On August 30th, the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) announced the exciting news of a women’s ice hockey team in Montréal.
The new team, called La Force de Montréal, will hit the ice in towns across Québec including Gatineau, Rimouski, Rivière-du-Loup, Saint-Jérôme, and Sept-Îles. These towns will host La Force for “home games” to introduce the team to the province.
La Force will be based in Verdun outside Montréal at Centre 21.02, the high-performance hockey center for female athletes. Former Team Canada coach Danièle Sauvageau will lead the team.
Sauvageau says there needs to be a bridge in the gap between women’s university hockey and Canada’s national team. La Force looks to fill in that need for women’s ice hockey.
La Force will also bring more opportunities for women to play hockey at a higher level earlier in their careers. Sauvageau recalls the situation regarding Ann-Sophie Bettez on the national Canadian women’s ice hockey team, who had not been able to play at that higher level until age 31.
Bettez says her chances of playing on the national team at that age would have been nearly impossible at that time, considering that she was still considered a “rookie” player.
“Plus jamais au Québec un cas comme Anne-Sophie Bettez ne doit se reproduire.”
“Never again in Quebec should a case like Anne-Sophie Bettez happen again.”
Danièle Sauvageau
Bettez will join La Force as a forward after expressing how she didn’t want to play professional hockey voluntarily anymore. She says she’s glad the players signed professional contracts with La Force.
Sauvageau hopes that more female hockey players will get the chance not widely available before the team’s formation with La Force.
Samantha Isbell, Brigitte Laganière, and Jade Downie-Landry are three of the players who unveiled the jersey of the new women’s hockey team. The maroon and white jersey has been getting a lot of talk due to its logo, which is a symbol closely linked to Québec.
We must talk about the logo of La Force: the fleur-de-lys emerging from the letter “F.” French-Canadians, Québécois, and Franco-American hockey fans appreciate the symbol of French heritage recognized in mainstream culture.
As covered previously on this blog, the burgundy-colored fleur-de-lys logo on men’s professional hockey jerseys caused controversy in 2020 because they used a color other than blue or white for the French symbol. So far, La Force has had a positive reception with their maroon and white color palette while keeping the fleur-de-lys white.
Kevin Raphaël, President of La Force, stated in Le Devoir that the decision to use the fleur-de-lys was partly to avoid having an animal mascot.
“On ne voulait pas être un animal, on n’est pas des pandas!”
“We didn’t want to be an animal, we’re not pandas!”
Kevin Raphaël, Président de La Force de Montréal in Le Devoir.
The La Force de Montréal name came from the inspiration of the team’s goal: to become a force to be reckoned with on the ice and a force of power that hockey fans will be proud of!
Women’s hockey is always searching for a profitable, long-term league to take its players seriously as true professionals. The Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) brings together most female Canadian and American hockey players.
However, two projects with the PWHPA and encouraged by the National Hockey League (NHL) didn’t work out. Unfortunately, the preseason game for La Force de Montréal versus the Toronto Six scheduled for October 29th was cancelled.
Despite some early setbacks, La Force has come into full force with the beginning of its fall and winter seasons!
The Montréal team returned on November 5th for an away game against the Buffalo Beauts of Amherst, New York. La Force won the game, 5 to 4!
La Force and the Buffalo Beauts faced off again the following day, November 6th, where La Force lost 2 to 3.
On November 26th, La Force went head-to-head with the Metropolitan Riveters of East Rutherford, New Jersey. La Force was victorious by winning 5 to 3. Check out the highlights from the latest game below.
For La Force’s full schedule, click here! The live games are available to watch on ESPN+.
La Force de Montréal as a whole is hopeful that the team will find success with the PHF. So, will you be tuning in this season?!
Allez La Force!
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