The first three links in our International Hockey section this week are about USA Hockey and the Canada - USA games and practices taking place this week in Pittsburgh. The first article is about Monique Lamoureux-Morando and Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson being the first Team USA players to take advantage of the maternity benefits negotiated in 2017 after the team threatened to boycott the 2017 World Championships. The benefits—continuance of their national team stipends, guaranteed spots at two national team camps post-partum and a monthly childcare stipend—seem quite good, especially in comparison to the lack of maternity leave support by many American employers.

Then we move to the second article. On Thursday last week USA Hockey announced that the two games in Pittsburgh would be streamed by HockeyTV.com. Pro: people not able to turn up at the arena Friday November 8 and Sunday November 10 will be able to watch these games. Con: while HockeyTV does occasionally have free games available, there has been no indication that’s the case for these two games. HockeyTV costs $29.99 a month or $249.99 a year and auto-renews. For the first clash between Canada and USA since Worlds, a paid stream confirmed just over a week before the games take place seems oddly low key.

Granted, the lineups we’ll see this weekend won’t be the same as the teams who will take the ice for the Rivalry Series in December and February, or at Worlds in Halifax in March (more on that later), but it’s still Canada vs USA, the biggest, and best-selling, rivalry in all of women’s hockey. Surely a responsible hockey federation would notice this and do a proper amount of promotion. Commercials! Interviews! A TV broadcast aimed at a wide audience and  arranged more than a week in advance! Instead, a lot of the promo for this week seems to be coming from the Pittsburgh Penguins. One of the complaints the US women’s national team had in 2017 was a lack of promotion, and while things have gotten a little better since then, there’s still a long way to go.

It’s true that this particular event was somewhat last-minute, arranged when the annual Four Nations Cup was cancelled by the Swedish Ice Hockey Association. But then we look at the  Rivalry Series. It’s been clear since at least September that Canada and USA were planning to continue with the Rivalry Series they instituted last season. The announcement of the five games came less than two months in advance, and was not accompanied by any announcement of a broadcast.  The existence of Canada-USA friendlies in non-Olympic years, especially in less-visited cities like Moncton, NB and Anaheim, CA is a huge step forward, but we should already be seeing TV commercials for it. All five games should be marketed as the marquee events they are.

As the host of three of the games, Hockey Canada has a responsibility here too, even more so since Canada is hosting the 2019 World Championships. Where tickets for the Men’s World Juniors tournament go on sale at least a year in advance, tickets for Women’s Worlds went on sale at the end of September. Again, there are no TV commercials for it, and the TSN commentators barely mentioned it during the 2018 Worlds broadcast.  Tickets are insanely cheap, if you can make it to Nova Scotia at the beginning of April you should absolutely go.

In the third article in the International Hockey section, Michelle Crechiolo talks about how amazing it was to be able to watch her hockey idols in person and how rarely she got the opportunity.  Now that the opportunities are becoming more frequent, USA Hockey and Hockey Canada have to do better at letting hockey fans know those opportunities exist.

How to Watch

When: Friday November 8, 7:00 pm ET - Sunday November 10, 1:00 pm ET

Where: UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, Cranberry Township, PA

Streaming: HockeyTV.com

Tickets: Both games are sold out but you can try calling 1.800.642.7367 to see if anything opens up. In addition, Canada and USA practices are free and open to the public all week, schedule here. Seating is general admission.

While you should expect to see plenty of Olympic and World medalists in the lineup this weekend, as mentioned, you’ll also see some less familiar faces. Since Hockey Canada has been running mini-camps this offseason with the older national team players and some of the recently graduated players who are on the bubble, they’re taking this week as an opportunity for a closer look at some of the college players who they haven’t seen as often. Names to look for include Sarah Fillier, Emma Maltais, and Kristin O’Neill on Team Canada. Team USA is only bringing a couple of new names but keep an eye on Sophia Shaver. Also worth noting that Alex Carpenter, currently playing in Russia and China with the KRS Vanke Rays,  is back in the country for the week and she’s always worth your time.

International hockey

Monique Lamoureux-Morando and Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson have new motivation to return to Team USA
The new moms are back at their second USA Hockey camp since giving birth and continue to fight to create a cultural shift in how the sport is supported.

HockeyTV to Stream Exhibitions of Joint U.S., Canada Women’s Training Camp in Pittsburgh
USA Hockey announced today that HockeyTV will livestream the two exhibition games between the women’s national teams of the United States and Canada as part of a week-long training camp from Nov. 4-10 at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania.

MC’s Take: A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
Pens Inside Scoop’s Michelle Crechiolo talks about the amazing opportunity to watch the U.S. and Canadian women’s national teams this week in Cranberry.

Previewing Team USA, Team Canada women’s national team camp in Cranberry
The U.S. and Canadian women’s national teams will hold a joint training camp at the Lemieux Complex. Who should you be watching for during the camp?

Women’s Five-Nations in Dmitrov Starts Next Week! | CONWAY’S RUSSIAN HOCKEY BLOG
I wondered aloud, in our recent look at the SK Sverdlovsk Oblast of the Women’s Hockey League, how long it would be before young defender Nadezhda Volf, recently graduated from Russian U18 national program, got a look with the senior national team. Not long, as it turns out!

2020 U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team Unveiled
USA Hockey today announced the 23-player roster for the U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team that will compete for its 13th-straight medal at the 2020 International Ice Hockey Federation Under-18 Women’s World Championship Dec. 26-Jan. 2 in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Damkronorna after the conflict “Time to show on the ice” | Aftonbladet
Winners aside - now the Damkronorna will be on the ice as well.

Sara Grahn on the first gathering since the boycott | Aftonbladet
The Damkronorna are gathered for the first time since the boycott. Sara Grahn enjoys being back.

PWHPA

It’s a disappointing and quiet winter for women’s hockey as the game’s stars work toward a league of their own | The Star
“There’s comfort in knowing that ... they’re doing what’s right for the game, and they’re doing what’s right for the next generation of players,” Hall of Famer Hefford says.

3 ups, 3 downs of the Dream Gap tour - The Ice Garden
As the PWHPA heads to a break, what’s worked and what hasn’t for the organization’s first three stops

NCAA

Polls: USCHO - USA Today - The Ice Garden

GOAL BY GOAL: Kelly Browne Scores A Quad Trick To Lead BC Women’s Hockey Past New Hampshire - BC Interruption
Yes, a quad trick

2019-2020 NCAA Women’s Hockey Pairwise Rankings - BC Interruption
It’s Pairwise Season!

Boston College freshman Hannah Bilka is on fire - The Ice Garden
The future looks bright for this young Eagle

Women’s DI: Thin margins, disappointment and a focus on the details at Cornell | College Hockey | USCHO.com
The Cornell women’s hockey team is looking to ensure they have no regrets when it comes to the end of the season.

Wednesday Women: Trying to unravel the ECAC and looking ahead to a National Championship rematch | College Hockey | USCHO.com
Nicole and Arlan talk about the ECAC, phenomenal freshman and next weekend’s Badger/Gopher Border Battle.

European club hockey

Behind the Glass: At the Four and Five Nations Breaks - The Ice Garden
The Four Nations break and Five Nations breaks have given us a first intermission for the NWHL and ZhHL seasons

Naisten Liiga (Finland)

Q&A with HPK’s Riikka Noronen - The Ice Garden
The Naisten Liiga’s all-time points leader talks longevity and more.

SDHL (Sweden)

SDHL standings week 8

RankTeamGPGDP
1HV71164743
2Brynäs142331
3Djurgården15930
4AIK14024
5Luleå/MSSK13923
6SDE14-1019
7Linköping14-1614
8MODO13-812
9Göteborg16-2911
10Leksand13-256

Djurgårdens Bouveng protests her suspension | Aftonbladet
“I can’t see anywhere at all that this could be a slew foot,” the player says.

Lara Stalder’s hat trick wins the game | Aftonbladet
Djurgårdens had lined up eight straight wins.

Lara Stalder scores 7 goals in 24 hours | Aftonbladet
Lara Stalder’s success continues.

Goal of the week - SDHL.se
Your candidates this week: a slapper from Lara Stalder, a backhander from Denisa Krizova and a pretty little wrister from Haruka Toko.

U Sports

Top 10 Tuesday — U SPORTS
UofT’s 5-0-0 start is enough to propel them to the third spot in this week’s top 10.

Isabelle Leclaire, l’entraîneuse humaniste des Carabins | ICI Radio-Canada.ca
Isabelle Leclaire dirige l’équipe féminine de hockey des Carabins de l’Université de Montréal depuis 2008.

Concordia 4, Montreal 3 (2OT): Stingers prove their top-ranked status in win - The Concordian
As the extreme Montreal winds were busy blowing away delayed trick-or-treaters, the U Sports gods were setting the stage for the next chapter of what’s become one of the best rivalries in U Sports women’s hockey.

AWIHL (Australia)

2019-20 AWIHL season: Round 2 | Ice Hockey News Australia
Round 2 of the 2019-20 AWIHL season has finished with wins for the Melbourne Ice, Sydney Sirens and Brisbane Goannas.

Brisbane Goannas 2019-20 team captains | Ice Hockey News Australia
The Brisbane Goannas have announced their team captains for the 2019-20 AWIHL season. -

Adelaide Rush name team captains | Ice Hockey News Australia
A week late but the Adelaide Rush have announced their team captains for the 2019-20 AWIHL season.

NWHL

Connecticut Whale: Emma Vlasic Making a Splash in Rookie Season
Connecticut Whale rookie Emma Vlasic sounds like a savvy vet: "If you take care of the defensive zone, then we’ll have good chances offensively.”

Men’s hockey

Alberta women's hockey champ hits the ice with Oxford men's team | CBC News
Though she's a good head shorter than her male teammates, this Canadian champ has proven her skill with a puck measures up, and that's really all that counts in her new full-contact hockey league.

Opening the door: The first female coach in WHL history, Olivia Howe plans to hold it open for others – The Athletic
‘We see things … so I just think it’s wild that it’s taken this long and that there’s not more of us females in the (junior) game.’

Women's Hockey