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ֱ grads help Stars capture Clarkson Cup

Published: 21 March 2009

(Pictured from left to right, are ֱ grads Gillian Merrifield, Kim St-Pierre, Shauna Denis, Brittany Privée and Catherine Herron).

KINGSTON, Ont. – Former ֱ captain Shauna Denis scored once and ex-Martlet great Kim St-Pierre was named most outstanding goaltender as the Montreal Stars defeated Minnesota 3-1 to capture the inaugural Clarkson Cup as Canadian women’s senior hockey champions at the K-Rock Centre in Kingston, Saturday.

Denis, a native of Stittsville, Ont., who is currently employed by the Montreal Canadiens as a special projects coordinator in the team's marketing department, and St-Pierre, who hails from Chateauguay, Que., were among six ֱ graduates on the winning side. Others included Catherine Herron of Chambly, Que., Valérie Paquette of Terrebonne, Que., Brittany Privéeof Pointe Claire, Que., and Gillian Merrifield of London, Ont.

“It's cool to have so many ֱ alumni winning the Cup together,” said Denis, who led the Martlets to the 2007-08 Canadian university championship. “We’re trying to reach out to our alumni more and we're looking to start up an alumni team next year. Hopefully this will jump-start that process.”

Denis, Sabrina Herbec and Caroline Ouellette scored for the Stars, while three-time American Olympian Angela Ruggiero replied for the Whitecaps.

"We are really happy to win the Clarkson Cup for the first time ever,'' said Montreal captain and former Concordia star Lisa-Marie Breton after receiving the Cup from former Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson. "It's something we'll remember forever.''

The Clarkson Cup is made of sterling silver and is similar in size to the original Stanley Cup and has a band at the bottom for team names to be engraved. It was the brainchild of Clarkson who borrowed the idea from Frederick Arthur Stanley, who also served as Governor-General of Canada when he offered the Stanley Cup in 1893.

Montreal, the top team in the CWHL, lost 4-3 in overtime to WWHL champion Minnesota in the tournament opener Thursday, but exacted revenge in Saturday’s tourney finale.

After a scoreless first period, Denis broke the ice midway in the second period when she completed a pretty passing play, converting a feed from Herbec near the goal crease.

Less than five minutes later, Ruggiero tied it, going to her backhand in close to put a shot over St-Pierre.

The Stars, which beat the Brampton Thunder 4-1 in semifinal play, broke deadlock with less than five minutes remaining in the second period when Herbec banged a rebound past Minnesota goalie Sanya Sandahl.

Ouellette scored an insurance marker, putting Montreal ahead 3-1 less than two minutes into the third.

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