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Soccer gold galvanizes Canadian women’s world championship hockey team – Sportsnet.ca

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CALGARY — Canada’s women’s hockey team is bent on replicating the success of its soccer counterparts on the world stage.

The hockey players were up early at their Calgary hotel and glued to the dining room television when Canadian women beat Sweden in penalty shots to claim Olympic soccer gold in Tokyo earlier this month.

“We wanted to get on the ice right after that game. We were all fired up,” Canadian hockey captain Marie-Philip Poulin told The Canadian Press.

“For us watching the soccer game, it was amazing. Those girls really stood together. It’s a different sport, but at the same time, we do all the same sacrifices, we do all that hard work for that moment.

“I think they really inspired us.”

Just two weeks after the soccer triumph in Tokyo, Canada opens the women’s world hockey championship Friday against Finland in Calgary.

Canadian teams have won gold in 10 world championships, but not since 2012 in Burlington, Vt.

Canada lost to host Finland in a semifinal in Espoo, and didn’t reach the final for the first time, in the last world championship held in 2019.

The Canadians finished third. The United States edged Finland in a shootout to claim a fifth straight world title.

Canada downed the Finns 4-1 in Wednesday’s pre-tournament game and faces them again in the tournament opener.

The host country then meets Russia on Sunday, Switzerland on Tuesday and concludes the preliminary round Thursday in Pool A against the Americans.

The Czech Republic, Japan, Germany and promoted Hungary and Denmark are in Pool B.

The quarterfinals are Aug. 28 followed by the Aug. 30 semifinals and the medal games Aug. 31.

No tickets were sold for the preliminary round at WinSport’s Markin MacPhail Centre, but Hockey Canada hasn’t ruled out spectators for playoffs.

Both the 2020 and 2021 women’s championship in Nova Scotia were cancelled because of COVID-19.

The relocation and rescheduling of the 2021 tournament to Calgary in late summer is an unusual start in Canada’s preparation for February’s Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Twenty-nine women arrived in Calgary in late July for “centralization”.

Hockey Canada’s standard practice six to seven months out from a Winter Games is to centralize the women together in Calgary for training and games in order to choose top performers for the Olympic roster.

A world championship off the hop had head coach Troy Ryan quickly choosing his 25-player roster.

“Having the world championship at the front end of your centralization, there’s no template for that definitely,” he said. “Any time you’re selecting a national-team roster, it’s also about a body of work.

“Difficult decisions, but ones we were comfortable making at this point.”

Poulin and assistant captains Brianne Jenner, Blayre Turnbull and Jocelyne Larocque lead a Canadian side intent on reclaiming women’s hockey supremacy over the next seven months.

Poulin played just a few shifts in Espoo because of a knee injury that would have still hampered her in 2020 had that world championship gone ahead.

“While it really sucked we couldn’t play that world championship, time heals a lot,” said the 30-year-old from Beauceville, Que.

“It really helped me be able to take care of myself physically and mentally.”

A third of Canada’s roster makes its world championship debut in Calgary — goaltender Kristen Campbell, defenders Ashton Bell, Claire Thompson, Ella Shelton and forwards Victoria Bach, Emma Maltais and Kristin O’Neill.

That’s significant turnover on what’s been traditionally a veteran squad.

Forward Jessie Eldridge of Barrie, Ont., was added to the centralized roster in July. Veteran defender Meaghan Mikkelson is sidelined with an undisclosed injury.

Mikkelson, Eldridge, defender Micah Zandee-Hart and forward Julia Gosling were left off the world championship roster.

“We’re very optimistic they’ll compete during centralization and ultimately, hopefully find themselves on roster spots for the Olympics,” Ryan said.

Canada has played just seven international games in the more than two years since the last world championship, going 4-3 against the U.S. in 2019-20.

Pandemic restrictions not only eliminated international and domestic games for months, but even group skates where the Canadian players lived were not allowed at times.

The players invested the extra time into physical fitness Both players and management say the women posted the highest scores of their lives in fitness testing upon arrival in Calgary.

“Everyone did the hard work on their own and when it came time to come together, we’re ready to go,” Poulin said.

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Edler to sign one-day contract to retire as a Vancouver Canuck

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VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.

The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.

He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.

The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.

Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.

“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”

Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Sixth-ranked Canadian women to face World Cup champion Spain in October friendly

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The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.

Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.

The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.

In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.

Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.

Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.

The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.

Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.

It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.

Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.

FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.

And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.

“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Maple Leafs announce Oreo as new helmet sponsor for upcoming NHL season

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TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.

The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.

The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.

Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.

The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.

Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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