McGill grads help Stars capture Clarkson Cup
(Pictured from left to right, are McGill grads Gillian Merrifield, Kim St-Pierre, Shauna Denis, Brittany Privée and Catherine Herron).
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KINGSTON, Ont. – Former McGill captain Shauna Denis scored once and ex-Martlet great Kim St-Pierre was named most outstanding goaltender as the Montreal Stars defeated Minnesota 3-1 to capture the inaugural Clarkson Cup as Canadian women’s senior hockey champions at the K-Rock Centre in Kingston, Saturday.
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Denis, a native of Stittsville, Ont., who is currently employed by the Montreal Canadiens as a special projects coordinator in the team's marketing department, and St-Pierre, who hails from Chateauguay, Que., were among six McGill graduates on the winning side. Others included Catherine Herron of Chambly, Que., ValĂ©rie Paquette of Terrebonne, Que., Brittany PrivĂ©eĚýof Pointe Claire, Que., and Gillian Merrifield of London, Ont.
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“It's cool to have so many McGill alumni winning the Cup together,” said Denis, who led the Martlets to the 2007-08 Canadian university championship. “We’re trying to reach out to our alumni more and we're looking to start up an alumni team next year. Hopefully this will jump-start that process.”
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Denis, Sabrina Herbec and Caroline Ouellette scored for the Stars, while three-time American Olympian Angela Ruggiero replied for the Whitecaps.
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"We are really happy to win the Clarkson Cup for the first time ever,'' said Montreal captain and former Concordia star Lisa-Marie Breton after receiving the Cup from former Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson. "It's something we'll remember forever.''
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The Clarkson Cup is made of sterling silver and is similar in size to the original Stanley Cup and has a band at the bottom for team names to be engraved. It was the brainchild of Clarkson who borrowed the idea from Frederick Arthur Stanley, who also served as Governor-General of Canada when he offered the Stanley Cup in 1893.
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Montreal, the top team in the CWHL, lost 4-3 in overtime to WWHL champion Minnesota in the tournament opener Thursday, but exacted revenge in Saturday’s tourney finale.
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After a scoreless first period, Denis broke the ice midway in the second period when she completed a pretty passing play, converting a feed from Herbec near the goal crease.
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Less than five minutes later, Ruggiero tied it, going to her backhand in close to put a shot over St-Pierre.
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The Stars, which beat the Brampton Thunder 4-1 in semifinal play, broke deadlock with less than five minutes remaining in the second period when Herbec banged a rebound past Minnesota goalie Sanya Sandahl.
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Ouellette scored an insurance marker, putting Montreal ahead 3-1 less than two minutes into the third.