Markham Thunder
CityMarkham, Ontario
LeagueCanadian Women's Hockey League
Founded1998
Folded2019
Home arenaThornhill Community Centre
ColoursBlack, green, white
     
General managerChelsea Purcell
Head coachJim Jackson
CaptainJocelyne Larocque
Websitemarkham.thecwhl.com
Franchise history
1998–2017Brampton Thunder/Canadettes-Thunder
2017–2019Markham Thunder
Championships
Playoff championshipsNWHL: 1998–99, 2006–07
CWHL: 2007–08, 2017–18
Current season

The Markham Thunder was a professional women's ice hockey team in the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). From 1998 through 2017, the franchise was known as the Brampton Thunder and Brampton Canadettes-Thunder before relocating from Brampton, Ontario, to Markham, Ontario, for the 2017–18 season.[1] The CWHL ceased operations in 2019 and no further statements or actions were taken with the franchise.

Team history

Brampton Thunder logo, used from 2014 to 2017

The city of Brampton had a long history of women's ice hockey, starting with the creation of the Brampton Canadettes in 1963, whose management created the Dominion Ladies Hockey Tournament in 1967 (operating today as the Canadettes Easter Tournament).[2]

In 1998, after local athlete Cassie Campbell returned home from her silver-medal victory with Team Canada in the successful introduction of women's ice hockey at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, she commiserated with Brampton acting mayor Sue Fennell about the lack of a top level women's team in Brampton. Fennell purchased a franchise, which she named the Brampton Thunder, in the Central Ontario Women's Hockey League (COWHL), a league which had operated since 1980. From its first 1998–99 COWHL season, the Thunder played its home games in the Brampton Centre for Sports & Entertainment (renamed the Powerade Centre in 2005), which also started operation in 1998.

On 15 February 1999, during the 1998–99 COWHL season, Fennell was instrumental in turning the COWHL into the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), becoming its first President.[2][3]

The Brampton Thunder won the first NWHL Championship Cup, in 1998–99. The Thunder would also win the final NWHL Championship Cup, in 2006–07. In between, the Thunder appeared in three other NWHL Championship Cup finals, but were defeated by the Beatrice Aeros in 2002, the Calgary Oval X-Treme in 2004, and the Montreal Axion in 2006. They also played in the Esso Women's Nationals and were victorious in 2006, defeating the Montreal Axion to claim the national title. The Thunder also had the distinction of having their home arena serve as the site of all NWHL Championship Cup games.

The Brampton Thunder was a significant contributor to the roster of the Canadian national women's hockey team at the 2006 Winter Olympics, with three players (Vicky Sunohara, Jayna Hefford, and Gillian Ferrari) contributing to Canada's gold medal win. Brampton Thunder player Kathleen Kauth also participated in the 2006 Winter Olympics, playing for the bronze medal-winning American national women's hockey team. A fifth Brampton Thunder player, goaltender Cindy Eadie, also participated in the Olympics, in 2004, with the Canadian softball team.

In 2007, the NWHL suspended operations. Players from the seven disbanded NWHL teams joined seven corresponding teams in the new Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). Players from the NWHL Brampton Thunder joined the new CWHL franchise Brampton Canadettes-Thunder (generally called the Brampton Thunder), continuing the legacy of Brampton's women's ice hockey teams, starting with the 1963 Canadettes team and the 1998 Thunders team.

On January 18, 2011, the Thunder competed against the Montreal Stars at the Invista Centre in Kingston, Ontario - team captain Jayna Hefford’s hometown. Her number 15 was raised to the rafters of the Invista Centre on behalf of the Kingston Area Minor Hockey Association. As of 2012, no sweaters bearing Hefford’s number will be used in Kingston Minor Hockey.[4] On November 2, 2011, Jesse Scanzano appeared in one game for the Brampton Thunder, on loan from the Toronto Aeros. The game was an exhibition contest versus her alma mater, the Mercyhurst Lakers.[5] In the second period of said contest, Scanzano scored the game-winning goal as the Thunder defeated the Lakers 3–1.[6]

In the CWHL championship game of the 2012 Clarkson Cup, Brampton fell to the Montreal Stars 4–2. Two Thunder players earned awards for their play in the 2012 Clarkson Cup, with the Outstanding Defender award going to Molly Engstrom, while netminder Liz Knox earned the Outstanding Goaltender award.

At the 3rd CWHL All-Star Game, Jess Jones of the Thunder, along with Jillian Saulnier both scored a hat trick,[7] becoming the first competitors in CWHL All-Star Game history to achieve the feat.

Before the start of the 2017–18 CWHL season, the Brampton Thunder relocated 36 km (22 mi) east, to Markham, Ontario,[1] with home games at the Thornhill Community Centre, in Markham's Thornhill neighbourhood. The renamed Markham Thunder won the 2018 Clarkson Cup as CWHL Playoffs Champions.[1] Against the Kunlun Red Star for the Clarkson Cup championship game, Markham's Laura Stacey scored with 2:11 left in the 4-on-4 overtime for a 2–1 victory and its first Cup win.[8]

Season-by-season

Year GP W L T/OTL GF GA Pts Finish Playoffs
1998–9940307320376632nd, WesternWon NWHL Championship
1999–0040295620864642nd, WesternLost Western Division Final
2000–0140307322382632nd, WesternEliminated in first round
2001–0230814822382633rd, WesternDid not qualify
2002–0336279015271542nd, CentralLost first round
2003–0436286219072582nd, CentralLost first round
2004–0536304216570631st, CentralLost first round
2005–06361912511397433rdLost in final game
2006–07168807166163rdWon NWHL championship
2007–0830227111159451st, CentralWon CWHL championship, 4–3 (OT) vs. Mississauga Chiefs
2008–09261961n/an/a392ndLost first round vs. Mississauga Chiefs
2009–10299191n/an/a274thLost semifinals, 2–3 vs. Montreal Stars
2010–1126196111169392ndLost first round
2011–1227187210280403rdLost 2012 Clarkson Cup, 2–4 vs. Montreal Stars
2012–13[9]24101227183223rdEliminated 2013 Clarkson Cup round-robin
2013–14[9]2451634399135thDid not qualify
2014–15[9]2461624698145thDid not qualify
2015–16[9]2416719167333rdLost 2016 Clarkson Cup semifinals, 0–2 vs. Calgary Inferno
2016–17[9]24131017663263rdLost 2017 Clarkson Cup semifinals, 0–2 vs. Les Canadiennes de Montreal
2017–18[9]2814778068354thWon 2018 Clarkson Cup championship game, 2–1 (OT) vs. Kunlun Red Star WIH
2018–1928131148580303rdLost 2019 Clarkson Cup semifinals, 1–2 vs. Les Canadiennes

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, Pts = Points.

NCAA exhibitions

DateNCAA schoolScoreGoal scorers
Oct. 25, 2011Cornell Big Red women's ice hockeyCornell, 6–0[10]None
Nov. 2, 2011Mercyhurst Lakers women's ice hockeyBrampton, 3–1Jayna Hefford, Jesse Scanzano, Vicki Bendus[11]
Sept. 22, 2018Mercyhurst Lakers women's ice hockeyMarkham, 3–1[12]Jamie Lee Rattray, Ella Matteucci, Nicole Kosta

CWHL draft picks

  • The following is a listing of their top draft picks. For full draft information, please see the respective draft pages.
DraftPickPlayerFormer team
2010[13]5Delaney CollinsAlberta Pandas women's ice hockey
2011[13]4Vicki BendusMercyhurst Lakers women's ice hockey
20116Courtney BirchardNew Hampshire Wildcats women's ice hockey
20151Sarah EdneyHarvard University
20163Laura StaceyDartmouth College
20173Nicole KostaQuinnipiac University
20183 Victoria Bach Boston University

Team captains

Year(s)Captain
2011–13Jayna Hefford
2013–14Tara Gray
2014–19Jocelyne Larocque

Scoring leaders

Year-by-year

SeasonLeader (F)GPGAPtsLeader (D)GPGAPtsPPGSHGGWG
2008–09[14]Jayna Hefford27263258Molly Engstrom2891120Engstrom (7)Lori Dupuis (2)Hefford (6)
2010–11[15]Jayna Hefford27252348Molly Engstrom2822022Hefford (9)Jayna Hefford and Andrea Ironside (1)Jayna Hefford and Gillian Apps (4)
2011–12[16]Gillian Apps27192039Molly Engstrom2742327Jayna Hefford (8)Cherie Piper (1)Apps (4)
2012–13[17]Jayna Hefford21151227Courtney Birchard24099Gillian Apps (5)Three tied with 1Apps (3)
2013–14[18] Danielle Skirrow2451015Ashley Pendleton221910Two tied with 2NoneSasha Nanji (2)
2014–15Jess Jones247916Laura Fortino2451015Jones, Carly Mercer (3)Jones, Fielding Montgomery (1)Three tied with 1
2015–16Jamie Lee Rattray22131629Laura Fortino2482028Rattray (5)Rebecca Vint (2)
Fielding Montgomery (2)		Jess Jones (5)
2016–17Jess Jones24172037Laura Fortino2061319Jones (5) None Jones (3)
2017-18 Jamie Lee Rattray 28 22 17 39 Kristen Barbara 28 4 8 12 Kristen Richards (4) Rattray (1) Rattray, Jenna McParland, Kristen Richards, Taylor Woods (2)
2018-19 Victoria Bach 26 19 13 32 Laura Fortino 26 5 13 18

All-time leaders

Awards and honours

  • Brampton Canadettes Thunder won the first CWHL championship on 22 March 2008, winning 4–3 over the Mississauga Chiefs in the final.[19]
  • Markham Thunder won their first Clarkson Cup as CWHL Champions on 25 March 2018. The 2–1 win in overtime featured goals from Nicole Brown, and Laura Stacey.
  • Lori Dupuis, Top forward in the 2010 Clarkson Cup
  • Molly Engstrom, Top defender in the 2010 Clarkson Cup
  • Bobbi-Jo Slusar, Player of the Game, 2010 Clarkson Cup Final
  • Courtney Birchard, Outstanding Rookie of the Year, 2011
  • Liz Knox, Top Goaltender of the Clarkson Cup, 2012
  • Laura Fortino, Defensemen of the Year, 2015–16
  • Tyler Fines, Coach of the Year, 2015–16
  • Jess Jones, Co-winner, 2017 Angela James Bowl
  • Laura Stacey, Rookie of the Year, 2016–17
  • Jamie Lee Rattray, 2018 Jayna Hefford Trophy
  • Erica Howe, Most Valuable Player, 2018 Clarkson Cup
  • Victoria Bach, Rookie of the Year, 2018–19
  • Jim Jackson, Coach of the Year, 2018–19

Notable players

References

  1. 1 2 3 Canadian Press (2017-07-11). "CWHL's Thunder moves from Brampton to Markham". Sportsnet. Retrieved 2018-03-26.
  2. 1 2 Carlsson, Gunnar (2017-07-12). "The history of the Brampton Thunder". SB Nation. Retrieved 2018-03-26.
  3. ↑ "1999-2000 NWHL Season Under Way". National Women's Hockey League official website. 1999-09-13. Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2018-03-26.
  4. ↑ "www.cwhl.ca/news.asp?id=50". cwhl.ca. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  5. ↑ "Mercyhurst Athletics - Women's Hockey Falls Short As Bendus And Scanzano Return". hurstathletics.com. 2 November 2011. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  6. ↑ "Mercyhurst Athletics - mc-bram.htm". hurstathletics.com. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  7. ↑ "Jones shines in CWHL All-Star Game". Mississauga.com. 2017-02-13. Retrieved 2017-02-15.
  8. ↑ Kevin McGran (25 March 2018). "Laura Stacey's overtime winner gives Markham its first Clarkson Cup". Toronto Star. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Markham Thunder Elite Prospects 2012–13". EliteProspects.com. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  10. ↑ http://cornellbigred.com/documents/2011/10/14/final_stats.pdf
  11. ↑ "Mercyhurst Athletics - Women's Hockey Falls Short As Bendus And Scanzano Return". hurstathletics.com. 2 November 2011. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  12. ↑ "Mercyhurst Drops Exhibition Game to CWHL's Markham Thunder". CHAWomensHockey.com. 22 September 2018.
  13. 1 2 "News - CWHL - Canadian Women's Hockey League". Archived from the original on 2011-08-26. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
  14. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-10-07. Retrieved 2014-11-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. ↑ "CWHL: Boston Blades | Pointstreak Stats". cwhlboston_hockey.stats.pointstreak.com. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  16. ↑ "CWHL: Boston Blades | Pointstreak Stats". cwhlboston_hockey.stats.pointstreak.com. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  17. ↑ "Active Players". cwhl_site.stats.pointstreak.com. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  18. ↑ "Active Players". cwhl_site.stats.pointstreak.com. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  19. ↑ "Brampton Claims Inaugural CWHL Title". Brampton News. Archived from the original on 2008-06-17. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
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