Ève Gascon Becomes Second Woman to Win CHL Game

Ève Gascon collected her first QMJHL win Friday night, becoming the second woman ever to backstop a CHL team to victory in regular season play.

Gascon was named the first star of the game after making 23-saves for the Gatineau Olympiques in a 7-3 win over the Drummondville Voltigeurs.

It has been 22-years since Charlene Labonte became the first woman to win a CHL game when she did so with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in 2000.

Gascon made her QMJHL debut on March 20 joining an elite group of goaltenders including Manon Rhéaume, Labonté, and Shannon Szabados as the only women to ever play in the CHL. In her debut, Gascon narrowly missed out on the win, making 18-saves in a 5-4 overtime loss.

Until her call up to Gatineau, Gascon had been the goaltender for another men’s team, the Saint-Laurent Patriotes in the Ligue de Hockey Collégiale du Québec. Here, Gascon sat in the top ten in league statistics with a 2.88 GAA and .896 save percentage.

Through two games with the Olympiques Gascon has posted a 3.96 GAA and .837 save percentage and has yet to lose in regulation.

Each of the women who appeared in the CHL prior to Gascon went on to serve as Canada’s starting netminder for the National women’s hockey team collecting several World Championship and Olympic medals. Gascon herself represented Canada at the 2019 World U18 Championships winning a silver medal for Canada while posting a sparkling 1.39 GAA and .938 save percentage.

Gascon may have an opportunity to add to her accolades at the QMJHL level as Gatineau has 14 regular season games remaining before their season concludes May 1. Gatineau’s starter this season has been Dallas Stars draft pick Remi Poirier. The 20-year-old is in his fourth season with Gatineau. He signed his first NHL contract in March inking a three-year entry level deal with the Stars.