Defenders Amanda Boulier and Mariah Keopple, as well as goalkeeper Elaine Chuli, have extended their agreement with the Montreal team.
Boulier agreed for two seasons, while Keopple and Chuli extended for a single season.
These signings are not a surprise. Boulier, acquired in the trade sending Tereza Vanisova to Ottawa at the trade deadline, improved the Montreal defense at the end of the campaign. In six regular season games in the city, she scored three goals. In Ottawa, the 31-year-old defender had one goal and five assists in 17 games.
“The arrival of Amanda last season proved to be a stabilizing element within our defensive unit and her return will certainly be appreciated in our locker room,” commented Danièle Sauvageau in a press release.
Keopple, for his part, saw significant improvement during the season. The Wisconsin native, who was invited to training camp last fall, had three assists in 24 games; she established herself, especially from the middle of the season, as one of the team’s good defenders, playing alongside veteran Erin Ambrose on the first pair.
“Mariah made a lot of progress during her rookie year and this will only continue to increase over the next few years,” the general manager said of her.
With the selection of Cayla Barnes in the first round of the last draft, the return of Ambrose, Boulier and Keopple, we already have a good idea of the defensive brigade that Montreal will present.
For her part, Chuli has been imperious every time the team has called on her this season. The 30-year-old goalkeeper, who backed up Ann-Renée Desbiens, won six of the eight games she started, maintaining a goals-against average of 1.61 and a save percentage of .949.
“Elaine has demonstrated that she is among the elite of the LPHF and we are extremely fortunate to have her back with us, especially since we will be playing even more matches next season,” noted Sauvageau .
The general manager has until June 21 to offer contract extensions to her players.
