Esso women's hockey nationals explained

The Abby Hoffman Cup
Sport:Ice hockey
Givenfor:Hockey Canada's women's national champions
Country:Canada
First:1982
Number:27
Last:2008
Firstwinner:Agincourt Canadians
Mostwins:Team Québec (5)
Toronto Aeros (5)
Mostrecent:Mississauga Chiefs

Hockey Canada's Women's National Championship for the Abby Hoffman Cup,[1] sometimes known as the Esso Women's Nationals for sponsorship reasons,[2] was a senior ice hockey championship from 1982 to 2008. The first edition was hosted in Brantford, Ontario from 1-4 April 1982 (originally known as the Shoppers Drug Mart Women's Nationals).

The competition typically featured nine or ten teams, mostly the provincial champions but also sometimes provincial all-star teams or a local host team. The winners won the Abby Hoffman Cup with gold medals, the runners up won the Fran Rider Cup with silver medals, and the third-place team won the Maureen McTeer Trophy with bronze medals. The Abby Hoffman Cup was donated by the Ontario Women's Hockey Association.

From 1982 to 2003, the teams were split into two somewhat even groups for round-robin play before the knockout games and the ranking or medal games. From 2004 to 2007, the teams were split into two distinct groups from which all five Pool A teams advanced to the knockout phase with only the Pool B winners. In 2008, the last year for the competition, the teams were again slit into two distinct groups, but only the four Pool A teams played for medals (CWHL and WWHL teams)[3] while the four Pool B teams played for a B title.[4]

History

Since the split between the National Women's Hockey League and the Western Women's Hockey League in 2004, this was the only event in the professional women's hockey calendar that saw teams from the two leagues play against each other. Although an agreement between the NWHL and the WWHL was reached in 2006 to merge the two leagues (wherein the latter would be absorbed as a separate division of the former), difficulty in setting up the Nationals alongside an interlocking playoff format prevented the merger from taking place - the Nationals eventually would take place mere days after the WWHL playoffs and before the NWHL playoffs.

With the collapse of the NWHL soon after and the establishment of the Canadian Women's Hockey League in Eastern Canada, the Esso Nationals, which will also serve as a playoff of sorts between the WWHL and CWHL, received a format overhaul in 2008, in which the top two teams from the WWHL (representing British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan) and the top two teams from the CWHL (representing Ontario and Quebec) automatically qualified for the event. Teams representing the provinces without teams in either league filled out the remainder of the field, due to Hockey Canada requirements that every province be represented. The Abby Hoffman Cup was awarded to both the club pool and the team pool champions. Similarly, the Fran Rider Cup and the Maureen McTeer Trophy (the trophies awarded for the silver and bronze medalists at the Esso Nationals) were awarded in both the club and team pool tournaments.

To level the playing field (which in recent years had been dominated by club teams) for 2008, the four club teams played in a separate tournament from the four all-star teams (and thus two championships were awarded at the Esso Nationals), with the intent that the club pool (with the Clarkson Cup as its championship) would be splintered off into its own tournament at some point in the future. The 2008 tournament also saw the first American team to qualify, with the Minnesota Whitecaps joining the Calgary Oval X-Treme in representing the WWHL in the club pool. The format was the same for both the club and team tournaments: after the four teams played a single round robin pool, the four teams were seeded based on their standings and played a single-elimination tournament for the championship.

This arrangement had lasted for only one year; in 2009, the dispute between Clarkson and the Clarkson Cup's artists was settled, and a new championship, the National Canadian Women's Hockey Championship, was created for the professional teams, under the same format. However, this was not without cost as Hockey Canada elected to discontinue the Esso Women's Nationals in favour of the Esso Cup, a new national female midget 'AAA' championship.

Past winners

Seasonwidth=140px Winnerswidth=50px Scorewidth=140px Runners-upMVPVenueThird Place
1981-82Agincourt Canadians
3-2Edmonton ChimosDawn McGuireBrantford, OntarioTitan de Montréal
1982-83Burlington Ladies
6-3Edmonton ChimosBarb NugentBrantford, OntarioMaidstone Saskies
1983-84Edmonton Chimos
5-4St-HyacintheShirley CameronSpruce Grove, AlbertaHamilton Golden Hawks (COWHL)
1984-85Edmonton Chimos
4-3Hamilton Golden Hawks (COWHL)Angela JamesSummerside, Prince Edward IslandBelvederes de Montréal
1985-86Hamilton Golden Hawks (COWHL)
7-2Maidstone SaskiesLinda DeAngelisNorth Battleford, SaskatchewanEdmonton Chimos
1986-87Hamilton Golden Hawks (COWHL)
3-2Edmonton ChimosAngela JamesRiverview, New BrunswickMaidstone Saskies
1987-88Sherbrooke Christin Autos
4-3Edmonton ChimosFrance St-LouisBurlington, OntarioHamilton Golden Hawks (COWHL)
1988-89Sherbrooke Christin Autos
4-3North York Aeros (COWHL)Tammy BezaireCoquitlam, British ColumbiaEdmonton Chimos
1989-90Sherbrooke Christin Autos
5-1Edmonton ChimosFrance St-LouisLloydminster, SaskatchewanNorth York Aeros (COWHL)
1990-91North York Aeros (COWHL)
1-0Sherbrooke Christin AutosFrance St-LouisVerdun, QuebecEdmonton Chimos
1991-92Edmonton Chimos
4-0North York Aeros (COWHL)Edmonton, AlbertaSherbrooke Christin Autos
1992-93North York Aeros (COWHL)
4-3Edmonton ChimosJane LagacéOttawa, OntarioRepentigny
1993-94Équipe du Québec
5-2Edmonton ChimosWinnipeg, ManitobaNorth York Aeros (COWHL)
1994-95Équipe du Québec
5-2Maritime Sport BladesSummerside, Prince Edward IslandCalgary Classics
1995-96[5] Équipe du Québec
3-2North York Aeros (COWHL)Hayley WickenheiserMoncton, New BrunswickMaritime Sport Blades
1996-97[6] Edmonton Chimos
3-2Équipe du QuébecFrance St-LouisRichmond, British ColumbiaNorth York Aeros (COWHL)
1997-98[7] Calgary Oval X-Treme
3-2North York Aeros (COWHL)France St-LouisCalgary, AlbertaÉquipe du Québec
1998-99[8] Équipe du Québec
4-2Calgary Oval X-TremeHayley WickenheiserMississauga, OntarioNorth York Aeros (NWHL)
1999-2000[9] North York Aeros (NWHL)
2-1Équipe du QuébecHayley WickenheiserSydney, Nova ScotiaCalgary Oval X-Treme
2000-01[10] Calgary Oval X-Treme
1-0Équipe du QuébecCaroline OuelletteSummerside, Prince Edward IslandNorth York Aeros (NWHL)
2001-02[11] Équipe du Québec
1-0North York Aeros (NWHL)Kim St-PierreArnprior, Ontario and Renfrew, OntarioBrampton Thunder (NWHL)
2002-03[12] Calgary Oval X-Treme (NWHL)
6-3Brampton Thunder (NWHL)Danielle GoyetteSaskatoon, SaskatchewanÉquipe du Québec
2003-04[13] Toronto Aeros (NWHL)
2-1Calgary Oval X-Treme (NWHL)Hayley WickenheiserSherwood Park, AlbertaEdmonton Chimos (NWHL)
2004-05[14] Toronto Aeros (NWHL)
2-1Brampton Thunder (NWHL)Cheryl PounderSarnia, OntarioMontreal Axion (NWHL)
2005-06[15] Brampton Thunder (NWHL)
2-1Montreal Axion (NWHL)Annie DesrosiersSydney, Nova ScotiaCalgary Oval X-Treme (WWHL)
2006-07[16] Calgary Oval X-Treme (WWHL)
3-0Etobicoke Dolphins (NWHL)Hayley WickenheiserSalmon Arm, British ColumbiaMississauga Aeros (NWHL)
2007-08[17] Mississauga Chiefs (CWHL)
3-2Brampton Canadette-Thunder (CWHL)Hayley WickenheiserCharlottetown, Prince Edward IslandCalgary Oval X-Treme (WWHL)

Game details

Awards and honors

Players of the game

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Historic trophies. March 3, 2024.
  2. Web site: Esso Women's Nationals. March 3, 2024.
  3. Web site: Field is set for 2008. March 7, 2008 . March 3, 2024.
  4. Web site: New format announced. November 14, 2007 . March 3, 2024.
  5. News: Hockey Canada 1996 National Championships. March 3, 2024.
  6. News: Hockey Canada 1997 National Championships. March 3, 2024.
  7. News: Hockey Canada 1998 National Championships. March 3, 2024.
  8. News: Hockey Canada 1999 National Championships. March 3, 2024.
  9. News: Hockey Canada 2000 National Championships. March 3, 2024.
  10. News: Hockey Canada 2001 National Championships. March 3, 2024.
  11. News: Hockey Canada 2002 National Championships. March 3, 2024.
  12. News: Hockey Canada 2003 National Championships. March 3, 2024.
  13. News: Hockey Canada 2004 National Championships. March 3, 2024.
  14. News: Hockey Canada 2005 National Championships. March 3, 2024.
  15. News: Hockey Canada 2006 National Championships. March 3, 2024.
  16. News: Hockey Canada 2007 National Championships. March 3, 2024.
  17. News: Hockey Canada 2008 National Championships. March 3, 2024.
  18. Web site: Alberta downs Ontario 3-2 in Overtime in Gold Medal Final to win 1998 Esso Women’s Nationals Hockey Championship. March 22, 1998 . Hockey Canada. 28 June 2010.
  19. Web site: Esso Canadian National Championships 2003 . March 16, 2003 . Ontario Women's Hockey Association . 6 April 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110706192710/http://www.owha.on.ca/esso_2003_winners.asp . 6 July 2011 .
  20. News: ALBERTA (CALGARY OVAL X-TREME) WINS 2007 ESSO WOMEN'S NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. March 10, 2007. May 28, 2021 . en.
  21. News: AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED AT ESSO WOMEN'S NATIONALS. March 8, 2007. May 28, 2021 . en.
  22. News: TEAM ONTARIO CAPTURES 2006 ESSO WOMEN'S NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP QUEBEC TAKES HOME THE SILVER, ALBERTA WINS BRONZE. March 12, 2006. May 28, 2021 . en.

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