The Road to Sochi is long indeed.

In fact, there are 9,183.528 kilometres, or 5,706.38 miles, separating Hockey Canada’s home base of Calgary, Alta., and the site of the upcoming 2014 Olympic Winter Games in southern Russia.

Canada’s National Women’s Team has just turned its final corner on its last stretch to Sochi, travelling overseas to Vienna, Austria, this week for some practice and pre-competition before the Olympic puck drops. Not only is that an extremely intense journey for the players themselves, but it’s also a long trek – that carries a hefty price tag – for family and friends who want to be in the stands at Shayba Arena and the Bolshoy Ice Dome to cheer their loved ones on as they go for gold.

That’s where the Hockey Canada Foundation has “stepped” in to help, with an event called Sips, Sticks and Stilettos, held this past fall to help raise funds for the National Women’s Team family program, which cuts costs so that the top female players in the country can have their top fans supporting them at Sochi 2014.

The Oct. 29 event was held at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in Edmonton, Alta., in the midst of one of Team Canada’s many road trips this season. Hockey Canada Foundation board director Doug Goss emceed the special evening, which gave invited guests the chance to mix and mingle with Canada’s National Women’s Team over dinner, and featured both an impressive live auction and a hot stove sessions hosted by two-time Olympic gold medallist Cassie Campbell-Pascall.

“We did this in 2009 as well, just leading into Vancouver, and the idea then, as it is now, was to provide support for the women’s hockey team and their families to attend the Olympics,” said Goss, who is also NAIT’s former board chair, and knew the school’s outstanding culinary students would put together a delicious five-course meal for attendees, which also included Hockey Canada president and CEO Bob Nicholson, Alberta Premier Alison Redford and several other high-profile guests.

“But the stars of the show were the players,” Goss said. “They were all great on stage, Cassie Campbell was terrific and I think everybody left feeling really close to all of the players, and feeling that they were all part of their journey in some way – and that’s a good thing.”

In total, Sips, Sticks and Stilettos raised about $120,000, with 75 per cent of the proceeds going to the National Women’s Team family program, and the other 25 per cent being donated to the Edmonton Girls Hockey Association to help grow the female game at the grassroots level, and inspire Team Canada’s future stars.

“This helps us tremendously, because we get to now bring our families to Russia," Canadian netminder Shannon Szabados of the festivities held in her hometown, and at her former post-secondary school. She said Sips, Sticks and Stilettos is giving her parents the chance to join her in Sochi “without re-mortgaging their house.”

Her parents have done the obscenely early morning drives to the rink, long weekend road trips countless times, and have followed their hockey-loving daughter pretty much everywhere else she’s played, including when she was in goal for the Olympic final at Vancouver 2010. So it seems only fair that they be there to support Szabados and her teammates as they defend that Olympic gold medal. Her husband will make the long trip, too, making it a smaller posse than the one she had in Vancouver, but an extremely important one.

“They were quite excited when I told them events like this help cover their expenses,” Szabados said. “I may not be able to spend a lot of time with my family when they are there, but it means so much just to know they are there supporting us, watching us, and if I need someone to talk to, they are there."

Campbell-Pascall happily helped out at this season’s Sips, Sticks and Stilettos event, since she knows all too well how important it is to have your biggest fans in attendance for your biggest games.

“Especially for Sochi coming up, it’s going to be a pretty expensive trip for the families to be there,” she said. “For some girls, it’s their first Olympics and for some girls, it’ll be their last, and as a former athlete, there’s nothing better to compete, and hopefully be successful, and then have your family right there to share it.”

The best women’s hockey players in the world “don’t make millions and millions of dollars a year,” Campbell-Pascall pointed out, adding “it just helps eliminate the costs … and it’s really important, I know, to the girls to have their parents and friends, and whoever else can, make the trip there.”

Campbell-Pascall said the success of Sips, Sticks and Stilettos shows that “there are a lot of great people out there that are supporting the game.”

“In my day, not many of the girls wore high heels to the rink,” she said with a chuckle of the appropriate yet quirky event name. “But you look at the girls now, and they’re all wearing them and that’s the style – it fits.”

Hockey Canada Foundation executive director Chris Bright described Campbell-Pascall as “natural and engaging” when it comes to garnering support for Canada’s National Women’s Team, adding she “was a great compliment to the evening’s success.”

“The foundation is proud to support these athletes and their families,” Bright said. “Like all Canadians, we wish them all the success on the ice. Off the ice, it is hard not to admire the commitment and dedication they have to pursue gold.”

But from the first puck drop to the final buzzer – and every practice, game, training session, road trip in between – each trek to that sparkling summit of athletic accomplishment has been a unique experience for the forward from Unionville, Ont.

“I think each round of centralization is a little bit different,” Apps said following a recent practice in Burlington, Vt., while on the road with Canada’s National Women’s Team for two pre-Olympic games against the United States. “This time it’s been good so far; busier I think than it has been in the past.”

Apps is one of 27 top female players from across the country currently centralized with Team Canada for the 2013-14 season, and based out of Hockey Canada’s home facilities in Calgary, Alta. When they’re not playing, practising and training inside the Markin MacPhail Centre, they’re taking the bus across the province to play against AAA boys’ teams from the Alberta Midget Hockey League, or flying to major cities on both sides of the border to take on the U.S. in preparation for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, next February. The Canadian roster will be whittled down to 21 players before that long sought after trip to Sochi.

In the meantime, their stop in Burlington this October was to face off against the United States for an intense on-ice rivalry. Canada edged the U.S. 3-2 in the first of six Olympic warm-up games between the two rival teams Oct. 12, although it was more like a heated battle on the ice, sparks flying and all. Following the win, the maple leafs shifted focus to their second game against the stars and stripes, which was scheduled for just five days later, Oct. 17 at the Centre d’excellence Sports Rousseau in Boisbriand, Que.

“There are also similarities, with playing in the Midget AAA league, and going on tour with the U.S.,” Apps said of her third centralization, adding this time around “we’ve just been at the rink a little bit more.” For a high performance athlete who has already successfully gone through the trials and tribulations en route to winning Olympic gold, not once but twice, both at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy, and the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, B.C., it’s clear the Road to Sochi 2014 is a rigorous journey for veterans and rookies alike.

Apps and her teammates love having hockey as their full-time job this season, but maintaining a sense of balance is also important. “I think you just take your down time when it comes, and try to unwind a little bit, and make sure you’re taking care of yourself – eating and sleeping,” Apps said. “And just trying to stay present when you’re at the rink.”

It’s all worth it for Apps. Not only for the possibility of having a third Olympic gold medal placed around her neck at the Bolshoy Ice Dome, but also to have the chance to spend time with her teammates every day. Apps has been a member of Canada’s National Women’s Team since 2001, also winning three women’s world championship gold medals during that time.

“It’s fun to be with this group, together full-time,” she said of what stands out for her so far this season. “Just feeling like a team that comes to the rink every day.”

Having teammates help push you through the rough patches through a tough year is also important for the red and white to stay on top of their game. “That’s why it’s so great that we have such a close group, because you can use your teammates to help you get through those hard times.”

Team Canada also adheres to mottos and messages that help motivate them on a daily basis. First introduced just before spring’s boot camp in Penticton, B.C., this season some of the team’s words to live by are “dig a little deeper.”

“When things are tough, just keep going,” Apps said. “You’ve always got more in you, so making sure that you’re giving your best every day.”

Apps said she and her teammates are excited to see proud Canadian crowds fill the stands, whether it’s at a small rink in rural Alberta as part of the ongoing National Women’s Team-Midget Series, or for one of the four remaining games against the United States, at the Markin MacPhail Centre in Calgary on Dec. 8; the Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D., on Dec. 20; the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., on Dec. 28 or the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ont., on Dec. 30.

“That’s the part that everyone’s looking forward to,” Apps said, adding she’s also hoping to experience Sochi 2014, which would be a completely new “dream come true.”

“If I had the chance to do it again, it would be a big honour,” she said.

Apps, who perhaps comes by her undying hockey determination honestly, as the daughter of Syl Apps Jr. and granddaughter of Syl Apps Sr. of the National Hockey League, said participating in the Olympics is simply something you train “your whole life for.”

Finally, Apps makes an important point as to why she is thrilled to take the road to gold a third straight time. “It’s one thing to win a medal, and it’s even harder to defend.”

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.

Nov. 8, 2013: Dineen is relieved of duties as head coach of the NHL’s Florida Panthers, 16 games into regular season, and soon contacts Bob Nicholson to inquire about coaching opportunities.

“After spending a little time to get organized and reflecting on my next step, I figured I should act like I always did and be a little aggressive.”

“(Bob) called me back a few days later to fill me in on the resignation with the National Women’s Team and wanted to know if I’d be interested in that position. I immediately said yes. I was ready to commit 100% to this incredible experience.”

Dec. 17, 2013: Dineen is officially hired as head coach of Canada’s National Women’s Team.

“In all honesty, it was a difficult situation to step into when you didn’t know anybody from the team apart from about half a dozen people I was familiar with.”

“I knew that I had incredible layers of support, especially from the coaching staff. The day before I was officially hired, we spent a full day together and I let them know how their roles were going to expand under my leadership. We established a good level of trust and that led to a healthy situation moving forward.”

Dec. 20, 2013: Dineen akes debut as head coach of Canada’s National Women’s Team, a 4-1 loss to the United States.

“The number of comparable aspects was more noticeable than the differences. The one thing I expected and realized is that the women’s team is made up of a bunch of cerebral players. They were able to not only grasp but put into execution a lot of the systems I had used at the NHL level, all while integrating them to the systems that were already in place. They’re such extremely smart players that want to learn and want to play the right way, that it wasn’t an issue.”     

Feb. 8, 2014: Dineen earns his first international win as a head coach, 5-0 over Switzerland in the Olympic opener in Sochi.

“It was exciting because I had a flood of emotions come back from my own Olympic experience. We walked in the opening ceremonies the night before and that’s when it really sunk in. It was an incredible feeling!”    

Feb. 20, 2014: Canada wins Olympic gold with a 3-2 overtime win over the United States, a game it trailed 2-0 with less than four minutes left.

“To watch how that game played out, how competitive it was by both teams, it was a great hockey game no matter the dramatic outcome. I admire our team for their composure and how the leaders in our group helped keep it together while playing through such adversity.”

“With everything that happened in that game; from the puck hitting the post on our empty net, to the three penalties called in overtime, everything was incredibly dramatic.”

March 20, 2014: Dineen is named head coach of Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Team.

“The opportunity to work with this bunch of kids, most of them being draft eligible this year, was an incredible one as well. They were such an enthusiastic bunch and very motivated. Their talent level was through the roof and they were extremely hard working kids that wanted to learn.”

April 27, 2014: Canada wins bronze at the U18 world championship with a 3-1 win over Sweden.

“Obviously we wanted the gold medal, so to lose in overtime in the semifinal game was a hard pill to swallow. I’m really proud of how our guys regrouped and prepared themselves to try and represent Canada to the best they could in the circumstances. I feel like we walked out of there with a feeling of accomplishment.”

“The boys really worked hard to earn that medal and that’s something that I was really proud of afterwards. I even sent them all a personal note to let them know that I was proud of them and that I really wanted all of them to achieve one of their lifelong goals and get drafted by an NHL team.”

When his Lower Austria Stars face off against Canada’s National Women’s Team on Jan. 28, it’s sure to bring back some fond memories for John Miner.

Miner, 49, is assistant coach with the under-20 prep team and specialty coach at the Okanagan Hockey Academy Europe in St. Pölten, Austria, where Team Canada is acclimatizing, practising and training before heading to Sochi, Russia for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games.

Miner also happens to be a Team Canada alumnus himself, having won the gold medal at the 1985 World Junior Championship in Helsinki and Turku, Finland, as well as at the 2002 Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland.

“I’ve had so many great experiences,” the Moose Jaw, Sask., native said of representing his country on the ice. “Any time you put on that jersey is just an incredible feeling.”

Miner remembers attending a national team camp as a 16-year-old defenceman, “with a lot of them that ended up stars of the NHL, like Mario Lemieux.”

“We were the first team to win gold overseas,” Miner added of his world juniors experience with Canada’s National Junior Team.

He also said legendary Team Canada coach Andy Murray “had to put an unbelievable team for Davos forward, because if they didn’t, they weren’t going to be invited anymore, so (he) went out and brought all the top guys he could within Switzerland, Sweden, Germany.

“That, for me, was a real special feeling,” Miner said. “Every time I watch the Spengler now, I might have had a little piece of that, and Andy did a fabulous job.”

While he’s proud to have had the chance to sport the maple leaf on his chest, Miner said Tuesday’s game against Canada’s National Women’s Team won’t be the first time he’s played against his own country. In fact, his German club team, the Cologne Sharks, took on Team Canada at the Spengler Cup in 1999 and 2000, winning the former and placing third in the latter tournament.

“A lot of the guys that I played with on Team Canada, now I’m playing against them,” Miner recalled with a chuckle. “We knocked them out; we made the final.”

After a successful junior hockey career with the Western Hockey League’s Regina Pats, Miner was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers – the 220th player selected in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft – playing three years with them and their American Hockey League affiliate, the Nova Scotia Oilers. His 14 NHL games all came with Edmonton during the 1987-88 season, a campaign that ended with the franchise’s fourth Stanley Cup.

His Oilers career came to a close on Aug. 9, 1988, when he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings as part of the infamous Wayne Gretzky deal.

“That’s probably the highlight of my whole career,” is Miner’s usual wisecrack about being in the middle of the historic NHL trade.

Soon after, Miner moved his professional game to Europe, where he spent two decades as a stand-out player in the Austrian, Danish, French, German and Swiss elite leagues, being named to several all-star teams. Miner and his wife also raised their two children overseas. “It’s home for us,” he said.

Miner retired from playing at 42 years old, took a couple of years off, and then picked up coaching, earning Level 1 and 2 of Hockey Canada’s National Coach Certification Program. He worked with pro teams and at skills camps across Europe before joining the Okanagan Hockey Academy Europe for the 2013-14 season. It’s the sister facility to the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton, B.C., and is owned and operated by Canadians, with players coming from across the continent to learn the game.

“I thought it was a pretty neat concept,” Miner said. “I’m pretty excited to actually be on the other side of the bench … It’s kind of nice to help these kids try and reach their goals.”

He and the young men he’ll coach in Tuesday’s game also hope to help Canada’s National Women’s Team reach its goal of successfully defending its Olympic gold medal in Sochi.

Canada’s National Women’s Team has already played an exhibition game against OHA Europe’s under-18 varsity team, getting edged 5-4 on Jan. 24, just two days after arriving in Austria. Miner said he’s impressed with what he’s seen on the ice.

“I was just amazed at how beautifully they skate,” Miner said. “The cohesion that they have is really nice.”

Miner added “It’s an honour and a privilege” for his team to “help the girls get ready for the Olympics.”

“So we’re going to try and give them a good push, and give them a really good game,” he said. “And in turn, the girls are going to make our guys play,” he said. “But it’s to prepare the girls – that’s the No. 1 priority.”

Resilience refers to the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties.

While all great teams face obstacles on route to the top, few teams can say they were able to navigate them as well as Canada’s National Women’s Team.

Through a global pandemic, event cancellations, isolations and so much more, the 2021-22 edition of Team Canada rose above time and time again, staying committed to achieving greatness “our way.”

After COVID-19 wreaked havoc on the 2019-20 season, 2021 looked to provide a sense of normalcy, with the IIHF Women’s World Championship set for April in Halifax and Truro, N.S. But less than two weeks before the puck was set to drop, the Province of Nova Scotia withdrew its support of the event, citing rising COVID-19 numbers.

“I think going into April, we were fully expecting to play, and we felt very prepared,” remembers Blayre Turnbull, a Stellarton, N.S., native and one of two Nova Scotians on the Team Canada roster. “So obviously there was a huge sense of disappointment when things got cancelled, but I think it did really bring the group even closer together. It was a piece of adversity that at the time was devastating, but in hindsight, I think it really helped bond our group, and I think it made us even more grateful for the upcoming camps and tournaments and time that we got to spend and play together.”

Staying adaptable and open-minded proved vital as the team navigated a COVID “bubble” last summer as the rescheduled women’s worlds took shape in Calgary in August. With no fans, friends or family, the team grew even closer away from the rink as their efforts on the ice started to pay off.

Sarah Fillier, who finished with three goals and three assists in her world championship debut, remembers the adjustments she had to make playing in front of an empty arena: “Being able to wear that jersey, one of the things you think about is just your parents and really close friends getting to watch you compete on that international stage.

“The team turned into a family for all of us, and we were trying to adapt to a situation that no one really ever has before, and luckily, we were an incredibly close group.”

Canada hadn’t won women’s worlds gold since 2012—the Americans had claimed the past five world titles, four with wins over the Canadians in the final. That hunger fed Team Canada, which vowed to take back the top spot from their rivals on home ice.

The team captured the hearts and minds of Canadians with their run in Calgary, going undefeated with 34 goals in seven games. The bond between teammates and excitement for the return of women’s hockey was clear as constant smiles, hugs and goal celebrations were accompanied by convincing wins – 5-1 over ROC, 5-0 over Switzerland and 5-1 over the U.S. (Canada’s biggest win over its rival since 2017).

But they saved the best for last. A back-and-forth gold medal game needed overtime after Canada erased an early two-goal deficit, and it was two of the most seasoned veterans that combined on history.

With 25 years on the national team between the two of them, Brianne Jenner and dashed down the ice in 3-on-3 overtime, Jenner connecting with Poulin like the linemates had done so many times before.

The rest is history.

That golden moment was more than a world championship win. It marked the return of hockey not just for Team Canada, but for so many Canadians who in just a few short weeks would getting back on the ice after a lost season of sorts in 2020-21.

The world title was just the beginning, though. With gold medals around their necks, celebrations lasted only a week or so as eyes turned forward toward the next goal—gold at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

“I think everybody really appreciated coming out of the pandemic and having an opportunity to compete for world championships,” says head coach Troy Ryan. “So that was huge. But then to get validated for all the little adjustments and changes that all of us had to make for each other, seeing them get rewarded for all their hard work, you knew that that commitment would remain, heading into the Olympics as well.”

On a journey with even more obstacles ahead, buy-in from the group was crucial, knowing the stress of navigating a pandemic on top of trying to make an Olympic team could break down even the most veteran teams.

“We had many Zoom calls, group texts, so many different conversations about what we thought was best for the team and how we could make the most out of our training camp and our quarantine at the hotel, and really keep girls positive and make sure that everybody knew that although we had just been through so much adversity, we were fully prepared to play and we were fully prepared to win,” Turnbull says. “And I think once we hit the ice, it was really evident that it was going to be hard to stop our team.”

The season began in September with 29 athletes centralized in Calgary. The team faced teams from the B.C. Hockey League and Alberta Junior Hockey League, took to the ice for Rivalry Series matchups against the United States and travelled abroad for a three-game series against Finland as part of their Olympic preparations.

“As a team, we traveled so much, which is super taxing on the body,” says Turnbull, who missed the early part of the season after breaking her ankle in the dog pile following Poulin’s overtime winner at worlds. “We went from Calgary to Finland, to Toronto, Kingston, Ottawa. We were away for so much of the season.”

And with that travel came the increased risk of COVID-19, the team navigating close encounters on top of the stressors of cuts to the centralization roster as the Beijing Games approached.

Much of the credit, according to Poulin, goes to director of hockey operations Gina Kingsbury and team physician Dr. Tina Atkinson, who handled the pandemic logistics while the team focused on the ice. “I don’t know how much they slept in the past year, to be honest,” Poulin says with a smile. “Gina and Doc were super amazing to work with. They told us what was happening and [were always] on top of things. This group was really adaptable and very resilient.”

The pandemic threw yet another wrench into their season just over a month before the team was due to depart for Beijing, cutting short a late-December road trip in the U.S. and forcing the cancellation of the final leg of the Rivalry Series just as the final Olympic team was to be named.

“After Christmas, it was probably the most stressful time of the year after the team was picked,” Turnbull recounts. “And we were training in Calgary in January with the goal of making it to China as a team but understanding how difficult it was going to be over the next three, four weeks.”

After a few more weeks of isolated training in Calgary, sometimes practicing in masks (as would prove handy in their Olympic showing against ROC), the 23 Olympians set off for Beijing—10 for their first Olympic Games ever—on a mission to be golden once again.

And just like they were in Calgary, Canada was historically good in Beijing.

The Canadians went undefeated again, with Team Canada first-timer Claire Thompson setting a new Olympic record for most points by a defenceman and Sarah Nurse breaking the records for most assists and most points in one Games.

“One of the coolest things that surfaced through [the Olympics] was we didn't know where we would get goals from, we just knew we would get some,” reflects Ryan—who served as an assistant coach when Canada settled for silver at the 2018 Olympics. “Same thing defensively. It wasn't just [Jocelyne] Larocque and [Renata] Fast that did the job, there were other people that stood up.

“There were people breaking individual records at the Olympics. It was almost like they weren't even aware. They didn't get caught up in it. It was like a knuckle tap and a smirk and away you go. To me, that was cool.”

And as the hockey gods would have it, the Canadians would have to go through their storied rivals once again with gold on the line.

Nurse and Poulin scored in the first period, Poulin added another midway through the second and not even a late-game push by the Americans could overpower Team Canada—it was Olympic gold for the fifth time in six Games with Poulin netting the game-winner, making her the only player ever—man or woman—to score in four consecutive Olympic finals.

“I was counting down on the bench, and I remember when we hopped off at the end of the game, I just immediately started crying,” Fillier recalls. “I just remember being speechless, for at least 24 hours, about how I just had this gold medal in my hands.”

The explosion of tears and hugs commemorated more than just another Olympic victory, they were celebrations of every past struggle and challenge, the team’s commitment paying off at last.

“This is the best hockey team that I've ever been a part of,” says Turnbull. “And I'm not including any of the records we set at the Olympics. That's just because of the people in the locker room and the teammates that I got to share so many memories with.”

Through staffing changes, new rosters, cancellations and pandemics, the 2021-22 edition of Canada’s National Women’s Team persevered through the most trying of times, winning hockey’s biggest prizes and doing it their way.

“We started with ‘Our Way’ and we stuck with it all the way to the end,” says Poulin. “We stuck together. The coaching staff, the GM, they had our plan, and for us, we're just following it. Following along and doing our best. Being resilient, buying in and having fun after it all.”

GAME NOTES: CANADA VS. UNITED STATES (FEB. 16)

TV: CBC | Stream: CBC.ca

A rematch four years in the making, Canada’s Women’s Olympic Team faces its long-time rivals from the United States in the gold medal game at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

LAST GAME

Canada got points from 16 different players (including all 13 forwards) and racked up 61 shots on goal in a 10-3 semifinal win over Switzerland. Marie-Philip Poulin scored twice and Sarah Nurse recorded four more assists, tying Hayley Wickenheiser’s 2006 record for helpers in an Olympic tournament with 12. Brianne Jenner made a little history of her own, closing out the scoring with her ninth goal, equalling the Olympic record.

The Americans started slow against the Finns in their semifinal, but Cayla Barnes got the scoring started on the power play early in the second period and the U.S. never looked back, earning a 4-1 victory. Barnes and Hilary Knight finished with a goal and an assist each.

LAST MEETING

In their 163rd all-time meeting just seven days ago, Canada used a second-period flurry to earn a 4-2 victory in the preliminary-round finale. Ann-Renée Desbiens was the big story, making 51 saves to set a Canadian Olympic record for stops in a game (men’s or women’s hockey). Jenner, Jamie Lee Rattray and Poulin (on a penalty shot) scored 5:25 apart late in the middle frame to turn a one-goal deficit into a two-goal lead. Jenner finished with a pair of goals, Poulin added a goal and a helper and the Canadians killed five of six U.S. power plays.

WHAT TO WATCH

While the talk has been mostly focused on Canada’s outstanding offensive production – the team tops the tournament in goals (54), shooting percentage (17.4%) and power play (45.5%) – it’s the rookie-laden defence that has been the secret weapon. Claire Thompson and Erin Ambrose are the highest-scoring defencemen ever in a single women’s Olympic tournament (Thompson – 2-10—12; Ambrose – 4-5—9) and all seven D have at least two points. Their ability to generate offence from the blue line has been a major contributor to Canada’s success, but against the scoring threat the Americans pose, Canada’s defensive line will be critical.

The Americans will need to either slow down the record-setting Canadian offence, or keep up. The U.S. has been getting offence from up and down the lineup, with the usual suspects of Knight (5-4—9), Amanda Kessel (2-5—7) and Kendall Coyne Schofield (3-3—6) leading the way. That balanced production (seven players averaging at least a point a game) will need to continue if the U.S. hopes to defend its 2018 gold.

A LOOK BACK

While Canada has the all-time edge with 92 wins in 163 games, this rivalry is about as even as they come. Need proof? In the last 12 meetings between the rivals, six of those games have needed overtime (Canada has won four, with Poulin getting the GWG in three), and since the 2018 Olympics, the teams have split their 22 matchups almost down the middle (Canada has an 12-10 edge).

There have been nine Olympic meetings since 1998, with the Canadians winning six of those. Canada and the U.S. split their 2018 contests – Genevieve Lacasse made 44 saves in a 2-1 prelim win, before the Canadians dropped a 3-2 heartbreaker in shootout in the gold medal game.

All-time record: Canada leads 92-70-1 (20-17 in OT/SO)
Canada goals: 448
United States goals: 395

Kingston, Ont., is known for producing some incredible hockey talents, including one of the best to ever lace up her skates with Canada’s National Women’s Team—Jayna Hefford.

Four Olympic gold medals (five medals in all). Seven gold medals at the IIHF Women’s World Championship. The second-most goals, third-most assists and second-most points in Team Canada history. And a 2018 inductee into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

On Sunday night in her hometown comes another honour. In recognition of all she’s done and continues to do for the game, Hefford’s Greater Kingston Girls Hockey Association (GKGHA) jersey will be raised to the rafters of the Leon’s Centre prior to the Rivalry Series game between Canada and the United States.

Hefford started her hockey career at six years old before making the move to the women’s game at 10 and playing with the Kingston Kodiaks (now the Greater Kingston Ice Wolves) through to her university career with the University of Toronto.

“I always felt like it was a really supportive community,” says Hefford, who was also a 2019 Distinguished Honouree of the Order of Hockey in Canada. “And thankfully I grew up in a family that encouraged me to follow my dreams. They could tell how much I loved the game.”

Now—having cemented her place in Canadian hockey history—Hefford has turned her attention to the growth of the game for the next generation.

Along with her hockey school in Kingston and the skill camps she runs in communities across Canada, Hefford is the operations consultant for the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA), helping the organization work towards its goal to provide a viable professional hockey league for women.

“She's always giving back to the community by coming back,” says Jonathan Walker, president of the GKGHA. “She's hosted hockey camps through the summer and those things are loved by our members and they're heavily attended.

“Having someone like that, that can come back, [bringing] national team players with her and just the sheer visibility of women who have excelled in the sport and giving back to our young athletes has always been a great benefit to us.”

The Ice Wolves have seen registration growth in recent years, increasing their membership from 695 in the 2019-20 season to 755 in 2021-22 with the return to hockey.

Kingston will welcome the best of the women’s game once again on Sunday night, playing host to the first Canadian stop of the Rivalry Series.

“Hosting [games like this] in our community is a real honour,” Walker says. “For us to get exposure and to be able to see these high-level athletes is really exceptional for our community and for our girls to witness.”

An eager Kingston hockey community jumped at the opportunity to watch Canada’s National Women’s Team compete live, with the game selling out in just a matter of days.

“[That] made me really proud to see that,” Hefford says. “Kingston's a big hockey community, but the way they're supporting the women's game is really, really incredible. I'm so excited for the players to be able to play in a place like this.”

Hefford will be the first women’s hockey player to have her jersey honoured in Kingston, joining eight men who played for the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League – Chris Clifford, Keli Corpse, David Ling, Ken Linseman, Tony McKegney, Mike O’Connell, Brad Rhiness and Mike Zigomanis.

“I hope it's a signal to every young girl and boy in that community that if you're passionate about something and you work hard for it anything's possible,” Hefford says of the honour.

“When [I was] growing up, you never would have seen a female hockey player celebrated like this in the community. It just wasn't something that girls did. Now I think it'll be a powerful thing for young girls to see.”

Watch the Jayna Hefford ceremony and the Rivalry Series game on Sunday at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT on TSN.

CALGARY, Alta. – Hockey Canada has solidified its coaching staff for the Women’s Olympic Team, one day after unveiling the 28 players selected to centralize in Calgary in preparation for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, Feb. 4-20 in Beijing, China.

Head coach Troy Ryan (Spryfield, N.S.) will be joined by assistants Kori Cheverie (New Glasgow, N.S./Ryerson University, OUA), Doug Derraugh (Arnprior, Ont./Cornell University, ECAC) and Jim Midgley (Townsend, Ont.), as well as goaltending coach Brad Kirkwood (Calgary, Alta./University of Calgary, CW).

“It is an honour and privilege to be entrusted with this leadership opportunity,” said Ryan. “Hockey Canada has put together a tremendous staff to share this journey with. We are very excited to get to work with such an amazing and committed group of elite athletes on a daily basis as we prepare for Beijing 2022.”

The coaching staff was selected by Gina Kingsbury (Rouyn-Noranda, Que.), director of women’s national teams, Tom Renney (Cranbrook, B.C.), chief executive officer, Scott Smith (Bathurst, N.B.), president and chief operating officer, in consultation with Scott Salmond (Creston, B.C.) senior vice-president of national teams, and management consultant Cassie Campbell-Pascall (Brampton, Ont.).

“This four-year Olympic quad has challenged our coaching staff with adjustments to the changing landscape of our game,” said Kingsbury. “Troy has provided our program with consistency, and we feel he is well-suited to lead us through the 2021-22 season and to our ultimate goal of winning an Olympic gold medal. With limited time for competition, our coaching staff has bonded quickly, which is what we need in both short-term and long-term competition.”

Ryan is entering his third season as head coach of Canada’s National Women’s Team. As an assistant coach, he earned a silver medal at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, silver at the 2017 IIHF Women’s World Championship and bronze at the 2019 IIHF Women’s World Championship. Ryan also earned a silver medal as head coach of Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team at the 2017 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship. The Atlantic Canada female coach mentor with the Canadian Sport Centre Atlantic since 2016, he served as head coach of Team Atlantic at the 2015 National Women’s Under-18 Championship and has also been behind the bench at the Canada Winter Games (men’s and women’s hockey), World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, World Junior A Challenge and Centennial Cup (formerly the RBC Cup).

Cheverie has served as an assistant coach with the men’s hockey team at Ryerson University since 2016. On the international stage, she won a gold medal as an assistant coach with Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team at the 2019 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship, and was an assistant coach with Canada’s National Women’s Team for the Rivalry Series in February 2020. Cheverie also served as head coach of Team Ontario Red at the 2019 National Women’s Under-18 Championship, winning a gold medal.

Derraugh has been the head coach of the Cornell University women’s hockey team for the past 15 seasons, leading it to seven NCAA tournament appearances and four trips to the Frozen Four. Internationally, he won a gold medal as an assistant coach at the 2012 IIHF Women’s World Championship, and captured silver medals as head coach in 2015 and as an assistant a year later. Derraugh also won a gold medal as head coach of Canada’s National Women’s Team at the 2014 4 Nations Cup, along with silver as an assistant in 2011 and 2018.

Midgley most recently scouted for the Philadelphia Flyers and was an assistant coach with the Iserlohn Roosters of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga in 2019-20. He coached the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) in 2017-18 after serving as an assistant coach for six seasons (2011-17). Midgley was also an assistant coach with the Saint John Sea Dogs of the QMJHL (2007-09) and with Acadia University (2002-07). He was the video coach for Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Team at the 2016 IIHF U18 World Championship.

Kirkwood has served as goaltending consultant for Canada’s National Women’s Team since 2015 and has earned silver medals at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games and IIHF Women’s World Championship in 2016 and 2017. Kirkwood also won a gold medal with Canada’s National Women’s Development Team at the 2015 Nations Cup. He is the goaltending coach for the men’s and women’s hockey teams at the University of Calgary and for the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League.   

Hockey Canada also announced the support staff that will work with Canada’s National Women’s Team throughout the 2021-22 centralization season through to the 2022 Olympics:

• video coach James Emery (Calgary, Alta.)
• therapists Christine Atkins (Fort Macleod, Alta.) and Jami Boyd (Minnedosa, Man.)
• massage therapist Andrea Purdy (Toronto, Ont.)
• team physician Tina Atkinson (Shelburne, N.S./Halifax, QMJHL)
• strength and conditioning coach Jeremy Steinbach (Binbrook, Ont.)
• mental performance consultant Kim Thompson (Orleans, Ont.)
• equipment managers Alana Goulden (Aurora, Ont./Ryerson University, OUA) and Serge LeBlanc (Grande-Digue, N.B./Université de Moncton, AUS)
• managers of women’s national teams Tania Kenny (Toronto, Ont.) and Dylan Rockwell (Calgary, Alta.)
• media relations Esther Madziya (Lethbridge, Alta.)

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