The Clarkson Cup, is now the property of the Calgary Inferno for the first time following an 8-3 victory over Montreal’s Les Canadiennes in Ottawa yesterday.
Hayley Wickenheiser, the five-time Olympian told CBC Sports, the Canadian Women’s Hockey League championship holds a special place among her many accomplishments.
“you’ve got women who are working 9 to 5 jobs and they come to the rink at night to practice.”
“I was thinking to myself I’ve pretty much won every championship except for this one and just to do it with this group of players,” said the 37-year-old Wickenheiser. “This league is interesting in the sense that you’ve got some players that are pro, like myself, and some of the other national team players and then you’ve got women who are working 9 to 5 jobs and they come to the rink at night to practice. They don’t get a chance to train.
“I was thinking about those players. We’ve got a police officer, a teacher, a lawyer and for those girls to win a championship like this it really means a lot to them. That’s why this league matters.”
The was the first time a Clarkson Cup final was held in a National Hockey League arena. Ottawa’s Canadian Tire Centre, held a crowd of just over 4,000.
Montreal’s, Les Canadiennes (21-3) were the favourite, finishing the regular season in first place with a 4-2 record over Calgary, but the Inferno started early and never looked back.
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