Montreal Axion


The Montreal Axion were a National Women's Hockey League team located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Axion represented Quebec at the 2005 Esso Women's Nationals. They were previously known as Bonaventure Wingstar and Montreal Wingstar. This team was succeeded as the women's professional hockey team of Montreal by the Montreal Stars in the Canadian Women's Hockey League, starting with the 2007–2008 season.

History

The team evolved in the National Women's Hockey League starting in the 1998–99 season. During the inaugural season, they were named the "Bonaventure Wingstar", then the following season, they became the "Montreal Wingstar". Five years after its creation, in 2003, the team was renamed the Montreal Axion.

Season-by-season

SeasonGPWLTGFGAPts
1998–9934131651049131
1999–200035187101166246
2000–014030641636364
2001–023011145667827
2002–033618153838139
2003–0436201151138446
2004–0536241021408551
2005–06361419310012233
2006–0713670665613

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, Pts = Points.
;1998–99
The team takes gains the first championship of its division. During the playoff rounds, the Wingstar manages to steal in the first tour by winning its 2 matches and to consider for championship finale. The team loses the finale match 2–5 against Brampton Thunder which is crowned champion.
;1999–2000
The second season is more difficult and the Wingstar escapes from a single point the first position to the Division classification. In playoffs, St-Julie's panthers eliminate Wingstar from the first round:
;2000–01
The big addition of the 2000–01 season is the arrival of the goaltender Manon Rhéaume. Rhéaume performe indeed and help the team to finish at the top of the East Division. The team's attack is not outdone by the presence of Caroline Ouellette and France St-Louis. Behind the bench, Julie Healy acts as coach. Healy sees furthermore in the supervision of Concordia Stingers.
;2004–05
Several new players come lent strong hand to the team, among others Gina Kingsbury, Angela Ruggiero, Jenny Lavigne and Annie Desrosiers. For Goaltender, Charline Labonté replaces Manon Rhéaume. The Axion ends in the 1ier Division rank and 3th in the league. Gina Kingsbury score 31 goals and has 29 assist. She finish the season of 30 matches with more than 60 points contributing to the Axion'successes. In the Playoff rounds, Montreal Axion goes to finale game but loses in barrage 5–4 against Toronto Aeros. Also Montreal Axion represents Quebec to the 2005 Esso National Championships.
;2005–06
Axion of Montreal wins the National Women's Hockey League Championship by a victory 1–0 against Brampton Thunder in front of 6 000 supporters at Brampton, Ontario. The victorious Goal is scorer by Lisa-Marie Breton and the Shutout goes to Charline Labonté. Axion beforehand finished in the second rank) of its division, behind Ottawa Raiders. It is about the only championship taken gained by Montreal Axion in the history of the National Women's Hockey League.
;2006–07
Less fortunate, this season, Montreal Axion ends in the Division 5th rank of the regular season but recovers serial eliminating heats: at first by gaining the East Division Championship then by participating in Championship Finale of National Women's Hockey League. Brampton Thunder triumphs 4–0 against Montreal Axion. Bramton Thunder so takes gains the championship. In the grip of grave difficulty financiers, the National Women's Hockey League stops its activities a little time after

Season standings

YearRegular SeasonPlayoffs
1998–991st place, Eastern Divisionlost in final
1999–20002nd, Eastern Divisioneliminated in first round
2000–011st place,Eastern Divisioneliminated in first round
2001–022nd, Eastern Divisioneliminated in first round
2002–031st place, Eastern Divisioneliminated in first round
2003–041st place, Eastern Divisioneliminated in first round
2004–051st place, Eastern DivisionFinalist, lost in Final game
2005–062nd, Eastern DivisionNWHL champions
2006–075th,in one divisionfinalist, lost the final game

NWHL Championships

NumberPlayerFormer TeamHometown
54Sabrina PatenaudeMontreal Axion Pierrefond, Quebec
53Jenny LavigneMontreal Axion Montreal, Quebec
20Sophie CourtemancheMontreal Axion
20Krystel BoutinMontreal Axion Longueuil, Quebec

NumberPlayerFormer TeamHometown
96Dominique ThibaultMontreal Axion Boucherville, Quebec
48Annie DesrosiersMontreal Axion St-Antoine-sur-Richelieu, Quebec
27Catherine BertrandMontreal Axion Sherbrooke, Quebec
26Lisa-Marie BretonMontreal Axion Montreal, Quebec
25Melanie ManthaMontreal Axion Montreal, Quebec
23Jesse ScanzanoMontreal Axion Montreal, Quebec
22Erika PouliotMontreal Axion Montreal, Quebec
16Valerie HamelMontreal Azion Montreal, Quebec
16Karell EmardMontreal Axion Richelieu, Quebec
12Kelly SudiaMontreal Axion Pointe-Claire, Quebec
11Anouk Grignon-LanglaisMontreal Axion Outremont, Quebec
7Veronique SanfaconMontreal Axion Beauport, Quebec
6Sarah SmileyMontreal Axion Toronto, Ontario
5Cynthia MorinMontreal Axion

Notable players

Several former players of Montreal Axion become famous in the new Canadian Women's Hockey League, among others Lisa-Marie Breton-Lebreux, Caroline Ouellette, Kim St-Pierre, Nathalie Déry, Angela Ruggiero, Dominique Thibault, Emmanuelle Blais, Charline Labonté, Sabrina Harbec, Jesse Scanzano, Kelly Sudia and Jenny Lavigne
Reference