Les Canadiennes on the road to Boston for Winter Classic
For the first time women's team will be part of NHL's Winter Classic festivities
Montreal's top women's hockey team Les Canadiennes boarded a bus in Brossard bound for Boston and the NHL's Winter Classic on Wednesday night.
Thursday at 2 p.m. ET they will participate in the first women's Winter Classic game.
"We're excited, it's an incredible opportunity we were given by the NHL to be part of the Winter Classic I think it's a childhood dream come true to be able to play outside in front of a great crowd," said Canadiennes forward and Olympic champion Caroline Ouellette.
New relationship with NHL
Thursday's Winter Classic game between the Montreal Canadiennes and the Boston Pride was made possible largely to an expanding relationship between the NHL and women's hockey.
"The partnership with the Montreal Canadiens has been incredible, we've seen an increase in our fan base people know who Les Canadiennes de Montreal are and what is most amazing is how many little girls who play hockey that dream to one day to be part of (this) and that's exactly what we were hoping to create," Ouellette said.
For years, Ouellette and many of her teammates played under the name "Montreal Stars."
In May, the Montreal Canadiens announced a new partnership with the club in an effort to promote women's hockey in Quebec. The team name was changed from the Stars to Les Canadiennes de Montreal and participation in events like the Winter Classic also became possible as a result.
Rivalry runs deep
While Les Canadiennes de Montreal and The Boston Pride are playing in their first season under their new names the rivalry between the two cities is anything but new.
The Montreal Stars and the Boston Blades were the two most powerful and successful teams in the CWHL for many years. They would often square off against each other for the biggest prize in Women's club hockey; the Clarkson Cup.
The Boston Pride are a new team playing in a new league called the National Women's Hockey League, which is made up of American teams, while Les Canadiennes still play in the CWHL.
"It's a great rivalry between us and Boston but think this time it's even greater. We're facing the other league and we want to show that we can hold our own ... for us this is a battle of the two leagues and we want to show that we're the better team," Ouellette said.