The Minnesota Whitecaps are a professional women's ice hockey team. The team play its home games in the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota area. The Whitecaps do not have a home rink, and so must reach out to Minnesota youth hockey programs that can either afford to buy ice time at rinks suitable for Whitecaps home games or have had that ice time donated to them. In exchange, the Whitecaps use part of that ice time to put on clinics for the youth players, who receive free tickets to the games and whose hockey associations receive 100 percent of the proceeds from ticket sales. Some programs have raised more than $1,500 in a single night from the arrangement.
The team is currently independent, following the dissolution of the Western Women's Hockey League in the early 2010s. The team is playing games against teams in the National Women's Hockey League but is not an official member of that league.
The Whitecaps have also 2 junior teams: U19 and U17.
History
The Whitecaps were part of the Western Women's Hockey League (WWHL) from the fall of 2004 until the summer of 2006. In July 2006 it was announced that team, along with other WWHL teams, would be joining the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) for the 2006â€"07 season. However, this was short lived as the NWHL and WWHL could not reach an agreement upon a playoff schedule. As a result, the merger was not consummated. With the collapse of the NWHL in the summer of 2007, the Western Women's Hockey League was a completely independent league.
The Whitecaps took home 3 championships during the regular seasons in the WWHL: 2008â€"09, 2009â€"10 and 2010â€"11.
During the qualifying WWHL rounds 2008â€"09, in March 7, 2009, the Minnesota Whitecaps won the semi-final match 4â€"0 against Edmonton Chimos. The next day, the Whitecaps overcome the Calgary Oval X-Treme by the score of 2â€"0 in the championship match in Calgary.
During the 2009 Clarkson Cup, Whitecaps pulled an upset against the Brampton Thunder and the Calgary Oval X-Treme. The Whitecaps played in the final match of the Clarkson Cup but were undone by a score of 3â€"1 by the Montreal Stars who would take home the Clarkson Cup.
The following season, 2009â€"10, the Whitecaps took home the WWHL Championship. The first match of the WWHL qualifying round took place on Friday, February 5, 2010 in Minnesota Pagel Ice Arena and Whitecaps defeated the Strathmore Rockies by a score of 6â€"3. During the second match, held on Saturday, February 6 in Victory Memorial Ice Arena, the Whitecaps beat Strathmore by a score of 4â€"1. The third match, held on Sunday, February 7, at the Graham Arena saw Strathmore taking the 4â€"3 victory over the Whitecaps. These two victories in three matches made the Whitecaps the league champions, and give to them the invaluable ticket to the 2010 Clarkson Cup tournament at Richmond Hill, Ontario, (March 26 to 28). Whitecaps stands out from it big winners of the tournament and beat 4â€"0 Brampton Thunder in finale match ( March 28) · . It is the only conquest of the Clarkson Cup by Minnesota Whitecaps.
The Whitecap's route to the 2011 Clarkson Cup was defeated in all 3 of their round robin matches, ending their quest for the cup. ·  · .
Season-by-season
- See also: 2004â€"05 WWHL season
- See also: 2005â€"06 WWHL season
- See also: 2006â€"07 WWHL season
- See also: 2007â€"08 WWHL season
- See also: 2008â€"09 WWHL season
- See also: 2009â€"10 WWHL season
- See also: 2010â€"11 WWHL season
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, Pts = Points,
Season standings
Notes
2008â€"09
- January 16: The Whitecaps participated in Hockey Day Minnesota. The team played the USA Selects Team.
- March 8: The Whitecaps defeated the Calgary Oval X-Treme on March 8 in the WWHL Championship game shutting out Calgary by a score of 2â€"0. The Minnesota Whitecaps also won the semi-final game on March 7 against the Edmonton Chimos by a score of 4â€"0.
- March 21: The Whitecaps participated in the inaugural Clarkson Cup. The final game pitted the Montreal Stars, the top team from the Canadian Women's Hockey League, against the Minnesota Whitecaps, the top team from the WWHL. Montreal won the Cup by a score of 3â€"1. Sanya Sandahl was selected as Minnesota's player of the game.
2009â€"10
- November 16: Chisago Lakes was host to the first scrimmage of the season between the Whitecaps and the USA National team.
- December 21: Jenny Potter, Angela Ruggiero, Julie Chu, Natalie Darwitz, Caitlin Cahow, Molly Engstrom, Lisa Chesson, Jinelle Zaugg-Siergiej and Karen Thatcher all former Minnesota Whitecaps will be playing in the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games on February 12â€"28.
- On February 8, 2010, the Whitecaps clinched the WWHL Championship. The first game of the series on Friday February 5, was held at Minnetonka’s Pagel Ice Arena hosted by Minnetonka Youth Hockey Association. The Whitecaps beat Strathmore by a score of 6â€"3. Game two of the series was hosted by the NOVAS Girls High School Hockey team on Saturday, February 6, at Victory Memorial Ice Arena. The Whitecaps will look forward to competing in the Clarkson Cup Championship in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada from March 26â€"28.
- March 28: The Whitecaps defeat the Brampton Thunder by a score of 4â€"0 to win the Clarkson Cup.
2010â€"11
Exhibition
Edmonton Chimos
- December 3 to 5: The Whitecaps hosted the Edmonton Chimos, the longest run senior women's hockey team in North America. The first game was held at Andover Ice Arena and goals were scored by several Olympians including Gigi Marvin and Allie Thunstrom (Minnesota) and Meaghan Mikkelson (Edmonton), respectively. The following day, both teams faced off at Minnetonka's Pagel Arena. In a closely fought game, Meaghan Pezon scored the game-winning goal as the Whitecaps won by a 4â€"3 tally. The final game had a charitable tone as donations for the local Chaska area food shelf and Toys-For-Tots were accepted before game time. Despite a 2â€"2 score after the first period, the Whitecaps opened the game with three unanswered goal to grab a 5â€"2 win. After the game the players from both teams signed autographs.
Manitoba Maple Leafs
- January 15: The Whitecaps took on the Manitoba Maple Leafs in a battle of the border game. The Whitecaps worked with St. Luke’s Orthopedics & Sports Medicine training to instruct young players on how to exercise using proper techniques. Amy Stech scored first for the Minnesota Whitecaps while Briana Jentner scored the second goal of the game. Manitoba replied with a goal in the first minute of play with an unassisted goal from Crystal Sager. Allie Thunstrom scored to give the Whitecaps a 3â€"1 lead. Maple Leafs skater Chantal Larocque scored twice to tie the game. In the third period, Amy Stech opened the scoring for Minnesota. Allie Sanchez would provide the Whitecaps with a 5â€"3 lead. Allie Thunstrom and Meaghan Pezon put the puck behind Manitoba goalie Melissa Kanzelman to increase the lead. Manitoba skater Crystal Sager made it 7â€"4 Minnesota, but Thunstrom scored to extend the lead to four goals. Briana Jentner would score again, and Thunstrom would get the hat trick for a 10â€"4 lead. Manitoba’s Melissa Jacques made it 10 â€"5 Whitecaps as that would be the final tally.
Strathmore Rockies
- January 31 to February 2, 2011: The Whitecaps travelled to Strathmore, Alberta to play the Strathmore Rockies in a three-game series. Game one and two were held at the Strathmore Family Arena. The final game was at the Edge School Ice Arena. In the first game, the final score was 8â€"3 as the Whitecaps fired fifty shots against Rockies goaltender Amanda Squire. The following day, the Whitecaps took advantage of four Rockies penalties in the first period to jump to a 2â€"0 lead. Gigi Marvin would score two goals as the Whitecaps bested the Rockies by a 6â€"3 tally. On February 2, the Whitecaps and Rockies faced off at 8:30 am. Strathmore opened the scoring but quickly fell behind by a 2â€"1 score. Gigi Marvin had a hat trick as the Whitecaps won 9â€"3 and swept the series.
2011â€"12
The Canadian Women's Hockey League announced on April 19, 2011, that it would merge with the Western Women's Hockey League for the 2011â€"12 season. The merger would feature one team based in Edmonton and Calgary and would be combination of the former WWHL franchises the Edmonton Chimos and Strathmore Rockies. The team would play their games in various locations around Alberta.
The Minnesota Whitecaps and the Manitoba Maple Leafs continue to be active teams and are playing a number of exhibition games as the league expands to include several new teams.
In 2012, the relations between the LCHF and the WWHL are tightened: The Director-manager of the Minnesota Whitecaps accusing the Canadian Women's Hockey League of closing deliberately a possible participation of Whitecaps in the tournament of the next Clarkson Cup. The WWHL, as for her, plans an expansion towards Toronto for the season 2012â€"13.
2015â€"16
Since 2011â€"2012, Whitecaps play only exhibition games against CWHL, NCAA, High School and NWHL teams.
Exhibition games
Season record
Whitecaps have a 6â€"5â€"0 season record with a 2â€"2â€"0 record against NWHL teams, a 3â€"2â€"0 record against NCAA team and a 1â€"2â€"0 record against Shattuck-St. Mary's School.
International
Four Whitecaps were selected by Team USA for the 2016 IIHF Women's World Championship : Monique Lamoureux, Jocelyne Lamoureux, Jessica Vetter and Alex Rigsby. Boston Pride is the only team with more players with five members.
2016â€"17
For the 2016â€"2017 season, Whitecaps schedule no games against CWHL or NWHL teams. Six double oppositions are scheduled against NCAA teams and Shattuck-St. Mary's School.
Current Roster 2011â€"12
Reference
Coaching Staff 2011â€"12
- Whitecaps Owned: Jack Brodt
- General Manager: Peg Thomas
- Head Coach: Jack Brodt
- Assistant Coach: Dwayne Schmidgall
- Assistant Coach: Justin Brown
- Assistant Coach: Jim Minkoff
- Director of Marketing: Kristie Minkoff
- Team Physician: Dr. Howard Fidler
- Athletic Trainer: Dr. Andy Masis
Reference
Awards and honors
- Natalie Darwitz, Western Women’s Hockey League Most Valuable Player (2006â€"07)
- 2008 Breaking Barriers Award: Presented at National Girls and Women in Sports Day in St. Paul
- 2009 Clarkson Cup Top role model: Julie Chu
- 2009 Clarkson Cup Top defense: Caitlin Cahow
- In March 2010, the Whitecaps became the first American team to win the Clarkson Cup
- 2010 Clarkson Cup Most Valuable Player:Julie Chu
- 2010 Clarkson Cup Final, Player of the Game, Brooke White-Lancette
Notable former players
See also
- Western Women's Hockey League (WWHL)
- Manitoba Maple Leafs
- Clarkson Cup
- 2010 Clarkson Cup
- 2011 Clarkson Cup
References
External links
- Minnesota Whitecaps Website
- Minnesota Whitecaps on Facebook
- Minnesota Whitecaps on Twitter
- photo gallery
- WWHL official site