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Quickies

Did you know …

that Phil Esposito, who displayed an aggressive, almost xenophobic dislike of Soviet players during the 1972 Canada–Soviet Union Summit Series, walked his daughter, Connie, down the aisle in 1996 as she married a Russian hockey player named Alexander Selinanov? At the time Selinanov was a member of the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning, which Esposito was president and general manager of.

What was the most successful women’s hockey team ever?

Although women’s hockey in North America has a long history dating back to the nineteenth century, one team before the modern era stands head and shoulders above all the others. The amateur Preston Rivulettes hailed from a small town in southern Ontario. Women’s hockey took a beating in the 1930s and many clubs folded during the Great Depression, but the Rivulettes thrived. Led by forwards Hilda Ranscombe and Marm Schmuck and goalie Nellie Ranscombe, the team notched 348 victories, three ties, and two losses in the decade. Along the way, the Rivs won the annual women’s championships in Ontario every year and in 1933 were the first to win the Lady championships in Ontario every year and Bessborough Trophy, presented annually to the Dominion Women’s Hockey Association national championship. The Rivulettes continued to have a lock on the Dominion trophy until the Second World War forced the club to disband in 1941. The team was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1963.