Worcester Blades
Worcester Blades | |
---|---|
City | Worcester, Massachusetts |
League | Canadian Women's Hockey League |
Founded | 2010 |
Folded | 2019 |
Home arena | Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center |
Colors | Black, gold, white |
General manager | Derek Alfama |
Head coach | Paul Kennedy |
Website | Worcester Blades Official website |
Franchise history | |
2010–2018 | Boston Blades |
2018–2019 | Worcester Blades |
Championships | |
Playoff championships | 2 (2013, 2015) |
The Worcester Blades were a professional women's ice hockey team in the Canadian Women's Hockey League, based in Worcester, Massachusetts, and played their home games at the Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center. The team began play in the 2010–11 CWHL season as the Boston Blades[1] where they won the Clarkson Cup twice, in 2013 and 2015.
After playing in several Boston-area arenas throughout its first eight seasons, the Blades moved to Worcester in 2018 and rebranded.
In 2019, the CWHL ceased operations, as well as all teams that it directly owned including the Blades.[2]
History
On August 12, 2010, the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) announced that Boston would be granted an expansion team for the 2010–11 CWHL season, making the Boston franchise the first CWHL team in the United States.[1]
On September 14, 2010, retired goalkeeper
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, with the team beginning the season with seven victories in their first twelve games. A seven-game losing streak ensued, and the Blades finished with a 10–16 record, 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, swept in the best-of-three series.
In the 2012–13 season, the Boston Blades were regular season champions and then became the second American-based team to capture the
In the penultimate game of the regular season in 2013–14,
In the 2014–15 season, the Blades finished the regular season with the best record in the CWHL at 15–2–1–6. During the season, the league held its 1st Canadian Women's Hockey League All-Star Game, with Digit Murphy serving as the winning coach for Team Red. In the first round of the Clarkson Cup playoffs, the Blades were matched against the fourth seeded Toronto Furies. The best-of-three series ended in a sweep for the Blades with 3–0 and 7–3 victories.
On March 7, 2015, the Boston Blades faced the
Following the 2015 season, the
The Blades competed with the Pride for Boston fans until 2018 when the team relocated an hour away to Worcester and were rebranded as the Worcester Blades on August 20, 2018, playing out of the Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center for the 2018–19 CWHL season.[4]
Season-by-season records
Year | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | GF | GA | Pts | Finish | Playoffs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2010–11 | 26 | 10 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 73 | 101 | 21 | 3rd | Lost first round of 2011 Clarkson Cup playoffs, 0–2 vs. Toronto Furies |
2011–12 | 27 | 20 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 107 | 61 | 46 | 2nd | Did not qualify |
2012–13 | 24 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 72 | 39 | 39 | 1st | Won Montreal Stars[5]
|
2013–14 | 24 | 13 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 77 | 71 | 26 | 2nd | Lost 2014 Clarkson Cup championship game, 0–1 (OT) vs. Toronto Furies[5] |
2014–15 | 24 | 17 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 94 | 43 | 35 | 1st | Won Montreal Stars[5]
|
2015–16 | 24 | 1 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 122 | 2 | 5th | Did not qualify |
2016–17 | 24 | 2 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 32 | 137 | 6 | 5th | Did not qualify |
2017–18 | 28 | 1 | 24 | 0 | 3 | 41 | 120 | 5 | 7th | Did not qualify |
2018–19 | 28 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 155 | 0 | 6th | Did not qualify |
Notable former players
- Kacey Bellamy
- Caitlin Cahow
- Meghan Duggan
- Molly Engstrom
- Kaleigh Fratkin
- Jaclyn Hawkins
- Hilary Knight
- Genevieve Lacasse
- Erika Lawler
- Gigi Marvin
- Molly Schaus
- Anne Schleper
- Kelli Stack
- Kelley Steadman
- Karen Thatcher
- Tara Watchorn
Scoring leaders
Season-by-season
Season | Leader (F) | GP | G | A | Pts | Leader (D) | GP | G | A | Pts | PPG | SHG | GWG |
2010–11[6] | Sam Faber | 23 | 15 | 15 | 30 | Angela Ruggiero | 22 | 11 | 15 | 26 | Ruggiero (6) | Faber (2) | Jessica Koizumi (3) |
2011–12[7] | Kelli Stack | 27 | 25 | 17 | 42 | Kacey Bellamy | 22 | 5 | 7 | 12 | Stack (4) | Erika Lawler and Kacey Bellamy (1) | Gigi Marvin (4) |
2012–13[8] | Hilary Knight | 24 | 17 | 15 | 32 | Anne Schleper | 24 | 2 | 13 | 15 | Knight (3) | Karen Thatcher (1) | Knight (5) |
2013–14[9] | Jillian Dempsey | 24 | 14 | 14 | 28 | Blake Bolden | 23 | 5 | 14 | 19 | Dempsey (5) | Casey Pickett (2) | Four tied with 2 |
2014–15 | Brianna Decker | 12 | 16 | 16 | 32 | Tara Watchorn | 21 | 6 | 14 | 20 | Decker (6) | Decker and Watchorn (2) | |
2015–16 | Megan Myers | 17 | 4 | 3 | 7 | Tara Watchorn | 23 | 2 | 4 | 6 | Seven tied with 1* | None | Kristina Brown (1) scored in shootout |
2016–17 | Kate Leary | 24 | 10 | 6 | 16 |
All-time scoring leaders
Player | GP | G | A | Pts | Seasons |
Jessica Koizumi | 66 | 27 | 28 | 55 | 2010–15 |
Hilary Knight | 38 | 25 | 28 | 53 | 2012–15 |
Kelli Stack | 39 | 31 | 22 | 53 | 2011–13 |
Awards & honors
- Hilary Knight, 2013 CWHL Player of the Year
- CWHLGoaltender of the Year
- CWHLRookie 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)
References
- ^ a b c Zhe, Mike (21 November 2010). "Blades have high aims in inaugural CWHL season". New England Hockey Journal. Archived from the original on 27 November 2010.
- ^ "Final Public Communication" (PDF). CWHL. 2 July 2019.
- ^ "Boston lands CWHL expansion team; roster announced". New England Hockey Journal. 12 August 2010. Archived from the original on 16 August 2010.
- ^ "Boston Blades Relocate to Worcester for the 2018-19 Season – Woo Hockey". woohockey.com. August 20, 2018.
- ^ a b c "Clarkson Cup History". CWHL. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
- ^ "Boston Blades: CWHL 2010/2011". pointstreak.com.
- ^ "Boston Blades: CWHL 2011/2012". pointstreak.com.
- ^ "Boston Blades: CWHL 2012/2013". pointstreak.com.
- ^ "Boston Blades: CWHL 2013/2014". pointstreak.com.