# 2011–12 CWHL season

The 2011–12 CWHL season was the fifth in league history. Regular season play begun on October 22, 2011, as the defending champion Montreal Stars hosted the Brampton Thunder. The league expanded from five teams to six as Team Alberta (CWHL) joined the league for competitive play. The 2012 Clarkson Cup in Niagara Falls was also contested between the Stars and Thunder, with Montreal winning its second consecutive title.

## Offseason
### News and notes

* April 19: The league announced on April 19, 2011, that it would merge with the Western Women's Hockey League for the 2011-12 season. The merger featured one team based in Edmonton and Calgary and was a combination of the former WWHL franchises the Edmonton Chimos and Strathmore Rockies. The team would play their games in various locations around Alberta. Strathmore Rockies founder Samantha Holmes-Domagala, joined the sponsorship division of the CWHL to look after the requirements of the expansion team.
* July 21, 2011: Philanthropist Joan Snyder donated $2 million to Winsport Canada. The goal was to ensure priority rink access to female hockey players at all levels, and to help expand the Canadian Women's Hockey League with the creation of Team Alberta. Part of the donation would cover the new addition to the Athletic and Ice Complex at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary. This would serve as the future home to Hockey Canada. In addition, there would be four hockey rinks, one of which would aptly be named the Joan Snyder Rink. Team Alberta would benefit with the allocation of free practice time, and a dressing room exclusive to the club.

## CWHL Draft

The following are the first ten overall picks in the CWHL Draft. For further detail, please see 2011 CWHL Draft
| Pick | Player | Team |
| 1 | Meghan Agosta | Montreal Stars |
| 2 | Molly Schaus | Boston Blades |
| 3 | Meaghan Mikkelson | Team Alberta (CWHL) |
| 4 | Vicki Bendus | Brampton Thunder |
| 5 | Jesse Scanzano | Toronto CWHL |
| 6 | Courtney Birchard | Brampton Thunder |
| 7 | Catherine Ward | Montreal Stars |
| 8 | Meghan Duggan | Boston Blades |
| 9 | Bobbi-Jo Slusar | Team Alberta |
| 10 | Sommer West | Burlington Barracudas |

## NCAA exhibition

| Date | CWHL team | NCAA school | Score | CWHL goal scorers |
| Oct. 25, 2011 | Brampton Thunder | Cornell Big Red women's ice hockey | Cornell, 6-0 | None |
| Nov. 2, 2011 | Brampton Thunder | Mercyhurst Lakers women's ice hockey | Brampton, 3-1 | Jayna Hefford, Jesse Scanzano, Vicki Bendus |
* On November 2, 2011, Scanzano was on loan from the Toronto Furies, as she appeared in one game for the Brampton Thunder. The game was an exhibition contest versus her alma mater, the Mercyhurst Lakers. In the second period of said contest, Scanzano scored the game-winning goal as the Thunder defeated the Lakers by a 3-1 tally.

## Regular season
### News and notes

* October 13, 2011: The CWHL participated in two charity hockey games for cancer research at Windsor Arena. The event was called 'Stick It To Cancer' and the Montreal Stars competed versus the Toronto Furies in two games on Nov. 26 and 27. The campaign was organized in partnership by the CWHL, along with Breast Ride Ever, a not-for-profit organization. Proceeds from the games benefitted local cancer programs and the Hospice of Windsor and Essex County.
* On November 18, 2011, several Burlington Barracudas players (including Christina Kessler, Shannon Moulson, Ashley Stephenson, Jana Harrigan, Amanda Shaw, Annina Rajahuhta, Samantha Shirley, Amanda Parkins, and Lindsay Vine) competed in the first ever Hockey Helps the Homeless Women's Tournament, held at the Magna Centre in Newmarket, Ontario.
* On November 19, at Montreal, the second annual "Game on to beat breast cancer" benefit. The target to surpass the previous year's donation results was far exceeded. A new attendance record was also set at the game, with over 1,100 fans in the stands.
* On December 8, Montréal Stars offered a cheque for close to $15,000 to the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation
* Barracudas players Christina Kessler and Shannon Moulson were part of an event at Power Play Sports in Niagara Falls, Ontario on December 20, 2011 to promote the 2012 Clarkson Cup (to be held in Niagara Falls). After the event, they met players from the NFGHA (Niagara Falls Girls Hockey League) for photographs and autographs.

### Season standings

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, Pts = Points.
Regular season :
| No. | Team | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Montreal Stars | 27 | 22 | 4 | 1 | 160 | 66 | 51 |
| 2 | Boston Blades | 27 | 20 | 7 | 0 | 107 | 61 | 46 |
| 3 | Brampton Thunder | 27 | 18 | 7 | 2 | 102 | 80 | 40 |
| 4 | Toronto Furies | 27 | 9 | 13 | 5 | 75 | 105 | 26 |
| 5 | Alberta CWHL | 15 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 38 | 66 | 20 |
| 6 | Burlington Barracudas | 27 | 1 | 26 | 0 | 46 | 150 | 2 |
Team Alberta CWHL played only half of the number of regular matches. This was because of the geographical estrangement. Points were consequently adjusted with another teams.
Reference

## League leaders
### Scoring leaders

| Players | TEAM | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
| Meghan Agosta | Montreal Stars | 27 | 41 | 39 | 80 | 16 |
| Caroline Ouellette | Montreal Stars | 27 | 30 | 36 | 66 | 12 |
| Vanessa Davidson | Montreal Stars | 27 | 24 | 25 | 49 | 26 |
| Kelli Stack | Boston Blades | 27 | 24 | 17 | 41 | 16 |
| Gillian Apps | Brampton Thunder | 27 | 19 | 20 | 39 | 70 |
| Noemie Marin | Montreal Stars | 24 | 12 | 22 | 34 | 16 |
| Cherie Piper | Brampton Thunder | 25 | 12 | 21 | 33 | 10 |
| Erika Lawler | Boston Blades | 26 | 11 | 22 | 33 | 10 |
| Gigi Marvin | Boston Blades | 27 | 11 | 21 | 32 | 24 |
| Catherine Ward | Montreal Stars | 27 | 2 | 29 | 31 | 28 |
| Vicki Bendus | Brampton Thunder | 27 | 15 | 14 | 29 | 18 |
| Sarah Vaillancourt | Montreal Stars | 14 | 10 | 18 | 28 | 30 |
| Emmanuelle Blais | Montreal Stars | 21 | 10 | 17 | 27 | 24 |
| Molly Engstrom | Brampton Thunder | 27 | 4 | 23 | 27 | 22 |
| Sabrina Harbec | Montreal Stars | 17 | 8 | 16 | 24 | 2 |

### Goaltending leaders

| Player | TEAM | GP | MIN | W | L | OTL | GA | SO | GAA |
| Molly Schaus | Boston Blade | 23 | 1386:05 | 16 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.38 |
| Jenny Lavigne | Montreal Stars | 23 | 1358:13 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2.39 |
| Liz Knox | Brampton Thunder | 20 | 1206:06 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2.94 |
| Erika Vanderveer | Toronto Furies | 9 | 525:00 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.97 |
| Lundy Day | Team Alberta CWHL | 10 | 603:33 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.98 |
| Sami Jo Small | Toronto Furies | 16 | 933:13 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4.11 |
| Christina Kessler | Burlington Barracudas | 11 | 634:44 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.10 |
| Mandy Cronin | Burlington Barracudas | 13 | 675:12 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.86 |
Reference

## Awards and honours

The 2012 CWHL Awards Banquet was held on Mar. 21, 2012 in Niagara Falls, ON (during the Clarkson Cup weekend). That night, the league formally recognized the Angela James Bowl winner, the Most Valuable Player, the Goaltender of the Year, the Rookie of the Year, and the Coach of the Year.
* Most Valuable Player: Meghan Agosta, Montreal
* Angela James Bowl: Top Scorer Meghan Agosta, Montreal
* Outstanding Rookie: Courtney Birchard, Brampton
* Coach of the Year: Lauren McAuliffe, Boston

### CWHL Top Players

* Top Forward: Meghan Agosta, Montreal
* Top Defender: Catherine Ward, Montreal
* Top Goaltender: Molly Schaus, Boston

### CWHL All-Stars

First Team All-Stars
* Goaltender: Molly Schaus, Boston
* Defender: Catherine Ward, Montreal
* Defender: Molly Engstrom, Brampton
* Forward: Meghan Agosta, Montreal
* Forward: Caroline Ouellette, Montreal
* Forward: Kelli Stack, Boston
Second Team All-Stars
* Goaltender: Jenny Lavigne, Montreal
* Defender: Gigi Marvin, Boston
* Defender: Tessa Bonhomme, Toronto
* Forward: Gillian Apps, Brampton
* Forward: Jayna Hefford, Brampton
* Forward: Vanessa Davidson, Montreal

### CWHL All-Rookie Team

* Goaltender: Molly Schaus, Boston
* Defender: Catherine Ward, Montreal
* Defender: Courtney Birchard, Brampton
* Forward: Meghan Agosta, Montreal
* Forward: Kelli Stack, Boston
* Forward: Erika Lawler, Boston

### CWHL Monthly Top Scorer

* October: Kelli Stack, Boston
* November: Caroline Ouellette, Montreal
* December: Meghan Agosta, Montreal
* January: Meghan Agosta, Montreal
* February: Meghan Agosta, Montreal
* March: Gillian Apps, Brampton

## Postseason

The postseason was held at the Gale Centre in Niagara Falls, Ontario. All teams played in a round robin to determine the contestants in the Clarkson Cup finals.
| Date | Away | Home | Score |
| March 22 | Toronto | Montreal | Montreal, 7-0 |
| March 22 | Brampton | Boston | Brampton, 3-2 |
| March 23 | Toronto | Boston | Boston, 5-2 |
| March 23 | Brampton | Montreal | Montreal, 2-0 |
| March 24 | Toronto | Brampton | Brampton, 4-2 |
| March 24 | Boston | Montreal | Montreal, 5-4 (OT) |
| Team | W | L | OTL | GF | GA |
| Montreal | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 4 |
| Brampton | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 6 |
| Boston | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 10 |
| Toronto | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 16 |

### Clarkson Cup

| Date | Location | Final score | Attendance |
| 25 March | Gale Centre – Niagara Falls, ON | Montreal Stars 4-2 Brampton Thunder | 5,000 |