The Fearless, Frozen Females of Hockey

The upcoming 2014-15 season is one that may prove to be a turning point in the proud women’s hockey history of Sweden. With the 2015 edition of the IIHF Women’s World Championship taking place in Malmö, the feelings of excitement and anticipation are rising rapidly. After competing in the relegation round versus the Czech Republic at the 2013 IIHF Women’s Worlds in Ottawa, Canada, there is no question that the Swedish team is hoping to avoid such an outcome on home soil. Taking into account that the 2013 team consisted of many young players, there was definitely an adjustment period in question. A strong turning point occurred at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games. Not only did Sweden compete in the bronze medal game (despite a heartbreaking loss to Switzerland, who claimed their first bronze), the aftermath of the Games provided more encouragement. In addition to speculation that Hilary Knight was offered an opportunity to play in a Swedish men’s league, a pair of elite Canadian players

Hailing from Peabody, Massachusetts, goaltender Stephanie Ciampa earned the unique distinction of being the final player selected in the 2014 CWHL Draft. Selected by the hometown Boston Blades, the squad already features the likes of goaltenders such as Genevieve Lacasse, Molly Schaus and Brittany Ott, who started the championship game of the 2014 Clarkson Cup. Coincidentally, it marks the second consecutive season that Boston had the last pick overall. Adding to that is the fact that Boston selected a goaltender with their last pick in the 2013 CWHL Draft. Zoe Zisis, the first (and only) player in CWHL history to have both initials commence with a Z, was the pick in question. Of note, she would see some ice time, in a back-up role to Ott. Another unique factor about Ciampa is the fact that she was the only player from the Mercyhurst Lakers selected in the 2014 edition of the draft. Christine Bestland, who graduated as the second all-time leading scorer in program history

Next to Meghan Agosta, the greatest player in Mercyhurst Lakers history may have been Christine Bestland. Having graduated from Mercyhurst with 226 points (92 goals and 134 assists), including 32 power play goals and 20 game-winning tallies, Bestland continued the strong legacy of elite scorers that have donned the Mercyhurst jersey. Considering that she spent at least half of her Lakers career without the likes of superstars such as Meghan Agosta, Vicki Bendus, Bailey Bram, Jesse Scanzano and Hilary Pattenden, Bestland was the offensive catalyst from 2012-14, testament to her talent. In her last two seasons, she recorded an astounding 126 points as the Lakers enjoyed a pair of consecutive Frozen Four appearances. Joining the program on the heels of making her mark on Canadian hockey history, helping Canada win its first-ever gold medal at the IIHF Under-18 Women’s Worlds, Bestland was ready to make her mark on the program. As a side note, she also enjoyed the rare distinction

After a fifth-place finish in Winnipeg , Natalie Spooner and Meaghan Mikkelson were hoping to return to their winning ways with the seventh leg of the race. To the surprise of all the competitors involved, the next leg of Amazing Race Canada took them overseas. Travelling to Normandy , France in an episode titled “Lest We Forget”, the leg would provide all competitors with a unique first-hand experience of Canadian history. Part of six teams that were still in the Race, Spooner and Mikkelson arrived at the Boulard Calvados distillery first.   Offering to compete in the roadblock, Mikkelson was working with a mathematical formula to remove a sample of apple brandy from one of the hundreds of barrels in stock, working towards achieving a 40 per cent alcohol content. Mikkelson’s struggles allowed other teams to catch up and eventually by-pass them. Mikkelson would re-group and realize that the problem was that she was not using the same size tools as were shown in the d

Over two decades ago, a generation of hockey card collectors was introduced to a special collectible on the back of boxes of Kraft Dinner and Kraft Spirals. Cards featuring National Hockey League players from the Canadian-based teams were introduced in the autumn of 1989. It comprised the first year of a highly popular hockey card offering that so many collectors gladly cut out of the back of Kraft Dinner and Kraft Spirals boxes. A trip to the grocery store became a collecting experience as collectors were eager to scrounge through backs of boxes looking for the cards needed to complete their collections. In later years, the popularity of the product resulted in Kraft expanding their card offerings to the backs of Jell-O products, along with panes of stickers inserted in Kraft Singles Processed Cheese. At a time when sports cards reached unprecedented levels of popularity, Kraft Foods provided an affordable yet exciting product for new and experienced collectors alike. Takin

Returning to home soil for the fifth leg of Amazing Race Canada , Natalie Spooner and Meaghan Mikkelson maintained grace under pressure. Despite being the first to leave from the Statue of Mercy at Macau towards the Hong Kong Airport , all competitors boarded the plane at the same time. This took away the advantage of being in first. When the plane landed at Vancouver , they should have been given a 15 minute head start. Before boarding the plane, Spooner and Mikkelson had to make the decision of which team they would allocate their Express Pass to. The hockey heroes would show loyalty to the French Canadian twins, Pierre and Michel. Of note, they assisted them in Macau in helping to locate the vendor on Happiness Street in Macau that would provide them with their next clue. In return for the Express Pass , the twins promised to not U-Turn the hockey heroes on a future leg of the race. Once word got about to the other teams, jealousy and gossip began. One team had the au

Heading into the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games, collectors were witness to resurgence in women’s hockey cards. Upper Deck presented the promise for a bright future as its O-Pee-Chee brand featured a unique insert series recognizing the Canadian men’s and women’s hockey teams. The insert series featured the roster of the 2009 Canadian women’s team that competed at the IIHF Worlds. For players such as Marie-Philip Poulin and Shannon Szabados, these issues would prove to be their rookie cards. In addition, a foilboard card of Manon Rheaume (in her Tampa Bay Lightning uniform no less) was an added attraction, building the momentum of her previous card release in Upper Deck Masterpieces. In the aftermath of Vancouver , Upper Deck issued another insert series titled The Champions. Randomly inserted in 2009-10 Upper Deck Series 2 Hockey (released in late winter 2010), the series honored American and Canadian Winter Games heroes past and presented. Collectors would also search for va