The Mississauga Chiefs were a professional women's ice hockey team that played in the Canadian National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) and the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). They played in Mississauga, Ontario at the Hershey Centre and the Iceland Mississauga in the Greater Toronto Area. Founded as the Mississauga Chiefs in 1993, the team was known as the Mississauga Ice Bears during 2000 to 2003 and as the Oakville Ice during 2003 to 2007.
History The Mississauga Chiefs were founded in 1993 in the Central Ontario Women's Hockey League (COWHL) where they played for five seasons. In 1998, the COWHL was reorganized and became the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL). The team changed their name to Mississauga Ice Bears from 2000 to 2003 and the Oakville Ice from 2003 to 2007. In 2007–08, the NWHL disbanded and the clubs were re-organized to join the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). As part of the new league, the Oakville Ice merged with the Mississauga Aeros to re-affiliate with the Chiefs' hockey organization to become the Mississauga Chiefs again. In 2008, they were the CWHL championship runner-up to the Brampton Thunder. The Chiefs participated in the 2010 Clarkson Cup. In 2010–11, the CWHL was restructured and reduced the number of its teams to five, eliminating the Mississauga Chiefs and two other teams, and created a new Toronto team that acquired several former Chiefs players including Jennifer Botterill and Sami Jo Small.
The Chiefs' name continued to be used by the organization for their Mississauga Jr. Chiefs and youth girls' programs.the Mississauga Girls Hockey League (MGHL) http://www.whockey.com/team/chiefs/mghl.html
Season-by-season
Year GP W L T GF GA Pts Finish Playoffs 1998–99 40 23 15 2 117 75 48 3rd, Western Div. Eliminated in first round 1999–00 40 21 13 6 133 79 48 3rd, Western Div. Did not qualify 2000–01 40 21 16 3 107 97 45 3rd, Western Div. Did not qualify 2001–02 30 12 10 8 82 81 32 2nd, Western Div. 2002–03 26 19 14 3 122 111 42 3rd, Central Div. 2003–04 36 17 17 2 118 99 36 3rd, Central Div. 2004–05 36 13 17 6 97 99 34 3rd, Central Div. 2005–06 36 20 15 1 118 100 42 3rd, Central Div. 2006–07 21 15 6 0 107 51 31 5th, NWHL Eliminated in first round 2007–08 30 21 8 1 115 61 43 2nd, Central Div. Lost in finals 2008–09 26 16 8 2 — — 34 3rd, CWHL Lost in finals 2009–10 30 21 8 1 — — 43 2nd, CWHL Qualified for 2010 Clarkson Cup without playoffs Source:Collins gem Hockey Facts and Stats 2009-10, p.551, Andrew Podnieks, Harper Collins Publishers Ltd, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Chiefs’ season dies a sudden death, http://www.mississauga.com/article/27719
Clarkson Cup 2010 2010 Clarkson Cup semifinals Date Participants ScoreMarch 27, 2009 Minnesota Whitecaps vs. Mississauga Chiefs Minnesota, 3–0
Former staff General manager: Jim Holman Assistant general manager: Lori Friesen Head coach: Rick Osborne Assistant coaches: Bruce Rose and Bill Campbell
Notable players Jennifer Botterill Cherie Piper Cheryl Pounder Sami Jo Small
Awards winners Jennifer Botterill, Angela James Bowl (2008) Jennifer Botterill, Central Division All-Star (2008) Jennifer Botterill, CWHL Top Forward (2008)
Honours The Abby Hoffman Cup (Canadian champions): 2007-08 Ontario Women's Hockey Association (Ontario champions): 1994-95
References
External links Mississauga Chiefs Website Oakville Ice website Oakville Ice Alumni