Les Canadiennes Start Strong

Marie-Philip Poulin Scores Twice in Season Opening Victory over Brampton

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The Montreal Canadiennes women’s hockey team earned a historic 4-0 win in their season opener Saturday night against the Brampton Thunder in front of a packed crowd at Étienne-Desmarteau Arena. Photo Nikolas Litzenberger

The Montreal Canadiennes women’s hockey team earned a historic 4-0 win in their season opener Saturday night against the Brampton Thunder in front of a packed crowd at Étienne-Desmarteau Arena. Photo Nikolas Litzenberger

The Montreal Canadiennes women’s hockey team earned a historic 4-0 win in their season opener Saturday night against the Brampton Thunder in front of a packed crowd at Étienne-Desmarteau Arena. Photo Nikolas Litzenberger

The Montreal Canadiennes women’s hockey team earned a historic 4-0 win in their season opener Saturday night against the Brampton Thunder in front of a packed crowd at Étienne-Desmarteau Arena.

The Canadiennes, formerly known as the Montreal Stars, took advantage of five consecutive penalties to Brampton at the beginning of the second period, scoring two power-play markers and setting the tone for what would be a dominating performance by the girls in red, white and blue.

“We started on our heels a little bit, but by mid-period, we started picking up our speed,” said Canadiennes assistant coach and co-founder of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, Lisa-Marie Breton-Lebreux. “I think we played good for this time of the year. We forechecked well, we shot a lot of pucks on net. We did well overall for our first game.”

The Canadiennes, who outshot their opposition by a 41-15 margin, were led by their prized offseason acquisition Marie-Philip Poulin. The forward from Beauce, Quebec who previously played for the Stars from 2007 to 2009, electrified the crowd in her return, scoring two goals and adding an assist in the contest. Poulin downplayed her performance after the game, focusing instead on the team win.

“I’m just happy we got the W,” said Poulin. “I think it will be a big season with a couple new teammates [joining the team]. It was very exciting tonight with our first game in front of our fans.”

Veteran forward Caroline Ouellette scored the first goal of the new franchise 5 minutes into the first period on the power play. Defender Lauriane Rougeau took a shot from the blue line, and Ouellette buried the rebound past Thunder goaltender Erica Howe.

Ouellette would add two assists on the night, tying Poulin for the team lead in points. Goaltender Charline Labonté was also sharp, stopping all 15 shots she faced for the shutout.

The power play would strike again seven minutes later when forward Emmanuelle Blais converted on a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle which trickled off the glove of Howe.

“It was good for us to get going on the special teams and get a few goals off those penalties,” said Breton-Lebreux. “Right away we created things and we are just starting. It’s only our first game, but the power play did play very well.”

Poulin took over from there. She put the dagger in the hearts of the Thunder when she finished off a beautiful passing play from rookie defender Karell Emard with only 11 seconds remaining in the second, deflecting the pass into the opposing net.

Poulin would close the books on this game with her second goal. She demonstrated all of her talent as she weaved into the offensive zone along the left side and deposited the puck just under the crossbar. The puck was in and out of the net so fast that it took the officials a few minutes to confirm the tally.

Breton-Lebreux could only marvel at the ability of her star player postgame.

“Marie-Philip is a quiet leader,” said Breton-Lebreux. “She is passionate about hockey so it’s fun to have her around. As a player, she’s incredible. She’s fast, she can accelerate, she can shoot well. It’s beautiful to watch her play. We’re pretty lucky to have her on our team.”

Poulin’s return to the team not only helped the team on the ice, but also helped create a buzz around the team and women’s hockey, especially among young female hockey players in the stands.

“To see little girls coming here to see us and cheer us on, I think that’s awesome,” said Poulin. “We wanted the people who come support us to see women’s hockey growing. It’s good hockey. We got a lot of energy from our fans.”

The Canadiennes will wrap up their weekend series with the Thunder on Sunday afternoon.

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