samantha Holmes-Domagala attended ...
, joined the sponsorship division of the CWHL to look after the requirements of the expansion team.
* July 21, 2011: Philanthropist Joan Snyder donated $2 million to Winsport Canada. The goal was to ensure priority rink access to female hockey players at all levels, and to help expand the Canadian Women's Hockey League with the creation of Team Alberta. Part of the donation would cover the new addition to the Athletic and Ice Complex at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary. This would serve as the future home to Hockey Canada. In addition, there would be four hockey rinks, one of which would aptly be named the Joan Snyder Rink. Team Alberta would benefit with the allocation of free practice time, and a dressing room exclusive to the club.
CWHL Draft
The following are the first ten overall picks in the CWHL Draft. For further detail, please see
2011 CWHL Draft
The 2011 CWHL Draft was held on July 21, 2011 in Mississauga. The Montreal Stars had the first pick overall and selected Meghan Agosta from Mercyhurst College.
Top 50 picks
Draft picks by team
Alberta
Boston
Brampton
Burlington
Mo ...
NCAA exhibition
* On November 2, 2011, Scanzano was on loan from the
Toronto Furies
The Toronto Furies were a professional women's ice hockey team that played in Toronto, Ontario, as members of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. The Toronto Furies played their home games at the Mastercard Centre in Toronto. The team was establish ...
, as she appeared in one game for the
Brampton Thunder
The Markham Thunder was a professional women's ice hockey team in the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). From 1998 through 2017, the franchise was known as the Brampton Thunder and Brampton Canadettes-Thunder before relocating from Brampton, O ...
. The game was an exhibition contest versus her alma mater, the Mercyhurst Lakers. In the second period of said contest, Scanzano scored the game-winning goal as the Thunder defeated the Lakers by a 3-1 tally.
Regular season
News and notes
* October 13, 2011: The CWHL participated in two charity hockey games for cancer research at Windsor Arena. The event was called 'Stick It To Cancer' and the
Montreal Stars
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
competed versus the
Toronto Furies
The Toronto Furies were a professional women's ice hockey team that played in Toronto, Ontario, as members of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. The Toronto Furies played their home games at the Mastercard Centre in Toronto. The team was establish ...
in two games on Nov. 26 and 27. The campaign was organized in partnership by the CWHL, along with Breast Ride Ever, a not-for-profit organization. Proceeds from the games benefitted local cancer programs and the Hospice of Windsor and Essex County.
* On November 18, 2011, several
Burlington Barracudas players (including
Christina Kessler, Shannon Moulson,
Ashley Stephenson, Jana Harrigan, Amanda Shaw,
Annina Rajahuhta,
Samantha Shirley, Amanda Parkins, and Lindsay Vine) competed in the first ever
Hockey Helps the Homeless Hockey Helps the Homeless (HHTH) is a volunteer-driven charitable organization established in 1996 with an office in Richmond Hill, Canada. HHTH hosts all-day Pro-am and Collegiate hockey tournaments across Canadian cities where all funds raised loc ...
Women's Tournament, held at the Magna Centre in Newmarket, Ontario.
* On November 19, at Montreal, the second annual "Game on to beat breast cancer" benefit. The target to surpass the previous year's donation results was far exceeded. A new attendance record was also set at the game, with over 1,100 fans in the stands.
* On December 8, Montréal Stars offered a cheque for close to $15,000 to the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation
* Barracudas players
Christina Kessler and Shannon Moulson were part of an event at Power Play Sports in Niagara Falls, Ontario on December 20, 2011 to promote the
2012 Clarkson Cup (to be held in Niagara Falls). After the event, they met players from the NFGHA (Niagara Falls Girls Hockey League) for photographs and autographs.
Season standings
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, Pts = Points.
Team Alberta CWHL played only half of the number of regular matches. This was because of the geographical estrangement. Points were consequently adjusted with another teams.
Reference
League leaders
Scoring leaders
Goaltending leaders
Reference
Awards and honours
The 2012 CWHL Awards Banquet
was held on Mar. 21, 2012 in Niagara Falls, ON (during the
Clarkson Cup weekend). That night, the league formally recognized the Angela James Bowl winner, the Most Valuable Player, the Goaltender of the Year, the Rookie of the Year, and the Coach of the Year.
* Most Valuable Player:
Meghan Agosta
Meghan Christina Agosta (born February 12, 1987) is a Canadian women's ice hockey forward, who last played for the Montreal Stars of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. Agosta played for the Canada women's national ice hockey team and is a thr ...
, Montreal
*
Angela James Bowl: Top Scorer
Meghan Agosta
Meghan Christina Agosta (born February 12, 1987) is a Canadian women's ice hockey forward, who last played for the Montreal Stars of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. Agosta played for the Canada women's national ice hockey team and is a thr ...
, Montreal
* Outstanding Rookie:
Courtney Birchard, Brampton
* Coach of the Year:
Lauren McAuliffe, Boston
CWHL Top Players
* Top Forward:
Meghan Agosta
Meghan Christina Agosta (born February 12, 1987) is a Canadian women's ice hockey forward, who last played for the Montreal Stars of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. Agosta played for the Canada women's national ice hockey team and is a thr ...
, Montreal
* Top Defender:
Catherine Ward
Catherine Ward (born February 27, 1987) is a member of the Canada women's national ice hockey team. She was also a member of the 2008–09 McGill Martlets women's hockey season, which won a Canadian Interuniversity Sport title. She was drafted ...
, Montreal
* Top Goaltender:
Molly Schaus, Boston
CWHL All-Stars
First Team All-Stars
* Goaltender:
Molly Schaus, Boston
* Defender:
Catherine Ward
Catherine Ward (born February 27, 1987) is a member of the Canada women's national ice hockey team. She was also a member of the 2008–09 McGill Martlets women's hockey season, which won a Canadian Interuniversity Sport title. She was drafted ...
, Montreal
* Defender:
Molly Engstrom, Brampton
* Forward:
Meghan Agosta
Meghan Christina Agosta (born February 12, 1987) is a Canadian women's ice hockey forward, who last played for the Montreal Stars of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. Agosta played for the Canada women's national ice hockey team and is a thr ...
, Montreal
* Forward:
Caroline Ouellette
Caroline Ouellette (born May 25, 1979) is a Canadian former 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 member ...
, Montreal
* Forward:
Kelli Stack
Kelli Allison Stack (born January 13, 1988) is an American former ice hockey forward, who played for Kunlun Red Star in the Canadian Women's Hockey League. She is a member of the United States women's national ice hockey team. Stack competed ...
, Boston
Second Team All-Stars
* Goaltender:
Jenny Lavigne
Jenny may refer to:
* Jenny (given name), a popular feminine name and list of real and fictional people
* Jenny (surname), a family name
Animals
* Jenny (donkey), a female donkey
* Jenny (elephant), a female elephant in the German Army in World ...
, Montreal
* Defender:
Gigi Marvin, Boston
* Defender:
Tessa Bonhomme, Toronto
* Forward:
Gillian Apps
Gillian Mary Apps (born November 2, 1983) is a women's ice hockey player. Apps was a member of the Canadian National Hockey Team that won back to back gold medals in three consecutive Olympic Games.
As a psychology major at Dartmouth College in ...
, Brampton
* Forward:
Jayna Hefford
Jayna Hefford (born May 14, 1977) is a Canadian retired ice hockey player and current Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations for the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL).
Hefford got her start in the sport of ringette but soon moved ...
, Brampton
* Forward:
Vanessa Davidson, Montreal
CWHL All-Rookie Team
* Goaltender:
Molly Schaus, Boston
* Defender:
Catherine Ward
Catherine Ward (born February 27, 1987) is a member of the Canada women's national ice hockey team. She was also a member of the 2008–09 McGill Martlets women's hockey season, which won a Canadian Interuniversity Sport title. She was drafted ...
, Montreal
* Defender:
Courtney Birchard, Brampton
* Forward:
Meghan Agosta
Meghan Christina Agosta (born February 12, 1987) is a Canadian women's ice hockey forward, who last played for the Montreal Stars of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. Agosta played for the Canada women's national ice hockey team and is a thr ...
, Montreal
* Forward:
Kelli Stack
Kelli Allison Stack (born January 13, 1988) is an American former ice hockey forward, who played for Kunlun Red Star in the Canadian Women's Hockey League. She is a member of the United States women's national ice hockey team. Stack competed ...
, Boston
* Forward:
Erika Lawler
Erika Lyn Lawler (born February 5, 1987) is a retired Women's Ice Hockey player. She was notably a member of the 2009–10 United States national women's ice hockey team which participated in the 2010 Olympic Winter Games and a member of the Ca ...
, Boston
CWHL Monthly Top Scorer
* October:
Kelli Stack
Kelli Allison Stack (born January 13, 1988) is an American former ice hockey forward, who played for Kunlun Red Star in the Canadian Women's Hockey League. She is a member of the United States women's national ice hockey team. Stack competed ...
, Boston
* November:
Caroline Ouellette
Caroline Ouellette (born May 25, 1979) is a Canadian former 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 member ...
, Montreal
* December:
Meghan Agosta
Meghan Christina Agosta (born February 12, 1987) is a Canadian women's ice hockey forward, who last played for the Montreal Stars of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. Agosta played for the Canada women's national ice hockey team and is a thr ...
, Montreal
* January:
Meghan Agosta
Meghan Christina Agosta (born February 12, 1987) is a Canadian women's ice hockey forward, who last played for the Montreal Stars of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. Agosta played for the Canada women's national ice hockey team and is a thr ...
, Montreal
* February:
Meghan Agosta
Meghan Christina Agosta (born February 12, 1987) is a Canadian women's ice hockey forward, who last played for the Montreal Stars of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. Agosta played for the Canada women's national ice hockey team and is a thr ...
, Montreal
* March:
Gillian Apps
Gillian Mary Apps (born November 2, 1983) is a women's ice hockey player. Apps was a member of the Canadian National Hockey Team that won back to back gold medals in three consecutive Olympic Games.
As a psychology major at Dartmouth College in ...
, Brampton
Postseason
The postseason was held at the
Gale Centre in
Niagara Falls, Ontario
Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario, Canada, adjacent to, and named after, Niagara Falls. As of the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census, the city had a population of 94,415. The city is located on the Niagara Peninsula along the western bank of the ...
. All teams played in a round robin to determine the contestants in the
Clarkson Cup
The Clarkson Cup () is an ice hockey trophy awarded to Canada's national women's champions. Commissioned by former Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, the trophy was first unveiled in July 2006 when Clarkson ceremoniously presented it to the Ca ...
finals.
Clarkson Cup
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cwhl Season 2011-12