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Fresh off of their trip to China to close out the 2018 portion of their schedule, Les Canadiennes are back home for the first of three series this month. Their opponents this weekend are the Toronto Furies, making their first trip to Montreal this season. Saturday’s game will be on Sportsnet nationwide.
Schedule & How to Watch
Saturday: Complexe Bell, Brossard - 12:30 p.m.
TV: Sportsnet Ontario/East/West/One
Stream: Sportsnet Now
Sunday: Complexe Bell, Brossard - 1:30 p.m.
Tickets (Saturday and/or Sunday)
Talent on display
Toronto’s offence always goes through Natalie Spooner, the Canadian national team member and one of the best power forwards in the game but this year she has a friend helping her. Fellow Olympian Sarah Nurse is in her first CWHL season and has provided a second scorer on the Furies’ top line. Both Nurse and Spooner have 18 points in 15 games this season. No other player on the team has more than eight.
Nurse’s cousin Kia represents Canada internationally in basketball.
Toronto is expected to get former All-Star captain Carlee Campbell back this weekend. Campbell was on maternity leave to start the year.
Window of Opportunity
Les Canadiennes are currently riding a five game winning streak after losing two straight games in Calgary the same weekend they lost their head coach and two key players to injury. Mélodie Daoust is still out, but Jill Saulnier returned for the games in China and Hilary Knight will return to the lineup after missing the China trip. Les Canadiennes are now only three points behind the first place Calgary Inferno with a game in hand.
Calgary plays the Markham Thunder this weekend for two games and their game on Sunday will be broadcast on Sportsnet as well.
Geneviève Lacasse has been on the ice practicing the last few weeks. She has yet to dress for a game after suffering a lower body injury in the off-season. The two-time Canadian Olympian was acquired alongside Saulnier in a big trade.
Les Canadiennes stars to watch
Montreal has seven players headed to the CWHL All Star Game, to be held January 20th in Toronto at Scotiabank Arena. They are all expected to play key roles this weekend for the team and are a big reason they are where they are in the standings and why the outlook is bright for this team. Ann-Sophie Bettez and Marie-Philip Poulin are tied for the CWHL scoring lead with 26 points in 15 games and former Toronto Furies defender Erin Ambrose is fourth with 21 points and leads all defenders in scoring.
The only other defender in the top-20 in league scoring is Calgary’s Kacey Bellamy who has 12 points.
Les Canadiennes Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
| 21- Hilary Knight | 29- Marie Philip Poulin | 24- Ann-Sophie Bettez |
| 9- Kim Deschênes | 19- Katia Clement-Heydra | 11- Jill Saulnier |
| 76- Karell Emard | 16- Sarah Lefort | 18- Geneviève Bannon |
| 2- Olivia Atkinson | 78- Tracy-Ann Lavigne | 22- Maude Gelinas |
| 88- Kayla Tutino |
Defence
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
| 27- Taylor Willard | 14- Erin Ambrose |
| 5- Lauriane Rougeau | 12- Catherine Daoust |
| 17- Melanie Desrochers | 23- Sophie Brault |
| 20- Marie-Joelle Allard | 72- Emma Martin |
Les Canadiennes Goaltenders
| Goaltenders |
|---|
| Goaltenders |
| 38- Emerance Maschmeyer |
| 35- Marie-Soleil Deschênes |
| 60- Geneviève Lacasse |
Projected Toronto Furies lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
| 10- Shannon Stewart (14GP 1G-3A) | 16- Sarah Nurse (15GP 9G-9A) | 24- Natalie Spooner (15GP 10G-8A) |
| 3- Brittany Howard (14GP 2G-6A) | 22- Shiann Darkangelo (14GP 4G-1A) | 27- Carolyne Prevost (11GP 1G-0A) |
| 2- Julie Allen (15GP 2G-2A) | 12- Jess Vella (15GP 1G-3A) | 28- Mackenzie MacNeil (12GP 1G-1A) |
| 44- Jenna Dingeldein (2GP 0G-0A) | 37- Anissa Gamble (10GP 0G-1A) | 11-Jessica Platt (10GP 0G-0A) |
| 8- Sydney Kidd (2GP 0G-0A) |
Defence
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
| 14- Renata Fast (15GP 0G-4A) | 25- Emma Greco (15GP 0G-2A) |
| 21- Megan Quinn (15GP 1G-2A) | 9- Mellissa Channel (15GP 0G-6A) |
| 15- Carlee Campbell (0GP 0G-0A) | 6- Sena Suzuki (15GP 0G-0A) |
| 23- Shannon Moulson (10GP 0G-0A) | 4- Julia Fedeski (14GP 0G-0A) |
Goaltenders
| Goaltenders |
|---|
| Goaltenders |
| 35- Shea Tiley (4-4-0, 2.72 GAA .911sv%) |
| 29- Elaine Chuli (2-4-0, 3.90 GAA .881sv%) |
| 34- Amanda Makela (1-0-0, 0.00 GAA 1.000sv%) |
Les Canadiennes Player Stats
| # | Name | Pos | GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Name | Pos | GP | G | A | P |
| 24 | Ann-Sophie Bettez | F | 15 | 14 | 12 | 26 |
| 29 | Marie-Philip Poulin | F | 15 | 11 | 15 | 26 |
| 14 | Erin Ambrose | D | 15 | 5 | 16 | 21 |
| 15 | Mélodie Daoust | F | 10 | 7 | 6 | 13 |
| 16 | Sarah Lefort | F | 13 | 5 | 7 | 12 |
| 21 | Hilary Knight | F | 12 | 5 | 6 | 11 |
| 11 | Jill Saulnier | F | 9 | 3 | 8 | 11 |
| 19 | Katia Clement-Heydra | F | 13 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| 9 | Kim Deschênes | F | 15 | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| 5 | Lauriane Rougeau | D | 15 | 1 | 7 | 8 |
| 76 | Karell Emard | F | 15 | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| 27 | Taylor Willard | D | 15 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| 18 | Genevieve Bannon | F | 13 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| 22 | Maude Gelinas | F | 12 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 72 | Emma Martin | D | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 12 | Catherine Daoust | D | 15 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 17 | Melanie Desrochers | D | 15 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 2 | Olivia Atkinson | F | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 78 | Tracy-Ann Lavigne | F | 15 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 88 | Kayla Tutino | F | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 23 | Sophie Brault | D | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 20 | Marie-Joelle Allard | D | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Les Canadiennes Goalie Stats
| # | Name | Team | GP | W | L | OT | SA | GA | GAA | SV % | SO | MIN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Name | Team | GP | W | L | OT | SA | GA | GAA | SV % | SO | MIN |
| 38 | Emerance Maschmeyer | MTL | 13 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 289 | 18 | 1.39 | 0.938 | 3 | 775 |
| 35 | Marie-Soleil Deschenes | MTL | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.000 | 2 | 120 |