PWHL Montréal LPHF Montréal (French) | |
---|---|
City | Montreal, Quebec |
League | Professional Women's Hockey League |
Founded | 29 August, 2023 |
Home arena | Verdun Auditorium Place Bell |
Colours | Burgundy, sand and storm |
Owner(s) | Mark Walter Group |
General manager | Daniele Sauvageau [1] |
Head coach | Kori Cheverie [2] |
Captain | Marie-Philip Poulin |
Website | montreal.thepwhl.com |
Current season |
PWHL Montreal [3] [4] is a professional women's ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec. They are one of the six charter franchises of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). [5] They play home games at the Place Bell in Laval and the Verdun Auditorium in Verdun. [6]
On August 29, 2023, it was announced that one of the PWHL's first six franchises would be located in Montreal. [7] On September 1, Daniele Sauvageau, the one-time coach for Canada's national team, was announced as the team's general manager. [8] Kori Cheverie, a former assistant coach with the Canadian national team and the first woman to have coached a Canadian men's hockey team, was named the team's inaugural coach on September 13. [9] [10]
Montréal's first three players—Canadian national team members Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey, and Ann-Renee Desbiens—were signed on September 5, 2023. [11] At the 2023 PWHL Draft on September 18, the team selected 15 players; their first pick, at sixth overall, was Canadian national team member Erin Ambrose. [12]
The team colours were officially announced on November 14, 2023 as burgundy, "sand", and "storm". [13] Later that month, it was revealed that the team would host the majority of its games at the Verdun Auditorium, with four games at Place Bell. [14] [15] On December 29, the team announced that Poulin would serve as team captain, with Stacey and Erin Ambrose serving as assistant captains. [16]
Montréal's first ever game took place on January 2, 2024, against Ottawa; the 8,318 fans in attendance at Ottawa's TD Place Arena set a new attendance record for professional women's hockey. [17] Claire Dalton scored the first goal in franchise history. Although Montréal twice trailed in the game, Ann-Sophie Bettez scored in overtime to secure the team's first win by a score of 3–2. [17] The team hosted its first home game on January 13, with Boston securing a 3–2 overtime win in front of a sold-out crowd at Verdun Auditorium. [18]
On February 16, 2024, Montréal played a match hosted by Toronto at Scotiabank Arena in a game dubbed by the league as "The Battle on Bay Street". [19] The game set a league and women’s hockey attendance record with a sellout crowd of 19,285, beating the previous record of 18,013 at the 2013 IIHF Women's World Championship. [20] Two months later, on April 20, Montréal hosted Toronto in its first-ever home match at the Bell Centre (the home of the NHL's Canadiens), selling out the arena and setting another new attendance record (21,105). [21] This game was known as "The Duel at the Top." [22]
No. | Nat | Player | Pos | S/G | Age | Acquired | Birthplace |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
34 | Liliane Perreault | F | R | 24 | 2024 | Toronto, Ontario | |
3 | Brooke Stacey | F | L | 27 | 2024 | Kahnawake, Quebec | |
Held on September 18, 2023, the inaugural PWHL draft used a "snake draft" format with the selection order reversing after each round; Montreal held the sixth and final pick in the first round. [27] [28]
Rd | Pick | Player | Nationality | Position | Previous team |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 6 | Erin Ambrose | Canada | Defence | Team Sonnet (PWHPA) |
2 | 7 | Kristin O'Neill | Canada | Forward | Team Adidas (PWHPA) |
3 | 18 | Maureen Murphy | United States | Forward | Northeastern (Hockey East) |
4 | 19 | Dominika Lásková | Czech Republic | Defence | Toronto Six (PHF) |
5 | 30 | Kati Tabin | Canada | Defence | Toronto Six (PHF) |
6 | 31 | Kennedy Marchment | Canada | Forward | Connecticut Whale (PHF) |
7 | 42 | Tereza Vanisova | Czech Republic | Forward | Toronto Six (PHF) |
8 | 43 | Madison Bizal | United States | Defence | Ohio State (WCHA) |
9 | 54 | Gabrielle David | Canada | Forward | Clarkson (ECAC) |
10 | 55 | Maude Poulin-Labelle | Canada | Defence | Northeastern (Hockey East) |
11 | 66 | Jillian Dempsey | United States | Forward | Boston Pride (PHF) |
12 | 67 | Claire Dalton | Canada | Forward | Yale (ECAC) |
13 | 78 | Elaine Chuli | Canada | Goaltender | Toronto Six (PHF) |
14 | 79 | Ann-Sophie Bettez | Canada | Forward | Montreal Force (PHF) |
15 | 90 | Lina Ljungblom | Sweden | Forward | MoDo Hockey (SDHL) |
Milestone | Player | Date | Opponent |
---|---|---|---|
First penalty | Marie-Philip Poulin for Holding | January 02, 2024 | PWHL Ottawa |
First goal | Claire Dalton Assisted by Jillian Dempsey and Kennedy Marchment | January 02, 2024 | PWHL Ottawa |
First win | Ann-Renée Desbiens | January 02, 2024 | PWHL Ottawa |
First hat-trick | Marie-Philip Poulin | January 10, 2024 | PWHL New York |
Marie-Philip Poulin is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward and captain of Montreal of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She is also the captain of the Canadian national ice hockey team.
There are professional teams based in Canada in several professional sports leagues. The National Hockey League currently has seven Canadian franchises and is the most popular professional sports league in Canada. The Canadian Football League is the only all-Canadian major professional sports league. Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, Major League Soccer, and the Professional Women's Hockey League also have Canadian teams.
Brianne Alexandra Jenner is a Canadian professional ice hockey player and captain of Ottawa of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) and a member of Canada women's national ice hockey team.
Laura Rachel Stacey is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for PWHL Montreal, and a member of Canada women's national ice hockey team. She previously played with the Markham Thunder and the Dartmouth Big Green and competed internationally with the Canadian under-18 and under-22 teams. She won a silver medal with Team Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics and a gold medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Place Bell is a multi-purpose arena in Laval, Quebec, Canada. The complex includes a 10,000-seat main arena, which is the home of the Laval Rocket of the American Hockey League (AHL), and two smaller community ice rinks, one of which has Olympic-size ice. The arena was also home to Les Canadiennes de Montréal for the final season of play in the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). The arena is hosting select games for Montreal of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) during the inaugural 2023–24 season.
Kori Cheverie is a Canadian retired ice hockey player, currently serving as the head coach of PWHL Montreal of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She is also the assistant coach of the Canadian national women's ice hockey team. She was previously the assistant coach for TMU Bold men's ice hockey team. She was the first woman to be hired to a full-time coaching role in U Sports men's ice hockey history.
Ice hockey, simply referred to as "hockey" in both English and French in Canada, dates back to the 19th century. The sport is very popular and played year-round and at every level in the country. Born of various influences from stick-and-ball games brought from the United Kingdom and indigenous games, the contemporary sport of ice hockey originated in Montreal. It is the official national winter sport of Canada. Hockey is widely considered Canada's national pastime, with high levels of participation by children, men, and women at various levels of competition.
The Professional Women's Hockey League is a professional women's ice hockey league in North America, wholly owned and operated by the Mark Walter Group. It consists of six franchises, three each from Canada and the United States, who play a regular season to earn one of four places in a postseason tournament that determines the winner of the Walter Cup. Differences between the PWHL and other professional hockey leagues include a 3-2-1-0 points system, terminations of penalties following a short-handed goal, best-of-five shootouts, and greater restrictions on body checking. The league's matches are broadcast nationally in Canada by the CBC and TSN, their French-language affiliates Radio-Canada and RDS, and Sportsnet. In the United States, it is broadcast in syndication, while worldwide it is streamed on YouTube.
The 2023–24 PWHL season was the first season of operation of the Professional Women's Hockey League, and began play on January 1, 2024. Six teams competed during the inaugural season, located in Montreal, Toronto, New York, Boston, Ottawa, and Minneapolis–Saint Paul. The season culminated in a two-round best-of-five playoff including the top four teams to determine the season champion. PWHL Toronto topped the regular season standings with 17 wins and 47 points. In the playoffs, PWHL Minnesota won the inaugural Walter Cup, defeating PWHL Boston in a 5-game series for the title.
PWHL Ottawa is a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario. They are one of the six charter franchises of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). Ottawa plays its home games at TD Place Arena.
PWHL Toronto is a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are one of the six charter franchises of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL).
PWHL New York is a professional ice hockey team based in the New York metropolitan area. They are one of the six charter franchises of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL).
PWHL Minnesota is a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota and the 2024 PWHL Walter Cup Champions. They are one of the six charter franchises of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL).
The 2023–24 PWHL Minnesota season was the team's inaugural season as a member of the newly created Professional Women's Hockey League. They played their home games at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
The 2023–24 PWHL Boston season was the team's inaugural season as a member of the newly created Professional Women's Hockey League. They played their home games at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, Massachusetts.
The 2023–24 PWHL Montréal season was the team's inaugural season as a member of the newly created Professional Women's Hockey League. They played their home games at the Verdun Auditorium in Montreal and at Place Bell in the suburb of Laval.
The 2023–24 PWHL New York season was the team's inaugural season as a member of the newly created Professional Women's Hockey League. They played their home games at Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and UBS Arena in Elmont, New York.
The 2023–24 PWHL Ottawa season was the team's inaugural season as a member of the newly created Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). They played their home games at TD Place Arena in Ottawa.
The 2023–24 PWHL Toronto season was the team's inaugural season of as a member of the newly created Professional Women's Hockey League. They played their home games at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto.