CWHL Weekend Round Up: Montreal and Toronto Earn Sweeps
Furies earn two wins on weekend (@TheCWHL/Twitter)
Game 1: Toronto def. Boston 2-1 OT
Toronto, Ont. - The Toronto Furies dropped the puck on their season with a thrilling 2-1, overtime win against the visiting Boston Blades on Saturday. The Furies returned key players on offense from last years roster including Natalie Spooner and Carolyne Prevost. Both players played a huge role in game one of the series, leading their team to victory.
Boston on the other hand brings to the season the youngest team in the CWHL this year. Although the professional experience is not prevalent on the roster the team is looking to build off a last place finish last season.
Toronto pressured the Blades early and outshot their opponents 33-7 through the first two periods. Although neither team could break through on the offensive end, the Furies were in control of puck possession throughout the contest.
Lauren Dahm earned the starting goaltending role this off-season and was spectacular in net for Boston, making 54 saves in the game. Natalie Spooner broke through in the third period on a great individual effort, Spooner worked through the defense and beat Dahm top shelf, glove side to give Toronto a 1-0 lead.
Boston picked up it's offensive attack following the Furies score, and Erin Kickham responded for the Blades two minutes later. Kickham found herself in front of the net when the puck trickled by and she place a stick on it to beat Christina Kessler who made 15 saves on the night.
In overtime the Furies continued to apply pressure but continued to take unnecessary penalties. Ranata Fast took a roughing after the whistle minor with under a minute to play in regulation and Carlee Campbell in overtime was assessed a hooking penalty. Boston could not convert on either advantage and struggled to put a quality look on Kessler. The Furies would convert when Spooner skated into the slot, and put a shot off of Dahm, Prevost was there for the cleanup and put this one on ice for the Furies.
Game 2: Toronto def. Boston 6-1
After playing into overtime in game one, you could see the fatigue in both teams on the ice on Sunday. Boston again struggled to put shots on net, this time Sonja van der Bliek started in between the pipes for the Furies. Van der Bliek made 18 saves on the night, nine of which came in the first period.
The Furies defense kept Boston in check throughout the game forcing turnovers in that led to multiple scoring opportunities for the opening period. Toronto put 11 shots on net and scored twice against Dahm, who had played a spectacular 60+ minutes on Saturday night. Carolyne Prevost took a pass from Julie Allen and finished to put the Furies ahead 1-0 nine minutes in. About five minutes later, Natalie Spooner went in shorthanded and found the back of the net to double the lead for Toronto.
Spooner will be a player to watch for this years league MVP, her game has only improved over the last few years and the growing confidence in her ability to score is up there with the Hilary Knights, and Marie-Philip Poulin's of the world.
After a scoreless second period, the teams took the ice for the final 20 minutes with the Furies still ahead 2-0. In the third Toronto would explode for four goals in the frame, continuously attacking the net and capitalizing on defensive errors by the Blades.
Rookie, Michela Cava notched the third goal for the Furies six minutes into the period to give Toronto a 3-0 lead. Cava had her first shot turned away but the patient Furies offense worked the puck around the zone to find Cava again and this time she did not miss. The Furies added two more goals before Boston's Kate Leary put the Blades on the board to make it 5-1.
Fatigue played a huge part in this one for the Blades, in the third Dahm gave up four goals on nine shots. Although the defense played a lot better than game one, Boston's still struggling offensively to get the puck into the net.
Toronto displayed their offensive capabilities in this series, Dahm for her part made some amazing saves to keep the Blades in striking range but the combination of Spooner and Prevost along with others was too much in game two. Toronto wins 6-1.
The Furies will play Les Canadiennes in a two game series this upcoming weekend.
Les Canadiennes Take Two From Brampton Thunder
Les Canadiennes earn two wins on weekend (Jess Bazal/CWHL)
Game 1: Montreal def. Brampton 5-2
Brampton, Ont. - Les Canadiennes are coming off an incredible season in which they finished first in the CWHL and made it all the way to the Clarkson Cup finals, where they fell to the Calgary Inferno. The team stacked with talent will be looking for redemption this season and it all started with the Brampton Thunder on Saturday.
Montreal quickly jumped out to a 1-0 lead when 2:36 into the first period, Kim Deschenes and Marie-Philip Poulin connected on the offense rush for Deschenes first goal of the season. After some back and forth for 10 minutes, Poulin and Deschenes worked together to find rookie Sarah Lefort who notched her first career CWHL goal on the play. A minute later, Brampton responded when Laura Stacey found the back of the net to cut the deficit in half.
In the second period both teams played great defense and shutdown the shooting lanes. Brampton took over the shot count in the period, being more aggressive in the offensive zone. It payed off midway through the period when Laura Fortino evened the score at two a piece.
In the third it was all Montreal, the team outshot the Thunder 11-6 and converted three scores in the frame. It started when Ann-Sophie Bettez and Melanie Desrochers connected midway through the third, Bettez giving Les Canadiennes the lead. Her goal would stand as the game winner, as Caroline Ouellette and Jordanna Peroff added scores of their own to make it a 5-2 final. Charline Labonte shutdown the Thunder, especially in the third and earned the first star for her performance.
Game 2: Montreal def. Brampton 3-2
After a dominate third period in game one for Les Canadiennes, Sunday afternoon the team built on that offensive attack and added two goals in the first period. Lefort added her second goal to the season and on the assist was Poulin. Poulin notched her 100th career point on the play and impressively has done so in just 46 career games. Bettez scored two minutes later to give Montreal a 2-0 lead going into the second period.
In the first Brampton struggled to get shots on net, trailing 11-5 after the opening period. In the second, they became more aggressive on the attack and brought the shot count a bit closer. However, midway in the period, Poulin notched her 50th career goal and gave Les Canadiennes a commanding 3-0 lead.
Brampton pushed for an attack for a late rush in the second. Jamie Lee Rattray found the back of the net on a power play to give the Thunder some life with just a few seconds left in the period.
Both teams battled in the third. Lix Knox stood tall in net for Brampton and allowed them to stay in the contest. With just over five minutes left, Jess Jones brought the deficit to one when she scored off of a Laura Stacey pass . Lebonte responded in the last few minutes of the third making some huge saves to keep the Thunder from taking this one into overtime.
Les Canadiennes take on the Toronto Furies this upcoming weekend in CWHL Action
