Match Series Preview: Canada vs. America

Elizabeth Giguere’s dream came true this week.

It is the first time a young woman has been named to the women’s national team to face the United States in the tournament.

Now 25, Giguère had to wait a few years before he was finally chosen.

“I wasn’t ready at the beginning, about five years ago, I recognize the player from Quebec. I always told myself that if I continue to improve myself and work, I can believe in my dream. Of course I’m not going to give up. Even though I’m 25 years old, I’m still in my best years. Glad I got the chance.”

All is not always well in the lives of attackers. Many trials were ahead of her, this from childhood.

Although his relatives succeeded in giving him a hook for hockey, Giguere had to work hard to convince his parents that it was a real passion.

“My parents didn’t want to sign me up for hockey because it costs a lot of money. But I really wanted to try and it was fun,” says Marie-Philippe Poulin, whose favorite player is. “I started saving money, and at one point my mother asked me why I was doing this. I told her to play hockey. My parents understood that they didn’t have much choice anymore! The next year I started playing hockey, and even though I wasn’t very good, I liked it right away. »

Giguere played her first seasons with predominantly boys teams before joining the girls at the U15 and U18 levels with Quebec’s Citadels.

After three years of playing for the Cégep de Limoilou, where she won the championship, the MVP title, the player of the year title, and finished first in the team score twice, the player must now decide which university to attend.

Soon, Clarkson University became a favorite choice for the entire family.

“It was hard at first because I didn’t want to leave Quebec,” admits Giguere, who represented Canada at the Women’s U18 World Cup in 2015 and the Nations Cup in 2017. He speaks English. I don’t want to go too far from home. My parents encouraged me to go there and learn English. Since it was a five-hour drive, I went to visit Clarkson University, which I loved! It was a small school and the staff promised to help me. Hockey is also good there. »

In his first season, 2017-2018, Clarkson was able to reach the US National University Championship (Frozen Four). In the final, it was Giguere who played the hero with the winning goal in extra time.

Giguère became one of the best players in college hockey; He was named to the All-American first team twice, as well as Rookie of the Year and ECAC Most Valuable Player of the Year. He was the Golden Knights’ leading scorer for three straight seasons and the NCAA’s leading scorer. Additionally, in 2019-20, she received the Patty-Kassmeyer Award for Outstanding Player in Women’s Hockey in the NCAA.

After four seasons at Clarkson, including his last as team captain, Giguere sits atop the school’s all-time scoring leader with 233 points in 137 games (99 goals and 134 assists).

Due to the pandemic, Giguère was able to play a fifth NCAA season with the University of Minnesota in Duluth, with whom he reached the finals of the national tournament for the second time, while being named a second-team All-American.

This additional year allowed her NCAA career total of 295 points, which ranks her sixth in tour history.

“My best memory is winning the US National University Championship,” says the quarterfinalist who scored a goal in overtime. “It’s very hard to win. The last years I was captain were tough for everyone because we were in the middle of a pandemic, but I wouldn’t change a thing about it. I’ll remember my year at UMD for the rest of my life. It was one of the best years of my life. We made it to the finals. Come on, it would have been nice to have won another national title.

These years spent with our neighbors to the south also shaped who Elizabeth Giguere became.

She has no regrets about her decision to go there as she realizes that her life has changed for the better, whether as a hockey player or as a person.

“On a scale of one to ten, I was one at the beginning and now I’m at ten,” said the now playing for Boston Pride in the Premier Hockey League. “It’s unbelievable! I didn’t speak a word of English, I was shy and very reserved. I really grew as a person. I’m very mature and now bilingual. As a hockey player, I learned a lot from my coaches at Clarkson. Through Minnesota-Duluth I got to find another perspective. Done, it allowed me to learn more. »

Meet Pride Forward Elizabeth Giguere (@Eligiguere11) after an electric start to her PHF career! pic.twitter.com/k65e6dommU

—The Boston Pride (@TheBostonPride) November 11, 2022

Aside from Boston, the next chapter of Giguere’s career will be written in the west of the continent with Canada.

Although this is the player’s first appearance with the Women’s National Team, Roster Head Coach Troy Ryan has been following her performance for some time.

“I remember she already participated in one of our preparatory camps in Halifax for the Women’s World,” recalled Ryan, who has been at the helm of the team since the summer of 2019. Last August, we got a good look at it. She was confident and relaxed. We started following her further. We already followed her, but we really liked what she showed us at camp in August. »

What could be better than facing America in a baptism of fire with a Canadian creation?

“Having the tournament a few weeks after the Women’s World Championships allows us to renew the foundation of our program,” says the veteran coach. So we thought it was a great time for him to play against the Americans. She is obviously a very talented player who likes to create opportunities on offense. Let’s try to give her as much information as possible while letting her intuition guide her. »

After spending a few days with the rest of the squad, Elizabeth Giguere is already well aware of the importance of these three games collectively and individually.

“It’s very important to beat the Americans,” concludes Jaguare. “For me, this is my first real match against the United States. You can see on TV how intense it is, and I can’t wait to experience it. The game systems, the functioning of the team, I’ll have to observe a lot to learn all that. It’s mental for me. No pressure, I want to learn. After a few practices I have already learned a lot of tricks. I’m going to play hockey, I hope everything goes well. »