Les Canadiennes, proud partners of the Montreal Canadiens, kicked off the new year with a bang, delivering a pair of dominant offensive performances in weekend wins against the Boston Blades before packed and passionate crowds at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard.

Nine players finished the weekend with at least two points, led by forwards Ann-Sophie Bettez, Marie-Philip Poulin and Katia Clément-Heydra with two goals and an assist each while defenceman Cathy Chartrand notched a goal and two assists. Poulin continues to lead the CWHL in scoring with 22 points (12 goals, 10 assists) in 10 games played and moved into top spot with her fourth game-winning goal of the season on Sunday.

Les Canadiennes (10-2-0) now boast three of the League’s top eight scorers, with Bettez (nine goals, eight assists) and Caroline Ouellette joining Poulin. Chartrand, meanwhile, sits fourth among CWHL blue-liners with nine points (two goals, seven assists), just one ahead of Julie Chu, whose eight points (two goals, six assists) are tied for fifth.

Goaltender Charline Labonté picked up her League-leading third and fourth shutouts of the season, extending her winning streak to five games while allowing just 12 goals in 10 games played.

Saturday’s tilt was also the team’s You Can Play game, hosted as part of the CWHL’s partnership with the You Can Play Project. The CWHL was the first league to partner with the organization, which is dedicated to ensuring equality, respect and safety for all athletes, without regard to sexual orientation.

Saturday, January 2, 2016: Les Canadiennes 4, Boston Blades 0

Les Canadiennes took control of the game from the get-go on Saturday evening, peppering Blades netminder Genevieve Lacasse early and often. They finally broke through at 6:54 when Kim Deschênes wristed a shot from the bottom of the left circle that popped up after Lacasse got a piece of it before landing behind her in the net. That’s all Montreal would get, though, despite tossing 21 shots in the opening frame.

The Blades had a chance to tie midway through the second on a power play but it was Les Canadiennes who took advantage shorthanded. First, Caroline Ouellette beat Lacasse with a sneaky shot from the right circle. Then, 41 seconds later on the same penalty kill, Ann-Sophie Bettez finished off a tic-tac-toe play to put Montreal up 3-0.

Bettez capped off the scoring with her second of the night and ninth of the season, connecting on the power play with a shot from the slot.

Game summary: http://bit.ly/20160102BOS

Sunday, January 3, 2016: Les Canadiennes 7. Boston Blades 0

After tossing 55 shots on net Saturday, Les Canadiennes picked up right where they left off on Sunday, bombarding Lacasse with 57 pucks.

Marie-Philip Poulin got the scoring started just 47 seconds into the contest firing one from the left circle. The goal announcement had barely finished when she added another 12 seconds later off a rebound. Katia Clément-Heydra made it 3-0 with three seconds left in the first period when Kim Deschênes showed patience along the left side before feeding the rookie in the slot.

Emilie Bocchia scored the only goal of the second period, poking in the rebound of Alyssa Sherrard’s shot at the side of the net.

Clément-Heydra kicked off another three-goal period at 4:35 of the third when her shot from between the circles hit the inside bar before popping back out. Leslie Oles extended the lead to 6-0 at 12:10, tipping Emmanuelle Blais’ pass through her legs to send it into the net. Four minutes later, Cathy Chartrand’s made its way through a line of bodies before finding its way past Lacasse.

Game summary: http://bit.ly/20160103BOS

Upcoming Schedule

Les Canadiennes’ next games will take them on the road to face the Toronto Furies on Jan. 9 and 10.