2015–16 CWHL season

2015–16 CWHL season
League Canadian Women's Hockey League
Sport Ice hockey
Duration October 17, 2015 – February 21, 2016
Number of games 24
Number of teams 5
Regular season
Season champions Les Canadiennes
Season MVP TBA
Top scorer Marie-Philip Poulin
Clarkson Cup
Champions Calgary Inferno

The 2015–16 CWHL season is the ninth season of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL).

Offseason

CWHL Draft

Main article: 2015 CWHL Draft

For the second consecutive year, the Brampton Thunder held the first pick overall and selected Harvard defender Sarah Edney. Two members of Canada’s gold medal winning roster at the 2014 Winter Olympics were selected during the first round: Marie-Philip Poulin by Les Canadiennes and Brianne Jenner by the Calgary Inferno.[1] Calgary also selected Hayley Wickenheiser ninth overall. In total, the five teams selected 55 players over 13 rounds.[2]

Regular season

Les Canadiennes won the Commissioner’s Trophy for the best regular season records for the fifth time in seven years, eight points ahead of second-place Calgary Inferno.[3] Montreal also lead the league with a +78 goal differential and an average of 4.75 goals per game. With a 5–4 win against the Brampton Thunder in the final game of the season, Calgary was the second team to secure home-ice advantage for the play-offs. Defending Clarkson Cup champions Boston Blades, however, would only record one shootout victory in their second game of the season, finishing last in the league with two points.

Regular season scoring was led by four Canadiennes players, with Marie-Philip Poulin claiming the Angela James Bowl as the CWHL's top scorer. Along with Natalie Spooner of the Toronto Furies and Laura Fortino of the Brampton Thunder, she was also nominated for the MVP title.[4]

Standings

 y–  indicates team has clinched regular season title
 x–  indicates team has clinched a playoff spot

Team GP W OTW SOW OTL SOL L Pts Pts% GF GA
y– Les Canadiennes 24 20 0 1 0 0 3 42 .875 114 36
x– Calgary Inferno 24 16 0 0 1 1 6 34 .708 97 67
x– Brampton Thunder 24 13 2 1 0 1 7 33 .688 91 67
x– Toronto Furies 24 6 0 0 1 1 16 14 .292 59 87
Boston Blades 24 0 0 1 0 0 23 2 .042 18 122

All-Star Game

The CWHL All-Star Game was held at Toronto's Air Canada Centre for the second time. In an online poll, Natalie Spooner and Julie Chu voted as team captains by the fans. Chu's Team Black won the game 5–1, with Marie-Philip Poulin scoring two goals and being named the All-Star Game MVP.

Statistical leaders

Leading skaters

The following players are sorted by points, then goals.[5]

GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus-minus; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player Team GP G A Pts PIM
Marie-Philip Poulin Les Canadiennes 22 23 23 46 10
Ann-Sophie Bettez Les Canadiennes 24 19 25 44 12
Kim Deschenes Les Canadiennes 24 13 20 33 6
Caroline Ouellette Les Canadiennes 24 15 17 32 18
Natalie Spooner Toronto Furies 22 17 13 30 20
Jamie Lee Rattray Brampton Thunder 22 13 16 29 18
Brianne Jenner Calgary Inferno 24 10 18 28 6
Laura Fortino Brampton Thunder 24 8 20 28 10
Rebecca Vint Brampton Thunder 24 19 7 26 42
Elana Lovell Calgary Inferno 24 14 12 26 8

Leading goaltenders

The following goaltenders with a minimum 500 minutes played lead the league in goals against average.[6]

GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (in minutes); SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout loss

Player Team GP TOI SA GA SO GAA SV% W L OTL SOL
Charline Labonte Les Canadiennes 20 1144:26 386 29 5 1.52 .925 17 2 0 0
Liz Knox Brampton Thunder 10 502:00 276 21 2 2.51 .924 7 2 0 0
Erica Howe Brampton Thunder 17 941:24 495 42 2 2.68 .915 9 5 0 1
Delayne Brian Calgary Inferno 20 1104:29 500 55 2 2.99 .890 11 5 1 0

Clarkson Cup playoffs

Main article: 2016 Clarkson Cup
Clarkson Cup semifinals Clarkson Cup final
      
1 Les Canadiennes 2
4 Toronto Furies 0
1 Les Canadiennes 3
2 Calgary Inferno 8
2 Calgary Inferno 2
3 Brampton Thunder 0

Awards and honors

References

  1. ↑ Jason La Rose (2015-08-25). "Taking the next step. Four first-round picks lead U18 nationals alumnae selected in CWHL Draft". Hockey Canada.
  2. ↑ "Draft Tracker". CWHL.
  3. ↑ "Blades Wrap Season with Clash Against Canadiennes". Boston Blades. 2016-02-19.
  4. ↑ "2016 CWHL Award Nominees Announced". CWHL. 2016-03-02.
  5. ↑ "Scoring Leaders". CWHL.
  6. ↑ "Goalie Leaders". CWHL.
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