Women's ice hockey is a sport played around the world, but its early history can be traced to Canada in the 1890s. And even after the sport was largely dormant for decades, its revival in the 1970s was also centered in Canada. But during the next two decades, the growth of the women's game spread around the world, becoming an Olympic event as well as a competition sanctioned by the International Ice Hockey Federation, the ruling body for both men's and women's ice hockey.
Pre-World War II
Among the earliest records of women playing organized ice hockey are from teams at the college level. Games between women from the University of Toronto and Queen's College in Kingston, Ontario, were among the best of the college players. By the 1930s, the women's game was ruled by the Preston Rivulettes, who lost only two of 350 games throughout the decade. The Rivulettes were led by Hilda Ranscombe, who championed the possibilities of women in ice hockey. World War II interrupted the Rivulettes' reign and left Canada, the U.S. and Europe with little women's hockey momentum until the 1970s.
1970s Revival
By the 1970s, the post-war lull in women's ice hockey was melting and women were putting together club teams across the U.S. and Canada. Among the best players was the charismatic Shirley Cameron, who led the Edmonton Chimos to 16 national championships and eventually had a trophy named after her. The Cameron Cup is awarded annually to the winner of the match between Alberta's two best women's hockey teams. From the 1970s and into the 1980s, women's ice hockey gained popularity in countries across Europe and Asia.
International History
The International Ice Hockey Federation sanctioned the first World Women's Championship in 1990. The tournament was played in Ottawa. Eight years later, women's ice hockey was introduced as a medal sport in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. That was also the first year professional players were allowed to participate on the men's side. The United States won the women's ice hockey tournament. Canada won the silver medal and Finland got the bronze. Only six women's ice hockey teams competed in that Olympiad. Women's ice hockey has remained an anchor sport in all subsequent Olympics. In 2002, Canada won the men's and women's Olympic gold medals.
Notable Players
One of the all-time great women hockey players is American Cammi Granato, a mainstay of the U.S. team throughout the 1990s and 2000s. She helped the U.S. win the first women's ice hockey Olympic gold medal in 1998 and anchored many other international contests. She, along with her Canadian rival Angela James, who was a star on the Canadian team during the same period, were among the first women elected to the International Hockey Hall of Fame in 2010. Other women's ice hockey pioneers included Elizabeth Graham of Queen's College, who in 1927 wore a mask while playing goaltender -- the first time a goalie wore a mask in a game and a few years before NHL goalie Clint Benedict provided the NHL with its first look at a goalie's mask.
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