Vancouver Griffins

The Vancouver Griffins were a team from the National Women's Hockey League. The team was established in January 2000 by local businessman Phillip DeGrandpre. The Griffins were voted in by the NWHL in May 2000. The Griffins would become the first expansion team for the NWHL outside their traditional Ontario and Quebec base. http://www.canoe.ca/HockeyNWHL/pre_van.html The club played in New Westminster's Queens Park Arena.
==Expansion==
In 2000-01, the Vancouver Griffins played an exhibition schedule of local, CIAU and NWHL teams. The first head coach of the Griffins was Sylvain Leone. The club’s first roster was selected at a training camp in August 2000 in Abbotsford, B.C. In the 2000-01 season, the only players that were not from British Columbia were goalie Krista Cloutier of Pickardville, Alta., and Norwegian national team forward Julia Berg.
==First full season==
For the 2001-02 season, the team was owned by B.C. Sports Hall of Fame inductee Diane Nelson. The head coach was Nancy Wilson. Wilson was a certified level IV master coach and former assistant with the national women's under-22 squad. 
In 2002, the Griffins played their first full season in the National Women's Hockey League. Their first season was also the first year that the NWHL has had a western division. Olympians Nancy Drolet of Canada, Cammi Granato (signed in May 2002 http://www.realwomeninsports.com/granato.php) and Shelley Looney of the US joined the team. The Griffins' roster also included Burnaby's own 18-year-old Natashia Pellatt, a graduate of Moscrop secondary. Other younger players included 15-year-old Courtney Unrah. 
One of the highlights of the season was a victory over Hayley Wickenheiser and her Edmonton Chimos club by a 7-1 score. Drolet had a hat trick and Granato scored the other four goals against Edmonton.
==Year by year==
-
Year 	No.	GP	W 	L 	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
2000-01	6 	18	14	4 	0	- 	91	43	28
2001-02	1 	31	27	4 	0	- 	84	14	54Collins gem Hockey Facts and Stats 2009-10, p.548, Andrew Podnieks, Harper Collins Publishers Ltd, Toronto, Canada, ISBN 978-1-55468-621-6
2002-03	2 	24	10	13	0	1 	82	92	21Collins gem Hockey Facts and Stats 2009-10, p.549, Andrew Podnieks, Harper Collins Publishers Ltd, Toronto, Canada, ISBN 978-1-55468-621-6
==Inaugural Roster==
Position	Name 	City
G 	Cloutier, Krista 	Pickardville, AB
G 	Cotton, Chantal 	Vancouver, BC
G 	Price, Jennifer 	Victoria, BC
D 	Kawamoto, Kobi 	Surrey, BC
D 	Leslie, Erin 	Vancouver, BC
D 	Maskall, Patti 	Richmond, BC
D 	Pickford, Tamara 	Chilliwack, BC
D 	Sinowm, Kira 	
D 	Stevenson, Renae 	Abbotsford, BC
F 	Beaudoin, Debbie 	Surrey, BC
F 	Berg, Julia 	Randaberg, Norway
F 	Christensen, Natalie	Abbotsford, BC
F 	Gray, Alana 	Coquitlam, BC
F 	Grundy, Danielle 	Kelowna, BC
F 	Hall, Caroline 	Victoria, BC
F 	Olson, Glenda 	Abbotsford, BC
F 	Pitre, Sherri 	North Vancouver, BC
F 	Schmidt, Sherri 	Lillooet, BC
F 	Sneyd, Sonya 	Whistler, BC
F 	Stephens, Kelli 	
F 	Topolnisky, Elaine 	Logan Lake, BC
F 	Wong, Samantha 	Vancouver, BC
http://www.canoe.ca/HockeyNWHL/ros_van.html
==References==
Category:Women's ice hockey in Canada
Category:Women's ice hockey teams in Canada
Category:Defunct ice hockey teams in Canada