The rivalry in women’s hockey between the U.S. and Canada, our maple-tapping neighbors to the north, is as intense as ever heading into the Beijing Olympics. The two nations have dominated the sport on the world stage since the International Ice Hockey Federation first started holding a women’s world championship in 1990 and the IOC followed suit in 1998 by adding the sport to the Olympic line up. 

Since then, the U.S. and Canada have faced each other in the gold medal game of every single World Championship and Olympic games but two (Sweden knocked the U.S. out in semis at the 2006 Olympics and Finland did the same to Canada at Worlds in 2019). Of all the great rivalries in recent sports history, perhaps none have been as consistent and relentless as this one. For these two teams, after every huge victory and every heart-breaking defeat, they awake the next day knowing their nemesis is still out there, coming for them again with everything they have.

At the PyeongChang 2018 Winter games, the U.S. finally won their second Olympic gold, ending Canada’s run of four consecutive Olympic golds. It came one year after the U.S. women threatened to boycott the IIFH World Championship in their fight for better pay and better treatment from USA Hockey. Proving their worth, the U.S. followed that victory up with a fifth consecutive World Championship in 2019.

But since resuming play after the cancellations of 2020, it appears momentum has shifted in favor of the north. At the World Championship this past August, Canada beat the U.S. both in the preliminary rounds and again in an overtime thriller, 3-2 for the title, winning their first Worlds title since 2012.

And in the latest installment of the saga, tensions boiled over as the final buzzer blew on a 3-2 Canadian victory in Game 2 of a nine-game pre-Olympic rivalry series between the two squads.

Canada wins Game 2 of the Rivalry Series and My Why Tour, 3-2!

Goals for Canada by Bach and Fillier (2) and by Barnes and Kessel for the US.

and of course the game ends in some super friendly handshakes pic.twitter.com/RgE4UQWkUZ

— The Ice Garden (@TheIceGarden) October 26, 2021

With Canada also winning Game 1 of the series a few days prior, and just a few months to prepare for what many are hoping will be a sixth Olympic gold showdown, it appears the U.S. has some work to do. The rivals face off again Nov. 21 and 23 in Ontario.

When not playing for their countries, most American and Canadian national team members, like USA stars Hilary Knight, Kendall Coyne Schofield, and Amanda Kessel, play for the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA). The group was formed in 2019 (after the Canadian Women’s Hockey League went under) partly in protest to existing leagues, including the NWHL, which elite players said had failed to provide a truly professional option for the best women’s hockey players in the world. 

Since its formation, the on-ice action of the PHWPA has been a series of annual showcase games between evenly divided teams, each with its own outside sponsor. Last season they moved to a “regional hub” structure, where each hub carries a 25-player pool from which they form each showcase roster, a baby step toward designating geographically-located teams. This season, the puck drops in Truro, Nova Scotia on November 12th for the first showcase with teams from Boston, Calgary, Montreal, and Toronto playing a two-day, best of four tourney.

This year, the PWHPA will also play in several All-Star games where hand-selected rosters (of mainly non-national teams players) will play against national teams prepping for the Olympics. In October, they played a series of closed-door scrimmages against Team USA and will take on Team Canada in Calgary on Dec. 9 and 11 before heading over to play Japan in a series of games Jan. 9-16.

Meanwhile, the Premier Hockey Federation (previously the National Women’s Hockey League) has recently kicked off its seventh season with a five-game opening weekend. The Boston Pride will be looking to defend their Isobel Cup title against the Minnesota Whitecaps, Buffalo Beauts, Metropolitan Riveters, Toronto Six, and Connecticut Whale. The PHF as a whole will be looking to move past a somewhat disastrous last season, in which a Covid outbreak burst the league’s rather porous hockey bubble and forced the league to suspend play.  

It was an eventful offseason for the PHF since teams were last on the ice. Shortly after last season ended, the league announced that the salary cap would be doubled, bringing it to $300K per team. Earlier this fall, following tough discussions prompted by one team owner’s previous involvement with an anti-trans organization, the league announced the name change and re-branding from the National Women’s Hockey League to the Premier Hockey Federation.

According to the league press release announcing the change, “The PHF name was inspired by empowerment, gender equity, and inclusivity with respect to differences in the gender identity of current athletes, prospective players, and league stakeholders.”

And just last week, the league announced it signed a new deal giving ESPN+ exclusive broadcast rights for the 2021-2022 season. The streaming service will offer all 60 regular season games plus playoffs.

Even though most U.S. and Canadian national team members don’t play in the PHF, the abundance of hockey talent being produced in north America is clear. And the end goal of a high caliber, financially sustainable, pro league where players can be full-time professional athletes and make a decent living is the common goal.

No doubt the PWHPA is hoping for a strong U.S. and Canadian showing in Beijing to get the Olympic boost that can move their dream forward, as has been the pattern for other successful women’s pro sports leagues. What remains to be seen is if the PHF will benefit from the same boost, and what that will mean for the two organizations down the line. The PHF has said it wants to mend the gap. For the PWHPA, it remains an unbridgeable gulf. 

Tessa Nichols is a contributing writer for Just Women’s Sports. 

UCLA-bound high school senior Sienna Betts led the West team to a decisive 104-82 victory over the East in the McDonald's All-American Girls Game held last night at New York's Barclays Center.

The 6'4" forward contributed 16 points, seven rebounds, and two assists, earning MVP honors for her performance. ​

Betts is currently the class of 2025's No. 2 overall recruit. Only Texas-based point guard Aaliyah Chavez, who recently committed to the Oklahoma Sooners, ranks above her.

Betts to join sister Lauren Betts at UCLA next year

Betts's performance is a good indicator of her potential impact at UCLA next year. There, she'll join forces with her sister Lauren Betts, the senior currently leading the Bruins to this season's NCAA Final Four after transferring in from Stanford.

The Betts sisters' arrival is highly anticipated, with Lauren opting to forgo the 2025 WNBA Draft in order to play out her final year of college eligibility alongside her little sister.

“For me, it [committing to UCLA] was a lot about how the coaches care about you off the court, and the coaches at UCLA, they really care about your mental health,” Betts told The Flagler College Gargoyle after committing last year. “Every team that I’ve ever been on, we’ve been a family… So, they really cared about that part of basketball for me, and they showed me that on my visits and when I called to talk to them.”

Betts in good company as McDonald's All-American Game MVP

In Brooklyn, Betts showcased her ability among the sport's best high school talent. Recent McDonald's All-American MVPs have all gone onto fuel prominent NCAA programs, including top-ranked recruits UConn's Sarah Strong, South Carolina's Joyce Edwards, USC's JuJu Watkins, Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo, and UCLA's own Kiki Rice and Gabriela Jaquez.

The McDonald's All-American Game has a storied history of highlighting promising players, with past MVPs subsequently laying the foundation for future superstars.

Less than a day after Notre Dame’s Olivia Miles shocked the women’s basketball world by opting to enter the transfer portal rather than declare for the 2025 WNBA Draft, the Irish’s transfer fall-out has continued.

Sophomore guard Emma Risch and freshman forward Kate Koval have also entered the portal, with Koval — who started in 10 games this season — leading the Irish in blocks.

Between transfer moves and graduating seniors, sophomore guard Hannah Hidalgo remains Notre Dame’s only returning starter — a sharp turn for an Irish squad ranked No. 1 in the country just six weeks ago.

Other top NCAA programs see transfer portal movement

Notre Dame isn’t the only top-tier program experiencing a roster shakeup after exiting the 2025 NCAA tournament.

LSU sophomore forward Sa'myah Smith entered the transfer portal after the Tigers’ season ended in Sunday’s Elite Eight. USC sophomore guard Aaliyah Gayles subsequently followed suit after the Trojans fell to UConn on Monday.

Schools like TCU have become national contenders via the transfer portal, with the Horned Frogs recruiting both Hailey Van Lith and Sedona Prince ahead of their first-ever Elite Eight run. Former Kentucky center Clara Silva is the latest transfer to commit to TCU, as the team comes off their best tournament finish in school history.

The modern era of NCAA roster-building is upon us, with top players taking the reigns as ambitious teams scramble to fill offseason gaps.

The NWSL is looking to sign a new Sunday night TV deal, according to a Sports Business Journal report published this week.

The league is targeting a two-year deal starting in 2026, with both new and existing TV partners interested in picking up additional NWSL games.

NWSL looks to build on multimillion dollar TV deal

The NWSL is currently two years into a four-year, $240 million TV partnership with ESPN, Prime, ION, and CBS Sports. However, the current contract doesn’t cover the entire schedule. And with league expansion planned for 2026, even more inventory is on the way.

SBJ notes that the market for this season’s lineup has been strong. In fact, all four media partners have already sold out all their 2025 advertising slots.

“You cannot find a place to spend right now,” IMG’s Hillary Mandel said at a recent Business of Soccer event hosted by SBJ. “We know what’s motivating interest is the fact that there’s no place to invest. That’s a phenomenal story in such a short period of time."

ESPN spotlighted for TV network-owned Sunday lineup

ESPN could be a prime candidate for a Sunday package, with the network set to move on from Sunday Night Baseball after the 2025 MLB season.

The NWSL has traditionally leaned into network-owned nights, with Prime airing Friday night matchups and ION running Saturday double-headers.

The NWSL’s most recent contract subsequently added serious value to the league. And the returns have networks coming back for more, setting up a potential bidding war and easing growing pains as new teams join the fold.

UCLA will hit the court for their first-ever NCAA Final Four on Friday, but as they extend the most successful season in program history, the Bruins have looked anything but green.

“We said talent was going to be our floor,” UCLA head coach Cori Close said after Sunday’s Elite Eight win over LSU. “Our character, our chemistry, our habits were going to be our ceiling.”

With just two losses on the season, UCLA’s status as a first-rate NCAA title contender has actually been years in the making.

Roster-building paves the way to the Final Four

In 2022, the Bruins signed the No. 1 recruiting class in the country, stacking their roster with top high school standouts Gabriela Jaquez, Kiki Rice, and Londynn Jones.

UCLA then upped their game even further last year, when 2022 No. 1 overall recruit Lauren Betts transferred in from Stanford — a move that fueled the Bruins all the way to the Sweet 16 with the promise of even greater success.

“Everyone came to UCLA for this reason: to do something we haven't done in a really long time,” Jaquez said on Sunday. “[I’m] just really proud of my teammates, the staff, the coaches, just continuing to get better every day and grow from each season prior.

With Lauren Betts at center, UCLA leans on depth

As one of the most dominant post players in college basketball, Betts is at the literal center of every UCLA performance. But that doesn’t mean the Bruins lack the depth it takes to handle a team like Final Four opponent UConn.

“When we have a deep team, I don’t have to be in the game at all times,” Betts said. “I have a team full of players who are just amazing and talented in their own right, and they put in the work.”

All in all, UCLA is coming into their own after developing much of its squad from the ground-up. Now it's time to make the case that patient roster-building can pay off on NCAA basketball’s biggest stage.