The 2011 Clarkson Cup was contested at the

Barrie Molson Centre Sadlon Arena (formerly known as the Barrie Molson Centre) is a 4,195-seat multi-purpose arena in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. It is primarily home to the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League. It is located in the south end of the city on Bayview ...

Barrie Barrie is a city in Central Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay. Although it is physically in the county, Barrie is politically independent. The city is part ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. The four competing teams included three from the

Canadian Women's Hockey League The Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL; ) was a women's ice hockey league. Established in 2007 as a Canadian women's Senior ice hockey, senior league in the Greater Toronto Area, Montreal, and Ottawa, the league expanded into Alberta (2011) and ...

and one from the

Western Women's Hockey League The Western Women's Hockey League (WWHL) was a women's hockey league in Canada. The league was established in 2004, and consisted of teams in Canada (some former National Women's Hockey League teams) and one from the United States. The league offi ...

. All teams played each other in a round robin Thursday March 24 through Saturday March 26, with the top two teams meeting in the final Sunday March 27. In 2010 the tournament consisted of just two semi-finals and a final. A change to the format this year has made the tournament longer.

Qualification

The top four teams from the CWHL competed in a tournament based on seedings. Seeds were determined by standings at end of regular season play. On March 11 and 12, the number 1 seed played against the number 2 seed while the number 3 seed challenged the number 4 seed. The victors competed on March 13 to determine the CWHL champion. The WWHL champion was the lone WWHL team to compete in the Clarkson Cup.

Boston Blades Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of and a ...

is eliminated and cannot participate in the Clarkson Cup Championship.

Montreal Stars Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Brampton Thunder The Markham Thunder was a professional women's ice hockey team in the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). From 1998 through 2017, the franchise was known as the Brampton Thunder and Brampton Canadettes-Thunder before relocating from Brampton, O ...

and Toronto HC participated in the final tournament. The

Minnesota Whitecaps The Minnesota Whitecaps were a professional ice hockey team in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). They played in Richfield, Minnesota, part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, at the Richfield Ice Arena. Established in 2004, the ...

of the WWHL complete the four teams.

Rosters

Brampton Thunder

Coaching Staff

* ''General Manager:'' Maria Quinto and Jody Katz * ''Head Coach:'' Peter Crosby * ''Assistant Coach:'' Phil Bateman * ''Assistant Coach:'' Kristi Alcorn

Montreal Stars

Coaching staff

* ''General Manager:'' Megh Hewings * ''Head Coach:''Patrick Rankine * ''Assistant Coach:'' Philipe Trahan

Minnesota Whitecaps

Coaching staff

* ''Head Coach:'' Jack Brodt * ''Assistant Coach:'' Dwayne Schmidgall * ''Assistant Coach:'' Jim Minkoff

Toronto

Coaching Staff

*General Manager: Barb Fisher *Head coach: Dan Lichterman *Assistant coach: Joanne Eustace *Assistant coach: Bartley Blair

Tournament

In the first games, Toronto and Montreal earned victories over Brampton and Minnesota . In the second day,

Sarah Vaillancourt Sarah Marie Vaillancourt (born May 8, 1985) is a Canadian women's ice hockey player. She is a member of the Canada women's national team and a member of Montreal Stars (CWHL). 2-time Olympic Gold Medallist / World Championships Gold / 4-time Wo ...

scored 3 goals during the game to lead Montreal to a 7-4 victory over Brampton. In another match,

Sami Jo Small Sami Jo Small (born March 25, 1976) is a Canadian former ice hockey goaltender. As a member of the Canada women's national ice hockey team, Canadian national team, she was an Olympic Games, Olympic gold medallist and four-time IIHF World Women ...

celebrated her 35th birthday by stopping 40 shots to lead Toronto to a 6-0 win over Minnesota. The Championships tournament ran over the weekend. Saturday, Montreal scored a crucial victory 2-1 against Toronto. This win guaranteed Montreal a place in the Clarkson Cup final on Sunday against Toronto, who also recorded two victories in the tournament.

Championship game

March 27 Sunday: The final game concluded with the powerful Montreal team defeating Toronto 5 - 0. Montreal got off to a 2 - 0 lead in the first period, The first goal was scored by

Noémie Marin Noémie Marin (born April 5, 1984 in Acton Vale, Quebec) is a former two-sport athlete that played ice hockey and softball. She was a four-time Clarkson Cup winner and she retired as the CWHL's all-time leading goalscorer. Softball In so ...

on a backhand from her off wing at 14:47 as she converted a pass from

Caroline Ouellette Caroline Ouellette (born May 25, 1979) is a Canadian former ice hockey player and current associate head coach of the Concordia Stingers women's ice hockey program. She was a member of the Canadian national women's ice hockey team and a member ...

. The second goal was scored at 7:29 minute from a face off in the Toronto end as Dominique Thibault took the draw and Vanessa Davidson skated off the boards, picked up the puck and put a quick shot behind goaltender

. The lone goal of the second period was scored at 10:36 by

Sabrina Harbec Sabrina Harbec (born March 20, 1985) is a hockey player and the third winner of the Angela James Bowl after leading the CWHL with 15 goals and 39 assists in 29 games. Her performance helped the Stars finish first overall in league standing ...

on a nice outside drive cutting by

Annie Guay Annie Guay (born June 29, 1985) is a Canadian ice hockey player. She is a member of the Canadian national women's hockey team and a member of Montreal Stars (CWHL). Her first tournament for the senior Canada women's national ice hockey team was ...

pulled the goalie across the crease and put the puck in the top corner. The shots at the end of the second period were 34 to 17 in favour of the

. Montreal added two more goals in the third period to capture the 5-0 win Final game. At the 5:33 minute,

Julie Chu Julie Wu Chu (born March 13, 1982) is an American-Canadian former Olympic ice hockey player who played forward on the United States women's ice hockey team and defense with Les Canadiennes of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). She won ...

feathered a pass to

, who made a perfect low shot to score. The final goal of the game was scored with 2:42 left as

picked up a pass from

and she hit the mark on a quick shot from about five feet out. Toronto goalie

played well in defeat as Montreal controlled the game outshooting Toronto 51 to 26. Toronto did threaten offensively early in the game and could have turned the contest around but Montreal goalie,

Kim St-Pierre Kim St-Pierre (born December 14, 1978) is a Canadian ice hockey player. She is a three-time Olympic gold medallist and five-time IIHF world champion. She was announced as a Hockey Hall of Fame inductee on June 24, 2020. She was named to the Ord ...

, came up with exceptional saves to earn the shutout and ultimately crown

the Clarkson Cup Champions 2011. *The Three Stars of the Game: First Star - Dominique Thibault, Montreal. Second Star - Vanessa Davidson, Montreal. Third Start - Jennifer Botterill, Toronto.

Awards and honours

References

{{Professional Women's Hockey seasons

Sport in Barrie

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

Qualification

Rosters

Brampton Thunder

Coaching Staff

Montreal Stars

Coaching staff

Minnesota Whitecaps

Coaching staff

Toronto

Coaching Staff

Tournament

Championship game

Awards and honours

See also

References