• Markham wins Clarkson Cup

    From IIHF News@1:266/404 to All on Mon Mar 26 04:04:37 2018
    Laura Stacey converted a pass from Nicole Kosta 2:49 into overtime to give the Markham Thunder a 2-1 win over Kunlun Red Star to win the 2018 Clarkson Cup at the Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto, Canada.

    The Thunder had moved from Brampton, an original CWHL team eleven years ago, just this year and had to overcome a stunning run by the Chinese Red Star team for the win.

    The Red Stars, one of two Chinese teams new to the CWHL this year, beat the Calgary Inferno in the semi-finals by winning 1-0 in triple overtime to advance
    to the Clarkson Cup.

    Markham also pulled off an upset, downing defending champion Montreal, 4-1. Les
    Canadiennes finished first in the regular season with 22 wins in 28 games and had added Hilary Knight to the roster after the Olympics to underline their ambitions.

    For Stacey, the heroic goal helped erase memories of a month ago. As a member of Team Canada in PyeongChang, she settled for a silver medal after a heart-breaking shootout loss to the United States. Today, she helped win it all. Her winning shot went over the out-stretched glove of goalie Noora Raty, whose brilliant play allowed the Red Star to get to the overtime. Shots favoured the victors 35-18.

    "It's hard to describe the moment," Stacey said on ice after. "This team has worked hard all year, and to be able to come back to the team [after the Olympics] and help them win a Clarkson Cup that they've been working so hard for, is a pretty special moment. I'm so glad I could be here with them."

    Teammates Laura Fortino and Jocelyne Larocque also shared in the celebrations with extra verve as they, too, were on the silver-medal team last month.

    "We're like a close family, and they welcomed the three of us back with open arms," Stacey continued. "That meant a lot to us. To be able to come here and put on a show for an amazing crowd is a special moment."

    The win was equally special for Meghan Bozek. The American was a late cut from the U.S. team that went to the Olympics, so a league championship to end the season made the training and sacrifices worth it.

    This marked the first championship for the Thunder franchise in the tenth year of competition for the Clarkson Cup trophy.

    Markham opened the scoring in the first period on a nice play. Fortino made a great pass from behind the net to Nicole Brown, and Brown snapped a quick shot in to make it 1-0.

    Despite dominating the second period, the Thunder couldn't add to its tenuous one-goal lead. Raty was sensational and stymied several excellent scoring chances by the Thunder.

    The inevitable happened late in the period. Trying to generate some offence, coach Digit Murphy put together an all-American line, combining Alex Carpenter,
    Zoe Hickel, and Kelli Stack. They connected soon enough, Stack getting in front
    of the goal and having a Hinkel shot go off her arm with 48.4 seconds remaining
    to tie the game, 1-1.

    A tense and cautious third led to overtime, and it was Kunlun that had the best
    chance prior to Stacey's winner. Indeed, Carpenter deked Larocque cleanly on the opening shift, but goalie Erica Howe made a great save on the close-in chance that followed.

    Although the Red Star played its home games in Shenzhen, China, it had three notable players with international experience - Finnish goalie Raty and American forwards Stack, the league MVP for 2017/18, and Carpenter.

    Indeed, Carpenter had the winning goal in that momentous semi-finals. As important, coach Murphy, who led the Boston Blades to three straight Clarkson Cup finals appearances between 2013 and 2015, winning two (2013, 2015), was a core reason for the team's success.

    The CWHL's 11th season was perhaps its most successful yet. The seven-team league saw all teams play 28 games. Teams included the Canadiennes de Montreal,
    Calgary Inferno, Toronto Furies, Boston Blades, Thunder, and the two Chinese teams - Kunlun Red Star and Vanke Rays.

    Clarkson Cup Champions:
    2008/09 Montreal Stars
    2009/10 Minnesota Whitecaps
    2010/11 Montreal Stars
    2011/12 Montreal Stars
    2012/13 Boston Blades
    2013/14 Toronto Furies
    2014/15 Boston Blades
    2015/16 Calgary Inferno
    2016/17 Canadiennes de Montreal
    2017/18 Markham Thunder

    ANDREW PODNIEKS

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    --- SBBSecho 3.03-Win32
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