Clarkson Cup Playoff Race Heats Up in CWHL

Knox gets another shutout (BramptonThunder/Twitter)

Brampton Explodes for 5 Goals in First Period, Thunder win 6-0.

In what has been a fun and exciting season for the CWHL this weekend had some key matchups that would reconfigure seeding for the Clarkson Cup playoffs. Brampton has been playing really well since late December and they recently took a series against the Calgary Inferno who was in first heading into the weekend and a matchup with Montreal. Brampton had to focus on this contest versus the Toronto Furies who have struggled this season with only nine points on they year.

The Thunder started the first off with some potent offense, the first line played well to start the game and it was Jess Jones, who would give Brampton a 1-0 lead just 2:20 into the first period. A few minutes later Candice Styles, got the puck from Jones and put it past the Furies Christina Kessler and doubled the lead just five minutes into the period. Brampton would spend a large amount of the first period in the attacking zone, outshooting Toronto 12-6 in the first frame. However, the scoring was not over for the Thunder, Rebecca Vint scored on the power play, and again in another five minute span Brampton would score two goals to make it 4-0. Laura Fortino scored at 9:52 to make the tally 4-0, and Toronto did not look up to the task for a comeback. Late in the first Sarah Edney would sneak one past Kessler to give the Thunder their highest scoring period of the season with five in the first.

Torontos goaltender Christina Kessler was forced to make 30 saves on 36 shots but the offense for the Furies did not show up for this rivalry game. The Furies were award four penalties but count not convert on any going 0-4 on the power play and giving up a goal on the penalty kill displayed some issues with the Toronto special teams. While the Brampton defense notched three goals in the effort and Liz Knox completed the shutout stopping all 23 shots faced. Jess Jones contributed three points (2g, 1a) in yet another All-Star performance for the Thunder who moved two points behind second place with the win.

Marie-Philip Poulin Leads CWHL in Goals (Les Canadiennes/Twitter)

Calgary 4th Straight Loss, Montreal Into First in CWHL

The Calgary Inferno had started the season as one of the favorites to be in the Clarkson Cup finals. In the last few weeks they have shown vulnerability in matchups against the Brampton Thunder and Les Canadiennes de Montreal. Delayne Brian was unstoppable in net and the Calgary offense was clicking. However on the opposite end of the matchup (IN THIS CORNER!!!) we have a Les Canadiennes team that has been the best from beginning up until today. In the previous matchup between the two teams, Montreal would take the series. So why would this weekend be any different? Well following Brampton’s sweep of Calgary, wins this weekend for Montreal would shift the Clarkson Cup playoff picture.

In game one on Saturday, Calgary and Montreal battled through a scoreless first period. The Inferno kept the high scoring offense in check and Delayne Brian was amazing between the pipes. Les Canadiennes would need some of the offense opportunities to go in if they would want to come away with the win.

In the second period, Montreal had a huge offense night from Caroline Ouellette, scoring twice and earning an assist in the 5-2 win over Calgary. Watching this game, Montreal just simple played better, Calgary struggled to keep up and Brian was forced to work in net. Charline Labonte on the opposite end registered 26 saves and kept the Calgary offense from gaining any momentum.

Game Two:

In game two Sunday afternoon, the two teams would again come out in the first period and get a feel for the offense attack. Calgary started off applying pressure on the Inferno defense but Labonte again was great in net. Calgary would be out shot in the period 9-7 but the quality of chances favored the Inferno.

After another scoreless first period between the top two teams in the league, Les Canadiennes do what they do best score! The second has been the best period for Montreal this season; the team has scored their most goals in the frame and would get two in this one. Marie-Philip Poulin who has been a heart breaker to opponents since her days at Boston University yet again showed why she is arguably the greatest player in women’s hockey. Just 20 seconds in Poulin would move into the attacking zone and score past Brian. 20 seconds later Ouellette would do the same and quickly in the second Montreal had a 2-0 lead.

They say 2-0 leads are usually the most difficult to hold in hockey, and as most people will tell you that all depends on who scores the next goal. Going into the third those questioned lingered, could Calgary make it a one-goal deficit and keep control of first place or would Montreal surpass them? That was answered quickly when Poulin just 23 seconds into the period scored off the assist by Kim Deschenes. Montreal would win 3-1 and take control of first place in the CWHL Standings.

RECAP:

Last year was a better year for me since the Boston Blades were competitive but hey a saying every Boston fan knew for a long time was “well there’s always next year, right?” We are spoiled fans here but I digress. Initially I thought it would be Montreal and Calgary in the Clarkson Cup finals and some people might still feel that way. I have seen a lot of the Inferno games this season and probably more than any other team, at times they look great and other times sluggish and not up to the competition on the ice. Montreal is hands down the best team in the league their talent ranges from top to bottom and the experienced coaching staff has them playing some elite hockey. Julie Chu and Marie-Philip Poulin working together is such an absolutely dirty combination and the first unit for Montreal could be the best ever. Brampton is definitely a team that I have grown to like, Kyle Wescott recently made some great points about the quality of opponents and how Calgary will end up third. I liked that argument, they have played better lately and with the Inferno slipping I can see a jump happening. The Furies are locked into the fourth spot unless Boston can pull off a miraculous February run. The Clarkson Cup playoffs were fun last year this year I can’t wait to see the excitement it brings to Ottawa