4 Nations Cup is upon us! Fans of NWHL and CWHL will have noticed the distinct lack of games this past weekend and again next weekend. This is because the national team players are off in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan for the annual 4 Nations Cup.

There are a number of women’s hockey tournaments throughout the year that are referred to as “Four Nations”, as well as a tournament called Nations Cup, but 4 Nations Cup is the big one, because it’s the only one that both the Canadian and American senior women’s national teams participate in.

We’re only eight months past Team USA’s Olympic triumph, and this is the first competition on the road to the next Olympics. You’ll see plenty of Olympic vets this week, but there will be new faces as well, names that you might want to learn if you want to know who to watch for in four years time.

How to Watch

Three games will be broadcast live on TSN and RDS, and HockeyTV will carry all games for free, accessible from their site or from the Hockey Canada schedule.

When: Friday, November 9, 8:30 pm EST

Who: Canada vs Finland

Where: Sasktel Centre, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Channels: TSN 1 and 5, RDS2

Streaming: TSN or HockeyTV

One of the U-17 Semi-final games will be on TSN just before this game so be prepared to possibly miss the first few minutes.

When: Saturday, November 10, 4:00 pm EST

What: Bronze Medal Game

Where: Sasktel Centre, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Channels: TSN 3 and 5, RDS

Streaming: TSN or HockeyTV

When: Saturday, November 10, 9:00 pm EST

What: Gold Medal Game

Where: Sasktel Centre, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Channels: TSN 1, 3 and 4, RDS

Streaming: TSN or HockeyTV

If you’re in the Calgary area, the Calgary Inferno have organized a viewing party.

Schedule DATE TIME TEAMS DATE TIME TEAMS Tuesday, November 6 1:00 pm EST USA vs Finland Tuesday, November 6 8:00 pm EST Canada vs Sweden Wednesday, November 7 4:00 pm EST Sweden vs Finland Wednesday, November 7 8:00 pm EST Canada vs USA Friday, November 9 4:00 pm EST Sweden vs USA Friday, November 9 8:30 pm EST Finland vs Canada Saturday, November 10 4:00 pm EST Bronze Medal Saturday, November 10 9:00 pm EST Gold Medal

Rosters

Team Canada

Team USA

Team Finland

Team Sweden (pdf) or here

Pre-tournament

The only country-on-country preliminary action went down on Sunday night when Team Canada played the Naisleijonat (Team Finland). It wasn’t necessarily a true reflection of what the team will look like in tournament games as Finland’s starter Noora Räty did not dress for the game. Still a 6-0 win is nothing to sneeze at.

Canada scored on the power play twice, once shorthanded and three times at 5 on 5. Shannon Szabados and Emerance Maschmeyer split a shutout, and their skaters kept the Finnish shooters to just 17 shots. Team Canada even managed to keep out of the penalty box, being called for just two hooking infractions. Each of the Toronto Furies skaters contributed a goal, and Sarah Nurse assisted on Natalie Spooner’s marker. The Thunder weren’t left out either, with both Laura Fortino and late addition Jamie Lee Rattray notching assists.

Stay tuned to PPP for day by day recaps of the action!