The Fearless, Frozen Females of Hockey

Emerging as one of the surprises of the 2015-16 hockey season, Valeria Lamenta’s fairy tale season continues with recognition as the most outstanding player in Canadian Interuniversity Sport women’s ice hockey. Only in her second year with the Guelph Gryphons, the resident of Montreal has made a significant impression. From the outset, her nod as the Brodrick Trophy winner makes her the first recipient in Guelph program history. In addition, she is only the third goaltender honored, joining a class that includes former Canadian national team members Kim St. Pierre, who starred at McGill in 2003 when she won the trophy, and Wilfrid Laurier’s Liz Knox, who garnered the honor in 2010. As a side note, the other nominees for the honor included AUS representative Kelty Apperson of St. Thomas and a pair of former Brodrick Trophy winners, Sochi Winter Games gold medalist Melodie Daoust (2013) with RSEQ powerhouse McGill and Iya Gavrilova (2015), a superstar with Canada West’s Calgary Di

As professional women’s hockey experienced its first season since 2010-11 (dating back to the CWHL and the now-defunct WWHL) which saw two championships contested, the result was an exceptional number of historic firsts. Adding to the sense of history was the fact that there were many unique coincidences and connections, contributing to a new chapter of six degrees of separation in women’s hockey. The inaugural Isobel Cup was contested in Newark , New Jersey , home of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, and captured by the NWHL’s Boston Pride. With the win, Boston became the first women’s hockey city to capture women’s hockey titles in two separate leagues. The Blades captured the CWHL’s Clarkson Cup in 2013 and 2015, while the Pride became the NWHL’s first-ever champions. Although the Pride enjoyed the jubilation of being crowned as champions, it was an event noted by compassion as the squad dedicated their Cup victory to Denna Laing, who suffered a career-ending injury at the inau