The Fearless, Frozen Females of Hockey

Continuing to stake her claim as the next superstar in women’s ice hockey, Jamie Lee Rattray finds new ways to impress. Her two-goal performance in the gold medal game of the 2016 Nations Cup proved to be the difference maker as Canada’s U22-Development team prevailed over Finland. With the gold medal proudly adorning her neck, it has now represented the third consecutive year in which Rattray has won at least one major hockey championship. This season continues a run of achievements that can be traced back to 2014, which also signified the end of a major chapter in her hockey career. In her senior year with the Clarkson Golden Knights (based in Potsdam, New York), Rattray captured the prestigious Patty Kazmaier Award, the first in program history to do so. Followign it up with a 2014 Frozen Four championship (the first national title in Clarkson University history), such a glorious ending would only set the stage for the beginning of a sensational legacy. Competing with a g...

Home to the prominent Ottawa Vanier Women’s Ball Hockey League (OVWBHL), the hockey mad city of Ottawa played host to the 2015 Canadian Ball Hockey Association (CBHA) nationals. Hosting six women’s teams, including three from Ontario, at the Jim Durrell Recreation Complex, the quest for gold featured an exceptionally strong amount of talent. From the outset, the OVWBHL featured two of its teams in the Nationals, including the Vanier Mooseheads, who captured the 2014 championship. Their top players were goaltender Nathalie Girouard and forward Elysia Desmier, who both played for Canada in a gold medal effort at the 2015 ISBHF Worlds. Joining them were OVWBHL rivals, the Ottawa Rebels, featuring several Team Canada alumnae, including Fannie Desforges and Jessica O’Grady. Of note, both were also members of the 2014 Mooseheads, with O’Grady scoring the gold-medal winning goal. The presence of such talented players ensured that the promise of high quality ball hockey defined the eve...

During the offseason, many CWHL clubs held surveys, asking their fans which types of merchandising they would like to possibly purchase. Among the offerings that fans showed strong response to, one item in particular was hockey cards. While several CWHL players that have competed for the Canadian or American national teams have earned the cardboard treatment, the chance to be part of a CWHL themed set represents a new experience. Starting the new trend towards its players being featured on hockey cards is the Brampton Thunder. Such an exciting offering also helps to enrich the fan experience. For generations of young boys in the post World War II era, sports cards featuring their favorite hockey, baseball and football players added an exciting new dimension to their sport of choice, while providing a stronger connection to the athletes they idolized. For the young female fans of the Brampton Thunder, the 2014-15 season has enabled them the chance to experience that same conn...

As the Brampton Thunder rebuild, hoping to recapture the glories of season’s past, an impressive rookie crop forms the foundation. Led by Sochi gold medalist Laura Fortino (the first overall pick in the 2014 CWHL Draft) along with 2014 Patty Kazmaier Award winner Jamie Lee Rattray at forward, a patient fan base sees only good things ahead. Such an example was evident during the Thunder’s season opener. Facing off against the Calgary Inferno, who made significant offseason upgrades to their offense, the host team Thunder put up a valiant fight. Standing between the pipes was rookie backstop Erica Howe. Having grown up in the Ottawa area with Rattray, the two have been teammates at the PWHL, IIHF and NCAA levels, winning the NCAA Frozen Four title in 2014. While the Inferno’s offense overwhelmed Brampton, prevailing by a 5-2 score, the rookie crop never gave up. Howe only gave up one goal in the first period (Jenna Cunningham at 9:02) while stifling four power play attempts by t...

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...

A total of nine goals were logged in a pulse-pounding NCAA Frozen Four contest destined to go down in history as one of its most important matches ever. With the defending two-time national champion Minnesota Golden Gophers entering the contest with a 38-1-1 mark, the crowd at High Point Solutions Arena in Hamden, Connecticut (site of the 2014 Frozen Four) could be forgiven if they believed the Gophers were the heavy favorites. Opposing the Golden Gophers was an ambitious Clarkson Golden Knights program that had reached several milestones. From winning its first-ever ECAC regular season title, the Golden Knights were also competing in their first-ever Frozen Four. Clarkson certainly entered the game with a significant boost of morale. The night before, the 2014 Patty Kazmaier Award was bestowed upon Jamie Lee Rattray, the all-time leading scorer in Golden Knights history. Having beaten Gophers skater Hannah Brandt for the honor, it was a foreshadowing of things to come. Aft...