NAIAHoF Elects Liz Duval as a Member for 2022
Liz Duval who was born in Toronto but raised in Tiny Township has been elected to the North American indegenous Aboriginal Athletic Hall of Fame in its first year.
Liz had been elected to the Penetanguishene Hall of Fame and when the call was made for nominations, Bert Mason nominated her and it was announced she was elected this past week.
Liz played her minor hockey, briefly, in Penetanguishene. But it was only one year and there was much negotiating to get there. But after one year of being the only girl she decided to stay away from Hockey for a bit. Organized hockey that is. Growing up on Penetanguishene bay, the ice was natural and the competition, well anyone who would come over. Our father, sump pump and shovel, would become an expert icemaker, and she would book friends to come play with her Morning noon and at night. Sometimes she would keep an even number for the early time and late time so she could play all day.
In 1990 at the age of 18 she joined the women's league in Penetanguishene. In her first game in organized sports she scored on a penalty shot. This would follow her as in her first year with the Huntsville Honeys senior team she would also score in a Penalty shot and again with her University team the Guelph Gryphons.
As mentioned, after 1 year with the Penetanguishene Petras, she was off to the Huntsville Honeys, every weekend, our Dad would spend his sometimes only day off work traveling to Huntsville and beyond to take her to games and practices.
This would continue the streak of my parents spending every year for about ten years in a hotel at a hockey tournament, in this case the Brampton Canadettes tournament.
Huntsville would lead to being recruited to the University of Guelph where she would Play for former Team Canada player Sue Sherer. Liz Played for the Guelph Eagles in the top league (at the time) Central Ontario AA women's Hockey league. This was the top women’s league at the time, the AAA level would not come until some years later. She would lead the team in goals with 18 and points with 21.
The next year the Eagles would fold and she would go onto the new Mississauga Chiefs of the same league and would lead them in scoring the next two years as well.
Playing her university years at both Guelph and traveling to Mississauga did not interfere in her studies as she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Human Kinetics. Never forgetting her roots she always had Tiny Township as her home and metis as her status.
In her final year in University of Guelph they would face the Toronto University Blues, the favored for the OUAA (Ontario University athletics) title in a thrilling match. After a long delay due to an ice problem, Guelph would find themselves tied going into the third. With four and a half minutes Sarah Applegarth who had a premonition of scoring did just that and sent the Gryphons into the lead. For four and a half minutes, the Blues sent everything at them but the top line of Guelph, held on, Liz taking an unbelievable amount of faceoffs against one of the best University Women's teams ever and run out the clock. I remember it like it was yesterday, my mother remembers us telling her. She was there but in the traditions of hockey mothers everywhere she was in the lobby with the instructions of “come tell me when it is over."
The same year we would get a phone call, the Mississauga team had won the Provincial title as well. In overtime with the Toronto Aeros, another favorite to win, the puck went into a scramble in front of the net. The phone call would say she roofed it, but replays would show her linemate Jen Peterson would cause a pileup in front, either way the score was in their favor and they had a provincial title.
Over her career in the COWHL Liz would see and be in altercations with many national team members, and when a young Jenna Hefford would come into the league, Liz was asked to become a mentor.
Later in her career she would accept an opportunity to play in Switzerland. She rounded out her career with three seasons in the new National Women’s Hockey League with the Mississauga Ice Bears. She retired in 2001.
Andria Hunter would say about Liz “"It was a pleasure to play on the same team as Liz in the NWHL. She was a talented two-way player who always gave 100%. She was a catalyst who had a knack for making things happen, especially in important games!" - Andria Hunter, Team Canada World Champions 1992 & 1994”
Liz Duval- University career between 1991 and 1995
- OUA Allstar- 1994-1995
- OUA Allstar- 1993-1994
- OUA Allstar- 1992-1993
- OUA Allstar- 1990-1991
- MVP Women's hockey trophy University of Guelph - 1992-1993
- MVP Women's hockey trophy University of Guelph - 1993-1994
- MVP Women's hockey trophy University of Guelph - 1994-1995
- 1994-95 women's hockey team was the second women's hockey team inducted into the Gryphon Hall of Fame
- Finished the regular season with a 12-2-1 record and were crowned OWIAA champions, their first title since 1973-74
- Defeated the 7-time defending champion Toronto Varsity Blues 3-2 to earn the provincial banner
- Liz Duval was named to the second team
(Courtesy University of Guelph)
Her time in the COWHL would see her score over 100 goals and and close to one hundred assists. One of the years in her prime (1994-95) is lost to time as no records I have found exist for that time. ( I spoke to head statistician Marc Ouellete and he doesn’t have them either)
(Thanks to Andria Hunter and Marc Oulette for info)
Art Duval
Pipesmoke of the Past
