The women’s hockey world championship is back where it belongs | CBC Sports

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After being cancelled in 2020, played in a bubble in 2021 and moved to the summer again last year, the women’s world hockey championship is finally returning to a normal time and place. The tournament is back in its traditional early spring slot and will be played in front of hockey-loving crowds in Brampton, Ont., starting Wednesday.

Here are a few things to know about the tournament:

Canada rules women’s hockey once again.

But the balance of power has shifted back toward Canada, which reclaimed the world title in 2021 in a Calgary bubble and retained it last summer in Denmark. A few months earlier, Canada reclaimed the Olympic gold medal by defeating the Americans in the final in Beijing. Throw in the Canadians’ dramatic comeback from down three games to none to win this season’s best-of-seven Rivalry Series and it’s clear: they are the undisputed queens of international women’s hockey right now.

Expect another Canada-U.S. showdown for gold.

The cross-border archrivals have met in 20 of the 21 women’s world championship finals, and no other country has ever won one. They’ve all but monopolized the Olympics too, squaring off in six of the seven women’s finals and winning all of the gold medals.

The only time another nation really came close to stealing a major championship came at the 2019 worlds in Finland. With goalie Noora Räty playing out of her mind, the hosts upset Canada in the semis, then appeared to score the overtime winner in the final vs. the United States. But a lengthy video review resulted in the goal being overturned for netminder interference, and the Americans went on to win in a shootout.

WATCH | Canada wins 2021 world championship:

Canada edges United States for world championship gold medal

Oakville, Ont.’s Brianne Jenner scored both of Canada’s goals en route to a 2-1 victory over their international rivals in the tournament final.

Some players to watch:

Marie-Philip Poulin (Canada): The 32-year-old captain remains the heart and soul of her team and one of the most clutch players in the sport. She scored both goals in Canada’s 2-0 victory over the U.S. in the 2010 Olympic final in Vancouver, the late tying goal and the overtime winner in the classic 2014 rematch in Sochi, the OT winner in the 2021 world-title game in Calgary and two goals in Canada’s 3-2 victory in the 2022 Olympic final. Poulin racked up 17 points in seven games in Beijing and tied for the Canadian lead with five goals at last year’s worlds in Denmark.

Brianne Jenner (Canada): The veteran forward did a nice Poulin impression in last year’s world championship final, scoring both of Canada’s goals in a 2-1 win over the Americans. Jenner recorded just one goal and two assists across Canada’s other six games, but she was voted MVP at the Beijing Olympics after scoring a tournament-high nine goals in seven games.

Sara Fillier (Canada): Last year, the rising young star scored eight goals in her Olympic debut before leading the team with 11 points at the world championship. Fillier, 22, returned to Princeton University this season and scored 19 goals in 31 games.

Taylor Heise (United States): The University of Minnesota forward lit up the world championship last year, topping the tournament in goals (7) and points (18) to win the MVP award despite her team’s loss to Canada in the final. Heise, 23, had 29 goals in 38 NCAA games this season. The Americans will be counting on her to score with Brianna Decker (retired) and Kendall Coyne Schofield (pregnant) both missing from this year’s worlds.

Hilary Knight (United States): The 33-year-old owns the all-time records for points (89) and goals (53) at the world championship. She’s about to become the second-oldest American to play in the worlds — behind Cammi Granato, who was 34 when she last appeared in 2005.

Canada’s schedule:

All of Canada’s group-stage games start at 7 p.m. ET. The defending champs open Wednesday vs. Switzerland, which lost the bronze-medal game last year to the Czech Republic. Canada faces the Czechs on Friday and Japan on Saturday before closing its preliminary-round slate Monday vs. the United States.

How the tournament works:

All five teams in Canada’s group are guaranteed a spot in the April 13 quarter-finals. They’ll be joined by the top three finishers from Group B, made up of Finland, Sweden, Hungary, Germany and France. Russia remains banned from international hockey due to the invasion of Ukraine.

Barring a major surprise, Canada and the U.S. will play in separate semifinals on April 15 before squaring off in the final again on April 16.

Read more about the women’s world championship in this story by CBC Sports’ Myles Dichter.