Vancouver Griffins

The Vancouver Griffins were a professional women's ice hockey team in the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL). The team played its home games in New Westminster's Queens Park Arena, in Vancouver, Canada.

History

The team was established in January 2000 by local businessman Phillip DeGrandpre. The Griffins were voted in by the NWHL in May 2000. The Griffins would become the first expansion team for the NWHL outside their traditional Ontario and Quebec base.^[1]

In 2000-01, the Vancouver Griffins^[2] played an exhibition schedule of local, CIAU and NWHL teams. The first head coach of the Griffins was Sylvain Leone. The club’s first roster was selected at a training camp in August 2000 in Abbotsford, British Columbia. In the 2000-01 season, the only players that were not from British Columbia were goalie Krista Cloutier of Pickardville, Alberta, and Norwegian national team forward Julia Berg.^[3]

For the second season (2001–02), the team was owned by British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame inductee Diane Nelson. The head coach was Nancy Wilson.^[4] Olympians Nancy Drolet of Canada women's national ice hockey team, Cammi Granato^[5]) and Shelley Looney of the United States women's national ice hockey team joined Vancouver Griffins. The Griffins' roster also included Burnaby's own 18-year-old Natashia Pellatt, a graduate of Moscrop Secondary School. Other younger players included 15-year-old Courtney Unrah. One of the highlights of the 2001-02 season was a victory over Hayley Wickenheiser and her Edmonton Chimos club by a 7-1 score. Nancy Drolet had a hat trick and Cammi Granato scored the other four goals against Edmonton.^[6]

Season-by-season

• See also: 2000–01 NWHL season
• See also: 2001–02 NWHL season
• See also: 2002–03 NWHL season

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, Pts = Points.

Season standings

Inaugural Roster (2000-01)

Goalies
	Player	Former Team	Hometown
	Krista Cloutier		Pickardville, Alberta
	Chantal Cotton		Vancouver, British Columbia
	Jennifer Price		Victoria, British Columbia

Defense
	Player	Former Team	Hometown
	Kobi Kawamoto		Surrey, British Columbia
	Erin Leslie		Vancouver, British Columbia
	Patti Maskall		Richmond, British Columbia
	Tamara Pickford		Chilliwack, British Columbia
	Kira Sinow		Vancouver, British Columbia
	Renae Stevenson		Abbotsford, British Columbia
Forwards Player Former Team Hometown Debbie Beaudoin Surrey, British Columbia Julia Berg Norwegian women's national Team Randaberg, Norway Natalie Christensen Abbotsford, British Columbia Alana Gray Coquitlam, British Columbia Danielle Grundy Kelowna, British Columbia Caroline Hall Victoria, British Columbia Glenda Olson Abbotsford, British Columbia Sherri Pitre North Vancouver, British Columbia Sherri Schmidt Lillooet, British Columbia Sonya Sneyd Whistler, British Columbia Kelli Stephens Elaine Topolnisky Logan Lake, British Columbia Samantha Wong Vancouver, British Columbia [10] References ↑ http://www.canoe.ca/HockeyNWHL/pre_van.html ↑ Vancouver Griffins 2000 Preview, SLAM! Sports, http://www.canoe.ca/HockeyNWHL/pre_van.html ↑ Julia Berg stars with Vancouver Griffins, http://hockeyadventure.com/2007/08/12/julia-berg-stars-with-vancouver-griffins/ ↑ Wilson was a certified level IV master coach and former assistant with the national women's under-22 squad. ↑ Cammi Granato signed in May 2002. Source:http://www.realwomeninsports.com/granato.php ↑ Dan Hilborn (November 21, 2002). "Olympic stars play for the NWHL Griffins". Burnaby Now. Retrieved 25 June 2010.  ↑ Collins gem Hockey Facts and Stats 2009-10, p.548, Andrew Podnieks, Harper Collins Publishers Ltd, Toronto, Canada, ISBN 978-1-55468-621-6 ↑ Collins gem Hockey Facts and Stats 2009-10, p.549, Andrew Podnieks, Harper Collins Publishers Ltd, Toronto, Canada, ISBN 978-1-55468-621-6 ↑ Collins gem Hockey Facts and Stats 2009-10, p.548, Andrew Podnieks, Harper Collins Publishers Ltd, Toronto, Canada, ISBN 978-1-55468-621-6 ↑ http://www.canoe.ca/HockeyNWHL/ros_van.html External links NWHL website Vancouver Griffins in 2003 Esso Women's National Vancouver Griffins Logo Hockey British Columbia See also National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) v t e Professional Women's Hockey seasons NWHL 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 CWHL 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 WWHL 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 Clarkson Cup 2009 2010 2011 2012