The Fearless, Frozen Females of Hockey

The March 8 contest between the Montreal Stars and the Boston Blades at the Arena Etienne-Desmarteau encompassed many unique elements. From the outset, the Stars enjoyed a sold-out crowd of 14,000 fans as they held their annual Breast Cancer fundraiser. Of note, several players from the IWFL’s Montreal Blitz, the Tier II champions of 2013, were on-hand to show their support. Adding to the spectacle was the fact that several CWHL stars, including the likes of Julie Chu, Hilary Knight, Genevieve Lacasse and Caroline Ouellette were returning to league play after remarkable performances at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games. With CWHL commissioner Brenda Andress participating in the ceremonial face off, the aforementioned (along with Lauriane Rougeau and Catherine Ward who were inactive for the game) joined her at centre ice. As Stars players were standing proudly on the blue line adorned in pink jerseys (which were auctioned off afterwards for Breast Cancer research), captains Cathy Cha

While the challenge to become the first nation to grab four consecutive gold medals in women’s hockey at the Winter Games brought with it a significant amount of pressure, the support of two of the most successful Canadian women to compete in bobsled supplied an inspiring and comforting source of motivation. A thoughtful hand-written letter to the women’s team not only brought with it a touch of class, but it captured the hearts and minds of Canadians from coast-to-coast. Its legend only grew when famed Canadian hockey commentator Ron McLean showed the letter on CBC Television, prior to the broadcast of the gold medal finale. As the Canadian national team held their Centralization Camp in Calgary, Alberta, the same city where many of the training facilities for Winter Sports athletes (such as Moyse and Humphries) exist, a friendship with the accomplished bobsledders developed prior to Sochi. With it, a mutual respect for the hard work and sacrifice needed to be considered the wo