When the final buzzer sounded on Saturday afternoon, Julie Chu was the first to embrace Les Canadiennes goaltender Charline Labonté. Labonté had her third shutout of the season and the 11th of her CWHL career, but this one was like no other.
5,938 fans filed in to the Bell Centre to watch Les Canadiennes beat the defending Clarkson Cup champion Calgary Inferno 1-0. It was the first meeting between the two teams since last year’s final where Montreal lost 8-3.
After that loss, Labonté had to deal with a big contingent of media and took the blame.