The Fearless, Frozen Females of Hockey

On the surface, the year 2011 may seem like a failure to the Canadian women’s team. Despite some great performances (Kelly Babstock being named ECAC Player of the Year, Meghan Agosta becoming the NCAA leading scorer, and Hillary Pattenden becoming the NCAA all-time wins leader), there were some heartbreaking events. It began with the United States usurping Canada (the defending champs) at the IIHF Under 18 worlds. Despite a gold medal for Canada at the MLP Cup, silver seemed to be the defining colour of the year. In April, the United States bested Canada at the IIHF World Championships. This event was preceeded by another painful loss. In selecting the 2011 Patty Kazmaier Award (given to the top NCAA female player), American Meghan Duggan beat out Meghan Agosta to claim the prize. Several months later, another   setback was endured. August 2011 marked the first IIHF 8 Nations (also promoted as 12 Nations) Tournament. In the round robin, Canada suffered its second ever loss at the hands

Cheers to Sportsnet Magazine for its article on the Canadian Women's Hockey League. Said article helps bring awareness to a league that desperately requires one. The imbalances that exist are eye opening. The concept of a world class athlete like Jayna Hefford (competing for the Brampton Thunder) having to work three part time jobs, while a fourth line forward in professional men's hockey can earn $500,000 reflects a great disparity. Although it is true that Hefford will one day be in the Hockey Hall of Fame, the road to get there will have been a hard one. Based on past failures in the United States of professional women's soccer, and the struggles of some franchises in the Women's National Basketball Association, attracting a potential investor will be an arduous task. It would be easy to say that professional men's hockey has a moral obligation to subsidize the league. As the CWHL is a not for profit organization, a strong selling point would be the idea of a con

Despite making women's ice hockey history on December 14, 2011, there are still many more milestones to accomplish for Mercyhurst Lakers goaltender Hillary Pattenden. In breaking Jessie Vetter's all-time wins mark of 91, Pattenden has staked her claim as one of the greatest goalies to ever play in the NCAA. Career win 100 is still within reach, and if she can reach that milestone, she will always hold the claim of being the first to hit the century mark. (Pattenden was also the first freshman goaltender to have at least 20 victories in one season). The other milestone that has eldued Pattenden is an NCAA Frozen Four championship. As a freshman, Pattenden participated in the championship game of the 2009 NCAA Frozen Four. In an ironic passing of the torch, the opposing goaltender in that game was Jessie Vetter of Wisconsin. Despite a strong showing by Mercyhurst, Vetter ended her NCAA career as a champion. Heartbreak ensued in 2011 as Mercyhurst (with Winter Games gold medallist

One element that was established at the Under-18 ice hockey exhibition between Canada and the United States in Rockland, Ontario is that the rest of the world is not yet ready to catch up to them. Those three games were filled with as much emotion and drama as the gold medal hockey games at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games. Both teams played their hearts out and impressed all in attendance. Canada and the US split the first two games, and the third game was tied at 3-3 after two periods. The level of intensity in ice hockey between these two countries is clearly at all competitive levels. With all the excitement and high level of competition (including scouting by former Winter Games head coaches Melody Davidson and Ben Smith) that was displayed on the ice, there were several players that intrigued:                 Erin Ambrose : Hockey card aficionados already know that she has appeared on cardboard (2010 Upper Deck World of Sports card # 173). Ambrose’s on-ice leadership is reminiscen

With the Canada Sports Hall of Fame in her native Calgary, there should be strong consideration for Joan Snyder as a builder. Snyder’s donations in 2011 ($500K to the Calgary Dinos women’s team and $2 million towards the Winsport Canada facility) are a watershed moment in Western Canadian women’s ice hockey history. Snyder’s contributions help bring stability and structure to a sport that deserved it, but struggled to find it. With the CWHL’s ambitious westward expansion, Team Alberta now has a foundation it can build on. The concept that the club has their own dressing room and training facilities may be taken for granted in other sports, yet it brings this expansions franchise professionalism and dignity. Of note, the discussion of allowing the facility to be used for other women’s teams in the world has also been visited. Although the opportunity of using the Winsport facility as a springboard towards respectability is alluring, it will take a generation (or two), before the rest o