The Canadian Women’s Hockey League is set to open the post-season for its centennial campaign. And in little more than a week, the Clarkson Cup — widely regarded as the Stanley Cup of women’s hockey — will be awarded to the league champions.
When does it start?
On Friday, with two games: Montreal hosts Brampton at 7:20pm EST, while Calgary plays Toronto at 8:00pm MST.
Who’s in it?
The top four teams in the league through the CWHL regular season: The Calgary Inferno, Les Canadiennes de Montreal, the Brampton Thunder and the Toronto Furies.
Top-seeded Calgary plays the fourth-seeded Toronto, while Montreal (2) takes on Brampton (3).
What’s the format?
Teams play a best-of-three series in the semi-final, with the top seed playing host. Semi-final play will wrap up on Feb. 26 at the latest, if that third game is necessary.
Here’s the full semi-final schedule:
Calgary vs. Toronto
Game 1: Friday, Feb. 24, 8:00pm MST (Carstairs Memorial Arena)
Game 2: Saturday, Feb. 25, 3:30pm MST (Winsport Joan Snyder)
Game 3, if necessary: Sunday, Feb. 26, 12:45pm MST (Carstairs Memorial Arena)
Montreal vs Brampton
Game 1: Friday, Feb. 24, 7:20pm EST (Etienne Desmarteau)
Game 2: Saturday, Feb. 25, 5:30pm EST (Complex Bell Sportif)
Game 3, if necessary: Sunday, Feb. 26, 1:30 PM EST (Complex Bell Sportif)
The two teams standing at the end will meet in the Clarkson Cup Final at 4 pm ET on Sunday, March 5, at Ottawa’s Canadian Tire Centre.
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Who are the favourites?
Calgary is looking mighty good for the repeat. Last year’s champions lost just three games this year, compared to 20 wins. The Inferno finished three points ahead of Montreal (17-5-2) in the standings.
What are the other main storylines this year?
Montreal is going to be out for revenge. Les Canadiennes entered last year’s Clarkson Cup Final the heavy favourites, but lost to the underdogs from Calgary.
As Les Canadiennes captain Marie Philip-Poulin told Sportsnet earlier this month: “We had a tough loss in the final [last year]…We all play for each other. We want to win for each other.”
After the No. 1 (Calgary) and No. 2 (Montreal) seeds, there’s a drop-off. Brampton finished 13-10-1, and Toronto made it to the post-season despite a losing record.
But the underdogs have a shot here. With Christina Kessler between the pipes for Toronto — she’s nominated for goalie of the year — Calgary will be tested. Though Toronto didn’t beat Calgary in the regular season, two of six meetings were decided by a single goal.
Brampton, meanwhile, boasts some potent scoring power. Jess Jones tied for the league lead in points with 17 goals and 20 assists in 24 games played — an average of 1.5 points per game. Fellow Thunder forwards Laura Stacey, a rookie of the year candidate, and Jamie Lee Rattray, also ranked among the top 10 in league scoring.
Don’t underestimate the underdogs here.
Who are the key players?
Montreal had the hottest line in the CWHL, with its top forwards finishing one-two-three in scoring. Poulin’s 37 points tied Jones for the league’s lead, Ann-Sophie Bettez had 36 points, and veteran Caroline Ouellette finished with 31.
Toronto’s offence is led by Olympic gold medallist Natalie Spooner (20 points in 20 games), while her national team teammate, Inferno captain and MVP nominee Brianne Jenner (27 points in 20 games), paces Calgary.
Russian-born Inferno forward Iya Gavrilova — a nominee for rookie of the year — is another to watch, after posting 21 points in her CWHL-debut season. Gavrilova, a three-time Olympian who plays for the Russian national team, is 29 years old.
How can I watch?
The weekend games of each semi-final series will be live-streamed here:
You can get tickets to watch the action in person here:
And the Clarkson Cup Final will be broadcast on Sportsnet on March 5.
