Tuesday, April 10, 2012 at 02:09PM Team USA stormed out of the gates scoring 5 goals in the first 6 minutes as they routed Team Canada.
Team USA took another small step in its quest to win four Women's World Championships in a row, going all out to beat Russia by a 9-0 score. Amanda Kessel and Hilary Knight led the attack with two goals.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012 at 01:38PM The NHL is building a strategic plan to help expand and promote women’s hockey.
League representatives will be at the world championships in Burlington, Vt., during the next week – the NHL has been at many major tournaments the past year – learning about girls’ and women’s hockey and brainstorming ways to help it advance.
But don’t expect the league to provide large funds or start up a women’s league. The NHL says it can have a broader impact using its public platform, its TV network and website, and by bringing in female stars for its own major events.
The NHL hired former WNBA president Val Ackerman to research women’s hockey globally and report back, which she has been doing over the past year. Now, the NHL itself is getting to know stakeholders across all levels, from girls’ programs to university, international and the professional Canadian Women’s Hockey League.
The NHL says it’s keen to be a partner on initiatives.
“We’re not looking at how sustainable it would be to build a women’s hockey league like the WNBA model – that’s not what we’re doing here,” said Susan Cohig, NHL senior vice-president of integrated marketing. “We are eager to learn from Val what she experienced about the fan appetite from connecting with the grassroots level and the collegiate level of women’s and girls’ basketball.”
Tuesday, March 27, 2012 at 03:25PM 
By JEFF Z. KLEIN
NIAGARA FALLS, Ontario — As the final seconds ticked down, the team in the familiar bleu, blanc et rouge sweaters threw down sticks and gloves and gathered in a joyous embrace, famous international players ready to lift the cup again.
But these were not the Canadiens; they were the Montreal Stars of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, who celebrated their third Clarkson Cup championship on Sunday.
Players like Julie Chu of the United States and Meghan Agosta and Caroline Ouellette of Canada have a brief burst of fame at the Olympics every four years, when they are the subject of network television profiles. But what do elite women’s hockey players do after they graduate from college, and between Olympic and world championship tournaments?
Many of them play in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, a five-year-old league with six teams playing a 27-game regular-season schedule. Without that league, many elite players wonder what they might be doing.
“Probably playing in men’s leagues, maybe Wednesday or Saturday night pickup hockey,” Chu said.
But Chu, a three-time United States Olympian, said that would not be the same as playing against other top women.
“We’re very fortunate to have the C.W.H.L. for those who want to keep playing hockey,” she said.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012 at 02:54PM By Pat Hickey:
After the Canadiens were smoked by the Philadelphia Flyers Saturday night, they boarded a bus.
But the ride was a short one. Ten minutes after leaving the Wells Fargo Centre, they arrived at Philadelphia International Airport. They boarded a charter flight and by the time they finished a meal that was a cut above normal airline fare, they were on their descent into Montreal and the players looked forward to a day off.
After the Montreal Stars defeated Brampton 4-2 in Niagara Falls Sunday to win the Clarkson Cup, emblematic of the Canadian Women's Hockey League championship, the players boarded a bus.
This ride wasn't a short one. Seven and a half hours later, the bus pulled into Montreal at 3 a.m. There was a stop for fast food along the way and most of the players had a few hours to sleep before reporting to their day jobs Monday morning.
Both teams have players who are among the best in the world, but the weekend experiences illustrated the gap between men's and women's hockey.
If you ask an NHLer about his love for the game, he might tell you that he loves it so much he would play for free.
The women love it so much they pay for the right to play.
