Les Canadiennes open CWHL title defence Friday on home ice

Les Canadiennes, who are coming off their eighth regular-season title in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, begin defence of their Clarkson Cup title this weekend when they  face the Markham Thunder in a best-of-three semifinal series.
The Montreal team wrapped up the regular-season title last weekend when they swept the Calgary Inferno, the runner-up in the Clarkson Cup last spring. They’ll be facing the hottest team in the CWHL. Markham won its last seven games to edge out th