PLYMOUTH, Mich. – Hockey Canada has launched its online auction of Team Canada-signed and personalized jerseys now through April 8. Only five jerseys, signed by all 23 members of Canada’s National Women’s Team at the 2017 IIHF Women’s World Championship, will be up for bid.

Hosted on eBay.ca, the online auction raises funds for the Hockey Canada Foundation to support the growth of the game across the country.

“These online auctions allow us to give hockey fans something truly memorable from their national team heroes, while ensuring we continue to have the resources needed to grow hockey at the grassroots level from coast to coast to coast,” said Donna Iampieri, executive director of the Hockey Canada Foundation.

The auction runs through Saturday, April 8 – the day after the medal games at the 2017 IIHF Women’s World Championship. Winning bidders will be able to select the name-bar and numbers for their jersey. Shipping will commence on April 24.

For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Women’s Team Program, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow through social media on Facebook, Twitter, and Twitter.com/HC_Women.

MALMÖ, Sweden – Hockey Canada and eBay.ca will launch the 2015 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship auction on Tuesday, March 31 at 8 a.m. ET/5 a.m. PT. Up for auction are game-worn jerseys from Canada’s National Women’s Team.

The jerseys up for grabs are Team Canada’s 100th anniversary jerseys worn exclusively at the 2015 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship in Malmö. The colour of the jerseys will be decided following Canada’s final game at the world championship.

Canada’s National Women’s Team roster features 11 players who helped Canada win gold at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, including Laura Fortino, Brianne Jenner, Rebecca Johnston, Geneviève Lacasse, Jocelyne Larocque, Caroline Ouellette, Marie-Philip Poulin, Lauriane Rougeau, Natalie Spooner, Jennifer Wakefield and Tara Watchorn.

All proceeds from the sale of game-worn jerseys will go to the Hockey Canada Foundation, whose mission is to promote and foster accessibility to the game of hockey. Proceeds of this auction will support Hockey Canada Foundation initiatives that help ensure Canada remains at the forefront in the development and promotion of amateur hockey as well as creating access to the game.

The auction will last seven days, closing April 6, 2015. Shipping will commence for paid items the week of May 4, 2015.

For more information on Canada’s National Women’s Team and Hockey Canada, please visit www.hockeycanada.ca/nwt, or follow along through social media at www.facebook.com/hockeycanada, www.twitter.com/hockeycanada and www.twitter.com/hc_women.

Former Hockey Canada president Murray Costello has been appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada, in recognition of his contributions to the development of hockey across the country, particularly to Canada's National Junior Team and Canada's National Women's Team.

The prestigious appointment was announced Sat., June 29 by Gov. Gen. David Johnston.

Established in 1967 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the Order of Canada is the centrepiece of the country's honours system and recognizes a lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation. The Order recognizes people in all sectors of Canadian society. Their contributions are varied, yet they have all enriched the lives of others and made a difference to this country. The Order of Canada’s motto is DESIDERANTES MELIOREM PATRIAM (They desire a better country).

The Officer of the Order of Canada award recognizes a lifetime of achievement and merit of a high degree, especially in service to Canada or to humanity at large.

A former professional hockey player with the NHL's Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings, Costello went back to school and became a lawyer following his on-ice career. He served as president of the Canadian Hockey Association from 1979 through 1998, and was a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame Board of Directors in Toronto for 17 years. He was himself inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2006. The South Porcupine, Ont., native went on to serve in a variety of roles with the IIHF, including auditor for eight years, as well as member of the disciplinary committee for another eight years, member of the statutes committee for four years, and chairman of both the medical and junior committees.

From “pink power” to “black and yellow,” France St-Louis and Vicky Sunohara were on the ice for the inaugural women’s world championship in 1990, and returned with the tournament to the nation’s capital this spring, where they watched the next generation of Team Canada stars take to the ice at the 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship – and catch up with their fellow members of the first generation of women’s hockey legends.

In total, 45 current and former National Women’s Team players and staff who won gold medals at the 1992, 1994 and 1997 women’s worlds gathered in Ottawa, Ont., from April 5 to 7 to reminisce about hockey memories past, reflect on the future of the female game and soak up special moments created during an unforgettable Team Canada Alumni Association reunion.

“You know what they’re going through,” St-Louis of St-Hubert, Que., says of watching Team Canada from the stands at SBP Arena, home of the Ottawa Senators. “You play because you love the game, so when you’re able to play in front of all these fans, it’s unbelievable.”

Canada’s National Women’s Team alumnae who took part in this year’s reunion were part of the history-making crowd that filled the NHL rink, as Canada shut out Finland 8-0 on Friday, April 5 in front of 18,013 fans.

“Especially in Ottawa, that was the first world championship, for me, it’s always going to be special … that’s where it all started,” St-Louis says of the first-ever event, held in the same city 23 years earlier. Close to 9,000 fans filtered through the Ottawa Civic Centre doors March 15, 1990 to see Canada beat the United States 5-2 for the gold medal. “Ottawa was on fire at the time; everybody was wearing pink and the (arena) was going crazy.”

While Team Canada wore pink and white jerseys to help publicize the 1990 IIHF Women’s World Championship, this year’s event featured black and yellow jerseys worn for that opening game against Finland, in support of the Livestrong Foundation to raise money for cancer awareness and research, in partnership with Hockey Canada sponsors Nike and Sport Chek.

Canada’s National Women’s Team alumnae who took in that game were thrilled to receive their own black Team Canada sweaters.

“It was kind of like the old days, but at least (they) were in our size,” St-Louis says with a chuckle. “We were laughing about that, because usually we (received) T-shirts in XL; the old stuff from the guys, that they were not wearing anymore.”

“But at the time we didn’t care, because we were so happy to be on the team,” she says, adding the support national team players now receive is a sign of the sport’s growth both in terms of societal acceptance and skill level. “They shoot the puck better, the training has changed so much and … the speed has improved.”

Meeting up with former teammates in the Capital City certainly brought back memories of winning that first women’s worlds gold medal, but the reunion itself was focused primarily on the 1992 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Tampere, Finland; the 1994 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Lake Placid, N.Y.; and the 1997 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Kitchener, Ont.

“In ’92 I was named captain, so for me that was really special,” St-Louis says. “And in ’94 it was also special, because that’s when we really found out that we were going to be in the Olympics.”

Sunohara of Scarborough, Ont., also dreamed of playing in the Olympics, and after representing Canada at that very first women’s world championship, rejoined St-Louis and her other teammates to win her second gold medal at the 1997 women’s worlds in Kitchener.

“It brought back a lot of memories for me,” Sunohara said of this year’s reunion, which also featured a VIP meet and greet with current members of Canada’s National Women’s Team, an alumnae brunch with Hockey Canada executives, a hot stove session hosted by the Ontario Women’s Hockey Association and a hospitality suite at the Sheraton Ottawa for sharing old memories and making new ones. “Just going back there, and seeing the girls, we had so many laughs about what we did, and what we went through.”

ČESKÉ BUDĚJOVICE, Czechia – Canada’s National Women’s Team erased a two-goal deficit but fell short in a 4-3 overtime loss to the United States on Sunday to finish with the silver medal at the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship.

After a scoreless opening period, the teams traded four goals in the second. The U.S. scored twice in a 29-second span to take the lead on goals from Caroline Harvey and Abbey Murphy. Danielle Serdachny (Edmonton, AB/Ottawa, PWHL) would get Canada on the board and cut the lead to 2-1 less than a minute later.

Captain Marie-Philip Poulin (Beauceville, QC/Montreal, PWHL) made Canadian history once again just 55 seconds after the Serdachny goal, assisting on the tying goal by Jenn Gardiner (Surrey, BC/Montreal, PWHL) for her 50th career assist at Women’s Worlds, passing Hayley Wickenheiser for the most by a Canadian.

The U.S. retook the lead before Sarah Fillier (Georgetown, ON/New York, PWHL) scored her third of the tournament and pulled Canada even with less than six minutes remaining, eventually sending the game to overtime. The three-on-three overtime would nearly go the distance before Tessa Janecke beat Ann-Renée Desbiens (Clermont, QC/Montreal, PWHL) for the winner.

“I think in general we carried the play, enough to potentially be successful,” said head coach Troy Ryan (Spryfield, NS/Toronto, PWHL). “It’s just the margins for error are so small; multiple times in the overtime and even in the third we could have won it, it’s just a matter of finishing the opportunities you get and trying to keep them out of our end. I don’t think there were any lopsided parts to the game, it could have gone either way throughout the whole thing.”

Following the gold medal game, Poulin was named Most Valuable Player and Best Forward after finishing with a tournament-leading 12 points (four goals, eight assists). Poulin and Renata Fast (Burlington, ON/Toronto, PWHL) were named to the media all-star team.

“Honestly, I’m very happy with how we came out, it was not an easy game being down two-nothing, we came back and did the same in the third and in overtime” said Poulin. “We had a couple of chances, we came up short, it’s part of it and it’s a process. It’s going to suck for a little bit, but we have to go back to work because we have a big tournament [Olympics] coming up in 2026.”

“I think any world championship you want to win, but leading up to the Olympics, it’s even more amplified,” said Fast. “It also gives us more motivation and more ways to reflect individually and collectively and figure out what we need to work on so that in 10 months or so we can be on the other side.”

A full game summary can be found at HockeyCanada.ca.

Canada finished second in Group A with a 3-0-0-1 record in the preliminary round, beating Finland, Switzerland and the Czechia, with its only loss against to the United States. Canada booked its spot in the gold medal game with a 9-1 win over Japan in the quarterfinals and an 8-1 win over Finland in the semifinals.

For more information from the International Ice Hockey Federation, please visit the official tournament site HERE.

In 24 appearances at the IIHF Women’s World Championship, Canada has captured 13 gold medals (1990, 1992, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2012, 2021, 2022, 2024), in addition to 10 silver (2005, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2023, 2025) and one bronze (2019).

For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Women’s Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca or follow along via social media on Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok.

GAME NOTES: CANADA VS. UNITED STATES (APRIL 20)

It all comes down to this. Canada’s National Women's Team faces off against the United States on Sunday in the gold medal game at the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship.

Last Game

Canada scored four goals in 1:58 late in the second period to down Finland 8-1 in the semifinals Saturday. The Finns opened the scoring just 46 seconds into the game, but Erin Ambrose responded quickly and Marie-Philip Poulin added a record-breaking goal as the game-winner before the end of the first period. Fifteen players registered at least a point in the game, with Claire Thompson leading the way with her second-straight three-point performance (1-2—3) and Daryl Watts scoring a pair of goals. Ann-Renée Desbiens had 19 saves to record her 22nd Women’s Worlds win—the most of any goaltender in tournament history.

The U.S. earned its spot in the gold medal game with a narrow 2-1 win over Czechia. After the hosts scored the lone goal of the first period, Laila Edwards tied the game on a power play in the middle frame and Kelly Pannek notched the game-winning goal midway through the third to keep the Americans’ streak of appearing in every Women’s Worlds intact—24 for 24.

Last Meeting

Always the marquee matchup of the preliminary round, Canada dropped a 2-1 decision to the United States last Sunday. The Americans held a 2-0 lead after two periods before Laura Stacey scored on a breakaway to cut the lead in half seven minutes into the third. Desbiens made 26 saves in goal.

What to Watch

Jocelyne Larocque is set to become the first defender to reach 200 career games with Canada’s National Women’s Team. The 36-year-old has been a cornerstone of the Canadian blue line for over a decade and will become the fifth player to reach the milestone, following Poulin earlier in the tournament. In addition to her typical standout play on the defensive side, Larocque has three assists and is +5 heading into the gold medal game. On offence, Poulin continues to lead the way with four goals and seven assists in six games, putting her atop the tournament scoring list. The 34-year-old has found tremendous chemistry with Victoire de Montréal teammates Jenn Gardiner and Laura Stacey; the trio has combined for 11 goals and 27 points in six games and are a combined +31.

The Americans have gone with a scoring-by-committee approach, getting at least four points from six different players (Carpenter, Janecke, Keller, Knight, Murphy, Pannek). Hilary Knight continues to play at a high level in her 15th Women’s Worlds; the U.S. captain came into the tournament as the all-time leader in goals (67) and points (119), and became the all-time assist leader on April 15, passing the legendary Hayley Wickenheiser and her 49 assists to now sit at 52. Pannek is leading the way offensively for the Americans with four goals and eight points in six games.

Milestone Watch

Poulin may have taken over from Hayley Wickenheiser as Canada’s all-time points leader at the IIHF Women’s World Championship, but Captain Canada still has a couple of milestones on her mind. She needs two more goals to surpass Jayna Hefford as Canada’s all-time leading goal scorer and one more assist to take over from Wickenheiser atop that category.

A Look Back

It’s Chapter 192 in the story of Canada vs. United States, with the Canadians in search of win No. 109 in the rivalry.

This Women’s Worlds in Czechia marks the 11th different country to have hosted the North American rivals (in order of countries played in: Canada, Finland, United States, Japan, Sweden, Italy, China, Russia, South Korea, Denmark and Czechia).

All-time record: Canada leads 108-82-1 (25-21 in OT/SO)
Canada goals: 530
United States goals: 467

GAME NOTES: CANADA VS. FINLAND (APRIL 19)

It’s Semifinal Saturday at the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship, with Canada’s National Women's Team set to take on Finland in its final four faceoff at Budvar Arena.

Last Game

Canada punched its ticket to the semifinals with a 9-1 win over Japan in its quarterfinal Thursday. Jenn Gardiner and Sarah Fillier scored two goals apiece to pace the offence for the Canadians, who piled up 62 shots on goal. Claire Thompson added a goal and two assists, Renata Fast had three helpers, and 14 skaters recorded at least a point. Included in that list was Marie-Philip Poulin; the captain celebrated her 200th international game with her 86th point at Women’s Worlds, pulling even with Hayley Wickenheiser for the most by a Canadian in tournament history.

The Finns survived their Nordic neighbours in their quarterfinal, edging Sweden 3-2 in the first game of the day Thursday. Jennina Nylund and Ronja Savolainen scored in the first period and Susana Tapani netted the winner midway through the second after the Swedes had battled back, assuring Finland a place in the medal games for the second year in a row and 22nd time in 24 Women’s Worlds dating back to the inaugural event in 1990.

Last Meeting

Canada and Finland met last Thursday in the Canadians’ prelim opener, a 5-0 win. Gardiner scored a pair of goals, Poulin had a goal and an assist and Kristen Campbell was perfect in her first-ever Women’s Worlds start, making 24 saves for the shutout.

What to Watch

Gardiner has been a revelation for the Canadians, leading the tournament with five goals in as many games (and sitting in a four-way tie for second with seven points) despite coming into the tournament with just four games of National Women’s Team experience (and only 14 across all three levels of the Team Canada women’s program). And it doesn’t seem to matter where head coach Troy Ryan plugs the Surrey, B.C., native into the lineup – she opened the tournament with a pair of goals on the top line with Poulin and Laura Stacey, and struck twice on the fourth unit alongside Kristin O’Neill and Emma Maltais against the Japanese. Gardiner is no stranger to filling the net; she averaged more than a point per game across her final three NCAA seasons with Ohio State University and won a pair of national championships with the Buckeyes, and those offensive skills have transferred pretty well to the pro grame; Gardiner is second in PWHL rookie scoring with 16 points (4-12—16) in 27 games, trailing only Fillier.

Finland misses Jenni Hiirikoski. Seven times the Top Defender at Women’s Worlds, the tournament’s all-time leader in games played (96) and the Finns’ heart-and-soul captain, Hiirikoski is absent from the lineup for the first time since 2003 due to a mysterious illness that has kept her sidelined for all but four games since January. With the future Hall of Famer missing, Savolainen has done the heavy lifting on the Finnish blue-line, scoring three of her team’s 10 goals and averaging more than 21 minutes per game. Finland will also need its goaltenders to step up. The trio of Sanni Ahola, Anni Keisala and Emilia Kyrkko have all made appearances thus far, but have combined for a tournament-low .870 save percentage.

Milestone Watch

Poulin has a couple of milestones on her mind. Captain Canada needs three more goals to surpass Jayna Hefford as Canada’s all-time leading goal scorer at the IIHF Women’s World Championship, and two more assists and one more point to take over from Hayley Wickenheiser atop those categories.

In goal, Ann-Renée Desbiens needs just one victory to surpass Swiss icon Florence Schelling and become the winningest goaltender in Women’s Worlds history (22).

A Look Back

The head-to-head history sways decisively to the North American side of the Atlantic Ocean, with Canada owning 88 wins and a tie in 91 all-time meetings with Finland.

This will be the 14th time the Canadians and Finns will face off in a semifinal at Women’s Worlds; the 12th and most recent victory for Canada came in 2017 in Michigan, when Poulin had a goal and an assist and Shannon Szabados posted a 23-save shutout in a 4-0 win.

All-time record: Canada leads 88-2-1
Canada goals: 469
Finland goals: 115

GAME NOTES: CANADA VS. JAPAN (APRIL 17)

It’s on to the playoff round for Canada’s National Women's Team, which faces off against Japan in quarterfinal action Thursday at the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship.

Last Game

Canada closed its preliminary-round schedule Monday with a 7-1 win over host Czechia that locked up second place in Group A. Marie-Philip Poulin scored twice to give the Canadians a 2-1 lead after two periods before they exploded for five in the final frame, including three in a span of 58 seconds. Kristin O’Neill added a pair of goals of her own, Erin Ambrose celebrated her 100th international game with a pair of assists and Sophie Jaques got her first Team Canada goal to round out the scoring.

The Japanese clinched second place in Group B with a narrow 1-0 win over Germany in their prelim finale Tuesday. Miyuu Masuhara was terrific in a 34-save shutout performance, including 17 in the third period as the Germans pushed for the equalizer. Rui Ukita netted the lone goal early in the second for Japan.

Last Meeting

Canada and Japan clashed in the preliminary round at the 2023 Women’s Worlds in Brampton, where the Canadians earned a 5-0 win. Sarah Fillier led the offence with two goals and an assist as Canada jumped on the Japanese early with 26 shots in the first period (and finished with a 60-11 advantage overall). Sarah Nurse added a goal and an assist, and Emerance Maschmeyer turned aside all 11 shots she faced for the shutout.

What to Watch

Entering this tournament, three members of the Team Canada roster were still in search of their first international goal – all of them defenders. Micah Zandee-Hart got off the schneid first, scoring against Switzerland (in her 69th game!) and Jaques put herself on the scoresheet against the Czechs. That just leaves Chloe Primerano. The 18-year-old – the third-youngest player to appear for Canada at Women’s Worlds – has acquitted herself nicely thus far, averaging 13:31 of ice time per game across three prelim games. She put herself squarely on the international radar with her epic shootout winner against the U.S. in the Rivalry Series in November, but is still in search of her official maiden marker. Primerano is no stranger to Team Canada goals – she scored 18 in 21 games with Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team, the second-most in U18 program history.

The Japanese are as disciplined a team as you will ever see. In their four preliminary-round games, Japan took only two penalties, allowed just a single power play and has gone more than 136 minutes without being whistled for an infraction. Their goaltending has also been terrific, with Masuhara playing every second of the prelims and fashioning a 1.01 goals-against average and .965 save percentage while making the second-most saves of any netminder (110).

Milestone Watch

Poulin is set to become just the fourth player to reach 200 games played with Canada’s National Women’s Team, but that’s not the only milestone on her mind. Captain Canada needs three more goals to surpass Jayna Hefford as Canada’s all-time leading goal scorer at the IIHF Women’s World Championship, and three more assists and two more points to take over from Hayley Wickenheiser atop those categories.

In goal, Ann-Renée Desbiens needs just one victory to surpass Swiss icon Florence Schelling and become the winningest goaltender in Women’s Worlds history (22).

A Look Back

Canada has been nothing short of dominant in eight all-time meetings with Japan, winning all eight, averaging 12 goals a game and not allowing a single goal.

The most goals Canada has ever scored in an international game is 18, which it has done three times – twice against Japan. Angela James and Vicky Sunohara had hat tricks in an 18-0 victory at the inaugural Women’s Worlds in 1990, and Wickenheiser and France St-Louis contributed three-goal efforts to an 18-0 win at the 1996 Pacific Rim Championship.

All-time record: Canada leads 8-0
Canada goals: 96
Japan goals: 0

GAME NOTES: CANADA VS. CZECHIA (APRIL 14)

After a loss against the United States yesterday, Canada’s National Women's Team returns to the ice on Monday to face host Czechia in the final game of the preliminary round at the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship.

Last Game

Always the marquee matchup of the preliminary round, Canada dropped a 2-1 decision to the United States for its first loss of the tournament. The Americans held a 2-0 lead after two periods before Laura Stacey scored on a breakaway to cut the lead in half. Ann-Renée Desbiens made 26 saves in goal.

The Czechs dropped their second game in Group A on Saturday, losing 4-2 to Finland. Tereza Vanisova gave Czechia a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes, but Finland responded with four unanswered goals before Kristyna Kaltounkova scored with just over two minutes remaining. Klara Peslarova made 24 saves.

Last Meeting

Canada and Czechia last met in the 2024 Women’s Worlds semifinals, with the Canadians blanking the Czechs 4-0 on their way to a 13th gold medal. Blayre Turnbull kicked off the scoring 4:32 into the game, with Jocelyne Larocque giving Canada a 2-0 lead after the first period. Emily Clark and Sarah Fillier rounded out the scoring, while Ann-Renée Desbiens made nine saves for the shutout.

What to Watch

Line chemistry in short international tournaments is important, and the Canadians have the benefit of utilizing the Montréal Victoire’s top line on an international stage. Jenn Gardiner, Marie-Philip Poulin and Laura Stacey are the top three scorers for the first-place Victoire, combining for31 goals and 59 points. In three games in Ceske Budejovice, all three are top-10 in scoring and have combined for five goals and 14 points with a combined +17. Poulin has a goal and five assists, putting her atop the tournament scoring list and within shouting distance of a trio of all-time scoring records (more on that below).

The Czechs have some young talent emerging this season. Natalie Mlynkova—Chloe Primerano’s teammate at the University of Minnesota—notched 16 goals and 34 points in her fifth NCAA season, while 18-year-old Adela Sapovalivova recorded 15 goals and 36 points with MoDo in the Swedish women’s league. Kristyna Kaltounkova is making her debut on the senior team after becoming the first Czech player to be named a top-10 finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award and leads the Czechs in the tournament with two goals.

Milestone Watch

Poulin has a few major marks in her sights. She needs five more goals to surpass Jayna Hefford as Canada’s all-time leading goal scorer at the IIHF Women’s World Championship, and three more assists and four more points to take over from Hayley Wickenheiser atop those categories.

In goal, Desbiens is even with Swiss netminder Florence Schelling for the most in Women’s Worlds history (21).

And keep an eye on a few more games-played milestones on the blue line; Erin Ambrose is set to reach 100 appearances in her Team Canada career when she takes the ice today, while Jocelyne Larocque is four shy of becoming the first defender to reach 200 games.

A Look Back

These two teams have a relatively new history at the IIHF Women’s World Championship. They have only met three times— once in Brampton in 2023 and twice at last year’s championship.

All-time record: Canada leads 3-0-0
Canada goals: 14
Czechia goals: 1