Boston Blades

The Boston Blades are a professional women's ice hockey team in the Canadian Women's Hockey League, and are based out of Boston, Massachusetts.^[1] The Blades play most of their home games at the New England Sports Center. Since beginning play in the 2010–11 CWHL season, the Boston Blades have won the Clarkson Cup on two occasions; once in the 2012–2013 season, and again in the 2014–2015 season.

2014–2015 CWHL Regular Season Schedule

Source^[2]

Coaches & Staff (Updated for 2015–16)

• Head Coach: Brian McCloskey
• General Manager: Krista Patronick

Source^[3]

Roster (Updated for 2014–15)

Goalies

Number		Player	College	Former Team	Hometown
33		Geneviève Lacasse	Providence College	Canadian Olympic Team	Kingston, Ontario
31		Brittany Ott	University of Maine		St. Clair Shores, Michigan

Defense

Number		Player	College	Former Team	Hometown
22		Kacey Bellamy	University of New Hampshire	US Olympic Team	Westfield, Massachusetts
5		Blake Bolden	Boston College	USA U18 Team	Stow, Ohio
15		Dru Burns	Boston College		Burlington, Massachusetts
8		Kaleigh Fratkin	Boston University		Burnaby, British Columbia
4		Alyssa Gagliardi	Cornell University		Raleigh, North Carolina
15		Monique Lamoureux	University of North Dakota	US Olympic Team	Grand Forks, North Dakota
19		Gigi Marvin	University of Minnesota	US Olympic Team	Warroad, Minnesota
11		Tara Watchorn	Boston University	Canadian Olympic Team	Newcastle, Ontario

Forwards

Number		Player	College	Former Team	Hometown
23		Corinne Buie	Providence College		Edina, Minnesota
2		Kelly Cooke	Princeton University		Andover, Massachusetts
16		Ashley Cottrell	Providence College	USA U18 Team	Sterling Heights, Michigan
13		Brianna Decker	University of Wisconsin	USA Olympic Team	Dousman, Wisconsin
3		Jillian Dempsey	Harvard University		Winthrop, Massachusetts
17		Meghan Duggan	University of Wisconsin	USA Olympic Team	Danvers, Massachusetts
27		Hilary Knight	University of Wisconsin	USA Olympic Team	Sun Valley, Idaho
26		Bray Ketchum	Yale University		Greenwich, Connecticut
56		Jess Koizumi	University of Minnesota Duluth	Montreal Stars (CWHL)	Simi Valley, California
24		Denna Laing	Princeton University		Marblehead, Massachusetts
12		Rachel Llanes	Northeastern University		San Jose, California
13		Brianna Decker	University of Wisconsin	USA Olympic Team	Dousman, Wisconsin
10		Megan Meyers	Utica College		Las Vegas, Nevada
7		Casey Pickett	Northeastern University		Wilmington, Massachusetts
20		Jenny Potter	University of Minnesota Duluth	USA Olympic Team	Edina, Minnesota
14		Kelli Stack	Boston College	USA Olympic Team	Brooklyn Heights, Ohio
18		Jordan Smelker	RPI		Anchorage, Alaska
6		Janine Weber	Providence College	Austrian National Team	Innsbruck, Austria

Reference^[4]

Past Seasons

History

Boston Blades players: #8 Caitlin Cahow, #4 Angela Ruggiero and #22 Kacey Bellamy.

On August 12, 2010, the CWHL announced that Boston would be granted an expansion team for the 2010–11 CWHL season, ultimately making the Boston franchise the first US team in the CWHL.^[8]

On September 14, 2010, retired goalkeeper Erin Whitten was named Boston's first head coach.^[9] An expansion draft was held to stock the team in August.^[10] Their most significant player was free agent signing Angela Ruggiero, four-time Olympian and one of the greatest stars of women's hockey history.

The Boston Blades’ inaugural season included 16 home games. Their first match, on October 30, 2010, ended with a 3–0 shutout victory over the Burlington Barracudas, and the team began the season with seven victories in their first twelve games. A seven-game losing streak ensued, however, and the Blades finished with a 10–16 record, but still good enough for third place in the five team league. In the playoffs against the Toronto Aeros, the Blades lost 4–2 and 3–1, and were swept in the best-of-three series.

In the 2012–2013 season, the Boston Blades became the second American-based team to capture the Clarkson Cup, the women's equivalent of the men's Stanley Cup. The Clarkson Cup is named after Canada's former Governor General, Adrienne Clarkson. The Blades beat rival Montreal for the clinching victory, and were also the regular season champions. Hilary Knight was named CWHL MVP, Geneviève Lacasse Best Goalie, and Digit Murphy Coach of the Year.

In the second last game of the regular season in 2013–14, Jessica Koizumi became the first player to register 50 career points with the Blades franchise.

In the 2014–2015 season, the Blades finished the regular season with the best record in the CWHL. Their regular season record was 15–2–1–6, good enough for the first seed in the Clarkson Cup Playoffs. In the first round of the Clarkson Cup Playoffs, the Blades were matched up against the fourth seeded Toronto Furies. The best-of-three series ended in a sweep for the Blades, as they collected both 3–0 and 7–3 victories.

On March 7, 2015, the Boston Blades matched up against the Montreal Stars in a battle for the Clarkson Cup. The Blades were on a quest for their second Cup in three years; the Blades had previously won the Clarkson Cup in the 2012–2013 season. Both the Blades and Stars tallied goals in the first and third periods. Hillary Knight and Brianna Decker were the lone goal scorers in regulation for the Blades. Regulation ended with the score tied at 2–2, so an overtime was required to decide a winner. Wasting little to no time, Janine Weber scored the series-clinching goal on a pass from her former college roommate Corinne Buie, with 2:12 in the overtime period, earning the Boston Blades their second Clarkson Cup.

Nine players of United States women's national ice hockey team were rostered on the Boston Blades for 2011–12 CWHL season.

The following players participated in the 2014 Winter Olympics:

• United States women's national ice hockey team^[11]
  • Kacey Bellamy
  • Meghan Duggan
  • Hilary Knight
  • Gigi Marvin
  • Molly Schaus
  • Anne Schleper
  • Kelli Stack
• Canada women's national ice hockey team
  • Geneviève Lacasse
  • Tara Watchorn

Notable Former Players

• Caitlin Cahow
• Molly Engstrom
• Erika Lawler
• Kelli Stack
• Kelley Steadman
• Karen Thatcher
• Jaclyn Hawkins

Scoring Leaders

Year-by-year

All-Time Scoring Leaders

Awards & Honors

• Hilary Knight, 2013 CWHL Player of the Year
• Genevieve Lacasse, 2013 CWHL Goaltender of the Year
• Jillian Dempsey, 2014 CWHL Rookie of the Year
• Jillian Dempsey, 2013–14 Leading scorer among CWHL rookies
• Brianna Decker, CWHL Rookie of the Year (2014–15)
• Jillian Dempsey, 2014–15 Leading scorer among CWHL rookies
• Tara Watchorn, CWHL Defender of the Year (2014–15)

Team honors

• First overall, CWHL standings (2012–13)
• First overall, CWHL standings (2014–15)

See also

• 2010–11 Boston Blades season

References

External links

• Official Website Boston Blades CWHL
• Schedule Boston Blades CWHL
• Facebook Boston Blades CWHL
• Twitter Boston Blades CWHL
• YouTube Channel Boston Blades CWHL
• Promo Video Boston Blades CWHL

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