Marlborough, MA – It was a weekend of highs and lows for the Boston Blades as they hosted the Toronto Furies for 2 games at New England Sports Center. Friday night’s contest featured the Teddy Bear Toss for the Blades, but Toronto put up fierce opposition, with Christina Kessler remaining perfect for the first 59:06 of play. However, Megan Shea decided that she wanted the teddies to fly, and roofed a shot past Kessler off a feed from Nicole Gianinno to send the bears flying with just 54 seconds left in regulation (LISTEN). Over 100 teddy bears and stuff animals were collected for the Salvation Army of Massachusetts, highlighted by a snow angel celebration by Shea in the bears. Gianinno’s assist on the teddy bear goal was her first professional point and assist.

On the opposite end of the ice, Genevieive Lacasse made some history on Saturday night. The Canadian Olympian entered the night with 649 saves on the season, 2 behind both the Boston Blades and CWHL single season record set by Mandy Cronin in 20 games played in 2010-11. Although she allowed a goal on her first shot face of the game, Lacasse quickly made 3 saves to claim the record for herself, in just 15 games played. The Blades’ clear MVP this season, Lacasse finished the weekend with 741 saves on the season in 16 games played.

Unfortunately, those were the bright spots for the Blades, as the Furies took both contests from Boston. On Saturday, Toronto leapt out to a 2-0 lead in the first period, and finished with a 4-1 victory behind goals from Natalie Spooner, Kelly Terry, Kori Chevrie, and Alyssa Baldin. Lacasse made 36 saves for the Blades, while Boston put 30 shots on Kessler, with Shea’s teddy bear goal the lone tally.

On Sunday, the Furies again jumped out to a 2-0 lead, getting goals from Tanis Lamoureux and Sarah Stevenson in the first en route to a 4-0 victory. Sonja Van Der Bliek, getting her second start for Toronto since being acquired from the Brampton Thunder for a 4th round draft pick, grabbed her first shutout of the season, stopped 31 shots, a season high from the Blades. Jessica Vella and Emily Fulton added goals for the Furies in the second and third periods. Genevieve Lacasse faced 60 shots in a game for the 4th time this season, stopping 56.

The CWHL breaks for the holidays and the Blades will be off until January 2nd, 2016, when they head north to Montreal for their first ever matchup with Les Canadiennes. The last meeting of Boston and Montreal in the CWHL happened in the 2015 Clarkson Cup Finals, as the Blades beat the then-Stars to win their second Cup in 3 years.

The final two Blades home games will take place on January 16th at New England Sports Center and January 17th at Waterville Valley Ice Arena in Waterville Valley, NH, both against Les Canadiennes. Tickets are available here. The game on January 17th will be available on CWHLLive.com.

Kristina Brown, Dru Burns, Tara Watchorn, and Genevieve Lacasse will represent the Blades at the 2016 CWHL All-Star game in Toronto on January 23, 2016! Tickets are available here. Vote for Lacasse as an all-star captain here - you can vote once a day from any device!