CWHL Three Stars: Lacasse backstops Boston; dynamic duo of Poulin, Ouellette

(Ed. Note: Welcome to the first 3 Stars for the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL) where we’ll be recapping the weekend’s games. The National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) will get their own 3 Stars post when their games finish. Both leagues are still finding their bearings when it comes to video coverage. We’ll add highlights if/when they become available.)

CWHL Results

No. 1 Star: Genevieve Lacasse, Boston Blades 

The defending Clarkson Cup champion Blades had a ton of turnover in the off-season. Luckily for the new-look Blades, they’ve still got the netminder Lacasse. In the 2014-15 regular season, she was 10-0-1 and 2-0-0 in the Clarkson Cup. The goalie split the two games against Toronto 1-1-0 this weekend, winning the second in a shoot out, stopping all three Furies shooters. Over the two games opening weekend, she let in only 3 goals on 88 shots; the highest combined shot total of any team.

No. 2 Star: Marie-Philip Poulin, Les Canadiennes de Montreal 

Back in the 2007-2008 season as a member of the then-Montreal Stars, Poulin claimed the Rookie of the Year title. She played a handful of games the following season before going on a five year hiatus from the league to attend Boston University and pick up a couple Olympic gold medals with Team Canada. In her return, she picked up where she left off with 3 goals and 2 assists in 2 games against Brampton.

No. 3 Star: Caroline Ouellette, Les Canadiennes de Montreal 

This weekend marked the beginning of Ouellette’s seventh season in the CWHL. When paired with Poulin, the pair are a lethal combination. Of Ouellette’s 5 points (2 goals, 3 assists), the two hooked up on four scoring plays. Both of Ouellette’s goals were game winners.

Honorable Mention: Montreal won both games against Brampton. Les Canadiennes goaltender Charline Labonte is 2-0-0 with 1.00 GAA and .944-save percentage to start the year. Defenseman Carly Hill had 3 assists and was a plus-3 … Christina Kessler was 1-0-1 with a shutout for the Toronto Furies against the Boston Blades. Blades forward Kristina Brown scored the only goal in the shoot-out.

Did You Know?

Dishonorable Mention: Erica Howe and Liz Knox, goaltenders for the Brampton Thunder both allowed four goals in their respective starts. Laura Fortuno and Jenna McParland were both minus-5 for the Thunder … Boston was 0-for-10 and Toronto was 0-for-8 on the power play over the two games.

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Jen Neale is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @MsJenNeale_PD.

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