Sarah Vaillancourt

Sarah Marie Vaillancourt(born May 8, 1985) is aCanadianwomen'sice hockeyplayer. She is a member of theCanada women's national teamand a member ofMontreal Stars(CWHL).

Sarah Vaillancourt
Born	(1985-05-08)May 8, 1985 Sherbrooke,Quebec,Canada
Height	5 ft 6 in (168 cm)
Weight	139 lb (63 kg; 9 st 13 lb)
Position	Forward
Shot	Right
ECAC CWHLteam	Harvard Crimson(2004-2009) Montreal Stars(2010-2013)
National team	Canada
Playing career	2003–2013
Medal record RepresentingCanada Women'sice hockey Olympic Games 2006 Turin Tournament 2010 Vancouver Tournament IIHF World Women's Championships 2007 Canada Tournament 2005 Sweden Tournament 2008 China Tournament 2009 Finland Tournament 2011 Switzerland Tournament 2013 Canada Tournament Women's4 Nations Cup 2010 Canada Tournament MLP Nations Cup 2005 Germany Tournament 2007 Germany Tournament

2-time Olympic Gold Medallist / World Championships Gold / 4-time World Championships Silver /Clarkson CupChampion (2010–11). From 2003 to 2009 Vaillancourt played 88 international games for Team Canada and scored 36 goals adding 39 assists. She won 2 Olympic gold medals for Canada, in 2006 and 2010. While playing forHarvardUniversity she was named the Ivy League and ECAC Hockey Player of the Year. She led Harvard in scoring, and was ranked fourth overall in theNCAAin 2007–08. In 2008, she won the covetedPatty Kazmaier Award.

Vaillancourt started skating at the age of two years and a half and playing hockey at five years. She made the national team when she was 18 and one of her favourite hockey moments is winning gold on home soil at theVancouver 2010Olympic Games. She studied psychology at Harvard University and works as a skills coach. Vaillancourt isopenlylesbian.

Playing career

Vaillancourt was the captain of Canada's under-22 team at the 2007 Air Canada Cup. In 2003, she was the captain of Team Québec at theCanada Winter Gamesthat won the silver medal.One of her teammates was future OlympianCatherine Ward.She graduated from high school as a tri-varsity captain and athlete fromPomfret SchoolinPomfret, Connecticut,as a member of the class of 2004.

Harvard Crimson

She was a star for theHarvard Crimson women's ice hockeyprogram and won thePatty Kazmaier Awardin 2008. Her freshman year was in 2004–05, and she finished fifth in the nation, and first among freshmen, in scoring with 2.31 points per game.

Hockey Canada

In 2005, she made theCanadian national women's hockey team,where she would go on to play at the2005 Women's World Ice Hockey ChampionshipsinSweden.In her first game ever, she led Canada with 6 points in a 13–0 win over theKazakhstani national women's ice hockey team.This tied a record for most points in a game on the Canadian national team. She would finish the tournament with 8 points. On February 20, 2006, Vaillancourt, as the second youngest member of the team, won a team gold medal in Turin with the Canadian women's hockey team beating Sweden in the final game and outscoring their opponents 46 to 2.

Montreal Stars

At 2010–11 season, Vaillancourt joined the Montreal Stars midway through the season and instantly become a fan favourite, managing to crack the league's top-10 leading scorers, with an impressive 28 points (11 goals and 17 assists) in only 15 games. In the championship game of the2011 Clarkson Cup,Vaillancourt scored a goal in the third period.By winning the2011 Clarkson Cup,Vaillancourt became an unofficial member of theTriple Gold Club(the accomplishment by women is not yet officially recognized by the IIHF), as she became one of only four women to win the Clarkson Cup, a gold medal in theWinter Olympics,and a gold medal at theIIHF World Women's Championships.The other women includeCaroline Ouellette,Jenny PotterandKim St-Pierre.Surgery in the left hip held her outside the action this 2011–12 season.

Career stats

Hockey Canada

Event	Games played	Goals	Assists	Points	PIM
2005 Women's World Championships	5	3	5	8	2
2006 Olympics	5	2	4	6	2
2007 Women's World Championships	5	2	4	6	4
2008 Women's World Championships	5	4	2	6	8
2009 Women's World Championships	5	3	4	7	8
2010 Olympics	5	3	5	8	6

Awards and honours

• 2004-05 All USCHO.com Rookie Team
• Top 10 Finalist for 2007 Patty Kazmaier Award
• First Team All-Ivy League, 2007–08, Harvard (junior), unanimous selection
• Ivy League Player of the Year 2007–08, Harvard (junior), unanimous selection
• 2009 First Team All-Ivy League
• 2009 First Team All-ECAC
• 2009 ECAC Player of the Year
• 2011 Clarkson CupTournament Most Valuable Player

External links

• Profile on Canadian Olympic Committee
• Rock em sock em pro-hockey with women's CWHL league-leading Montreal Stars,The Gazette, January 6, 2012.