December 5, 2013, OTTAWA (ISN) – Kim Deschênes, a forward from the reigning CIS champion University of Montreal Carabins, has been named captain of the Canadian women’s hockey team for the 2013 Winter Universiade tournament in Trentino, Italy.
Canada heads into the biennial competition as defending two-time champion thanks to a 4-1 gold-medal win against Finland in 2011 in Erzurum, Turkey, and a 3-1 triumph over host China in 2009, when the sport made its FISU Games debut in Harbin.
In Trentino, the Canucks will kick off their title defence against Spain on Dec. 10 (8 p.m. local / 2 p.m. EST). The gold-medal final is set for Dec. 20.
Deschênes is the only returning player from the 2011 gold-winning squad. Her alternate captains in Italy will be Caitlin MacDonald, a rearguard from the University of Manitoba, as well as forwards Katia Clément-Heydra of McGill and Morgan McHaffie of Queen’s, all of whom were named CIS all-Canadians last season.
“The selection of these four captains was not easy. All of the other 16 players on Team Canada currently lead their respective university teams and would have been able to do the same for us in Trentino,” said Canadian head coach Howie Draper, who has served as bench boss of the University of Alberta Pandas since their inaugural CIS season in 1997-98. “Our staff discussed these four as strong candidates given their experience in the league and the respect that the opposing teams in their conferences have for them. We also consulted their university team coaches who spoke very highly of their ability to lead.
“Kim was an obvious selection as our captain. She has already won Universiade gold and has also played an instrumental role in leading her university team to silver and gold medals at the last two CIS championships. It is clear that she knows how to win and has the ability to transfer that quality to her teammates.”
A native of St. Quentin, N.B., Deschênes scored in each of Canada’s last five contests at the 2011 Universiade and finished the competition with eight points (5-3-8) in seven outings, including two game-winning goals. Last March, the Carabins captain was voted MVP of the national championship after she guided her troops to their first-ever CIS title in only their fourth season on the circuit.
MacDonald, a fifth-year senior from Winnipeg, was originally named to the 2011 FISU roster but missed the competition with an injury.
McHaffie, who hails from Guelph, Ont., and Clément-Heydra, a native of St. Bruno de Montarville, Que., currently lead their respective conferences in scoring. McHaffie tops the OUA thanks to her 24 points (9-15-24) in 17 games, while Clément-Heydra ranks first in the RSEQ with 21 points (8-13-21) in only 10 contests.
The Trentino tournament will once again be a six-team event with Great Britain, the United States, Japan, Russia and Spain rounding out the draw.
The Canadians went a perfect 14-0 overall in their first two Universiade appearances, outscoring their opponents by a 97-10 margin in the process, including 51-3 two years ago.
Following their opener against Spain on Dec. 10, the Canucks will wrap up the preliminary round versus Russia (Dec. 12), Great Britain (Dec. 13), the USA (Dec. 15) and Japan (Dec. 16). The semifinals are scheduled for Dec. 18, with the bronze and gold-medal games following on Dec. 20.
Team Canada website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/universiade/winter/2013/index
Trentino 2013 website: http://www.universiadetrentino.org/
TEAM CANADA ROSTER
Name University Elig. Hometown Academic Program
Goaltenders
- Kelly Campbell Western 3 London, Ont. BMOS (management)
- Élodie Rousseau-Sirois Montreal 3 Pohenegamook, Que. Architecture
Defence
- Sophie Brault Montreal 4 St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que. Administration
- Christi Capozzi UBC 5 Kelowna, B.C. Kinesiology
- Brittney Fouracres McGill 3 Calgary, Alta. Engineering
- Caitlin MacDonald Manitoba 5 Winnipeg, Man. Business
- Jenna Pitts StFX 4 Antigonish, N.S. Science
- Kimberley Wong Guelph 5 Mississauga, Ont. Arts
Forwards
- Laura Brooker Laurier 4 Fergus, Ont. English
- Gabrielle Davidson McGill 2 Pointe Claire, Que. Management
- Kim Deschênes Montreal 5 St. Quentin, N.B. Arts & Science
- Katia Clément-Heydra McGill 4 St. Bruno de Montarville, Que.Industrial Relations
- Josianne Legault Montreal 4 Granby, Que. Science
- Morgan McHaffie Queen’s 5 Guelph, Ont. Physical & Health Education
- Alex Normore StFX 4 Bedford, N.S. Science
- Amanda Parkins Guelph 2 Kitchener, Ont. Sociology
- Jessica Pinkerton Guelph 3 Oshawa, Ont. Sociology
- Tatiana Rafter UBC 4 Winnipeg, Man. Arts
- Jenna Smith Calgary 4 Swift Current, Sask. Arts
- Cara Wooster Saskatchewan – Luseland, Sask. Arts & Science
NOTE: The year of CIS eligibility listed is for the 2013-14 season. Cara Wooster of Saskatchewan used her fifth and final year of CIS eligibility in 2012-13.
Originally selected but out with an injury:
Katelyn Gosling Western 3 London, Ont. Social Sciences
Staff
- General Manager: Mike Kraichy Hockey Alberta
- Head Coach: Howie Draper University of Alberta
- Assistant Coach: Rachel Flanagan University of Guelph
- Assistant Coach: Isabelle Leclaire University of Montreal
- Athletic Therapist: Crissy McPhee University of Ottawa
- Equipment Manager: Scott Cyr University of Saskatchewan
TEAM CANADA TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE (all times local)
- Dec. 10 (20:00): Canada vs. Spain
- Dec. 12 (16:00): Canada vs. Russia
- Dec. 13 (12:00): Canada vs. Great Britain
- Dec. 15 (20:00): Canada vs. USA
- Dec. 16 (16:00): Canada vs. Japan
- Dec. 18 (16:00): Semifinal #1 (3 vs. 2)
- Dec. 18 (20:00): Semifinal #2 (4 vs. 1)
- Dec. 19 (16:00): 5th place
- Dec. 20 (16:00): Bronze
- Dec. 20 (20:00): Final
CANADA’S ALL-TIME RESULTS IN WOMEN’S HOCKEY AT UNIVERSIADE
2011 (Erzurum, Turkey)
- 2-1 vs. Finland (SO)
- 3-0 vs. Slovakia
- 14-0 vs. Great Britain
- 9-0 vs. USA
- 11-0 vs. Turkey
- 8-1 vs. USA (semifinal)
- 4-1 vs. Finland (final)
2009 (Harbin, China)
- 11-0 vs. Great Britain
- 5-0 vs. Finland
- 6-3 vs. Slovakia
- 7-1 vs. China
- 4-1 vs. Japan
- 10-1 vs. Slovakia (semifinal)
- 3-1 vs. China (final)
About the Winter Universiade
The Winter Universiade is a biennial international multi-sport event open to competitors who are at least 17 and less than 28 years of age as of January 1 in the year of the Games. Participants must be full-time students at a post-secondary institution (university, college, CEGEP) or have graduated from a post-secondary institution in the year preceding the event. The competition program of the Trentino Universiade includes alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, curling, figure skating, freestyle skiing, ice hockey (women & men), nordic combined, ski jumping, snowboarding, and speed skating (short & long track).
About Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Every year, 11,000 student-athletes and 700 coaches from 55 universities and four regional associations vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit www.cis-sic.ca or follow us on:
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/CIS_SIC
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cissports
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/universitysport
 – Kim Deschênes, a forward from the reigning CIS champion University of Montreal Carabins, has been named captain of the Canadian women’s hockey team for the 2013 Winter Universiade tournament in Trentino, Italy.){kind=link}