They didn’t call them the Brampton Thunder for nothing. Being one of the original teams in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, the Thunder were consistently a top contender throughout the league’s history, winning two Clarkson Cup Championships in 2014 and 2016, as well as making the finals in half of all of the championship finals in the league’s 12-year history.

Brampton is a city with a strong history when it comes to ice hockey, especially women’s hockey.

Cassie Campbell, former captain of the Canadian Olympic team, grew up in and played for Brampton. She has a community centre in Brampton named in her honour and continues a successful broadcasting career.

Jayna Hefford, another Canadian hockey legend, was also raised in and played for Brampton. She played for Canada’s national team for over 17 years, winning four Olympic gold medals and seven world championships. She is also one of the all-time leading scorers in women’s international hockey.

Continuing our proud tradition, it’s my privilege to invite members of this House to come on down to Brampton between April 5 and April 16 where we will be hosting the 2023 IIHF Women’s World Championship at the CAA Centre.

Today, fans from coast to coast to coast look forward to seeing the likes of Sarah Nurse, Jocelyne Larocque and Marie-Philip Poulin next month, as they wow the world on the international stage.

Speaker, Brampton is a hockey town. I want to wish Team Canada all the best in April. I know they’ll make us proud.

This time last Monday, the Sault College Cougars women’s hockey team was in Boston preparing to play in the final game of the playoff tournament for the American Collegiate Hockey Association Women’s Division 2 national championship. The team was set to face off against Northeastern University. After the heartbreaking 2021-22 season finish losing at the ACHA nationals, the team was hungry to bring the championship home. Going into the tournament, the team was undefeated—a perfect 30 and 0. No pressure at all.

In the game, Emily Moore scored twice, while Emma Lee, Alyssa Turcotte, Brooke Brazeau and Stephanie Pagnotta added singles for the Soo. Emily Hansen got the start in goal.

I am pleased to say that the Sault College Cougars completed the season with a 6-1 win over the Northeastern team, bringing home the trophy for the ACHA Women’s Division 2 national championship game. The Cougars finished the season with a perfect 31-0-0-0 record. The club started and finished the season on a win streak—the final number coming in at 31 consecutive wins. The closest games came when the Cougars ended up on the right side of a four-goal game, two of them coming in overtime. They scored 229 goals and allowed only 22 goals, with multiple players at the top of many statistical categories.

Congratulations to the Sault College Cougars women’s hockey team for an amazing year. Go Cougars!