Collected research into women's hockey history

[jigglysquishy]

So it looks like we won't be doing the top 40 women this year, but hopefully we pull it off next year. I'd like to consolidate all research into one thread for easier reading. Feel free to post any and all research into the subject here.

I'll update the OP to include a categorized collection into women's hockey research.

Pre-World War II
This encompasses the golden age of women's hockey, where domestic leagues existed throughout eastern Canada before collapsing during the Depression and World War II
@Black Gold Extractor's season-by-season analysis
Women's hockey in Eastern Canada, 1915-16
Women's hockey in Eastern Canada, 1916-17
Women's hockey in Eastern Canada, 1917-18

Alpine Cup (1917-1939 Banff Winter Carnival tourney)

Dominion Women’s Amateur Hockey Association (1933-1940)

Ladies Ontario Hockey Association (1923-1940)

Montreal District Ladies Hockey League (1929-1938)

Preston Rivulettes - the famous team and their league activities in Ontario

World War II to 1987 World Women's Hockey Tournament
This encompasses the lean years of post war women's hockey, through to the first international women's hockey tournament
-

1987-1998
This encompasses the international-only era, before the kick off of the first post-war major club league, the National Women's Hockey League in 1998
-

1998-Present
This encompasses the modern era with competing club leagues, annual international tournaments, and Olympic participation
Overview of Women's Hockey at the Olympics


Top Women's Lists
@AlfiesHair's Top 25 Best Female Hockey Players of All Time
Crease Giant's Top 25 Greatest Goalies of Women's Hockey History
The Athletic's Top 50 Olympians for the 2022 Olympics

Recommended Reading
General
Proud Past, Bright Future: One Hundred Years of Canadian Women’s Hockey (Brian MacFarlane) - All encompassing women's hockey history in Canada - 1994
Queens of the Ice (Carly Adams) - 1930s Women's Hockey - 2011
Pink Power: The First Women’s World Hockey Champions (Lorna Schultz Nicholso) - 1990 IIHF Women's World Championship - 2008
On the Edge: Women Making Hockey History ( Elizabeth Etue and Megan K. Williams) - Women's hockey in the 1990s in Canada - 1996
Crashing the Net: The U.S. Women’s Olympic Ice Hockey Team and the Road to Gold ( Mary Turco) - 1998 US Olympic Women's Team - 1999
Too Many Men On the Ice: Women’s Hockey in North America (Joanna Avery and Julie Stevens) - Pre-WW II Women's Hockey - 1997
Women on Ice: The Early Years of Women's Hockey in Western Canada (Wayne Norton) - Pre-WW II Women's Hockey in Western Canada -2009


Biographies
Gold Medal Diary: Inside the World’s Greatest Sports Event (Hayley Wickenheiser) - Hayley Wickenheiser - 2010
Breaking the Ice: My Journey to Olympic Hockey, the Ivy League, and Beyond (Angela Ruggiero) - Angela Ruggiero - 2006
Manon: Alone in Front of the Net (Manon Rheaume) - Manon Rheaume - 1997
Angela James: The First Superstar of Canadian Women’s Hockey (Tom Bartsiokas and Corey Long) - Angela James - 2012


Research elements we need
Olympic Breakdown 1998-2022 (I am currently working on this and should be able to deliver late August)
World Championship Breakdown 1987-2023
NWHL Breakdown (1999-2007)
NWHL/PHF Breakdown (2016-2023)
CWHL Breakdown (2008-2019)
WWHL Breakdown (2005-2011)
Swedish Women's Hockey League Breakdown (2007-2023)
Finnish Women's Hockey League Overview (1982-2017)
CIS Overview (~1970-present)
NCAA Overview (~1970-present)
Esso Women's Hockey Nationals Breakdown (1982-2008)
Alpine Cup Overview (1917-1935)
Lipstick Tournament Overview (1966-1993)

We don't need hugely detailed game-by-game, but at least getting statistical breakdowns for all the leagues would be nice. Any awards given out would be nice to be collected too.

There is a large knowledge gap for women's hockey on this forum. But I'm hoping by fall we can take down the heavy hitters (international and modern leagues) and be in a positional where we could comfortably all put together a top 40. I've found enough from NWHL and CWHL that we can at least post point leader boards/awards voting.

The two big women Euro leagues are kind of a need too. The Swedish, in particular, hosts some of the best players in the world.

I struggle with college stuff, as I don't think the records keeping pre~2015 is great online, but maybe someone within the college system has better access.

The latter three areas (Esso, Alpine, Lipstick) are going to be difficult. I don't believe stats were recorded for Lipstick and newspaper articles are really sparse.

Click to read more...

 

[Doctor No]

Andria Hunter's site has a lot of vintage stuff on it:

The Women's Hockey Web

www.whockey.com

 

[JackSlater]

I am not looking to join a project or anything however this link has some value:

Women's hockey player poll: Biggest trash talker? Worst rules? State of the game and more

They polled the American and Canadian national teams about things like the best player today (Poulin), the best player ever (Poulin), best defender today (Larocque), best European today (Hiirikoski) etc. Not sure what historical perspective the players have and the article notes that a lot of the time they vote along nationality lines. The article notes at the end that it is surprising that Wickenheiser, often picked by fans as the best woman ever, received no votes from current players.

Also potentially useful (The Athletic has a fair bit of coverage of women's hockey):

Top 20 women's hockey players in the world

Is Marie-Philip Poulin the greatest of all time in the women's game? (mostly a comparison of her with Wickenheiser)

Bound for the Hockey Hall of Fame, Hayley Wickenheiser reflects on a titanic legacy

'It was mayhem': Inside the beautiful (and sometimes ugly) Canada-U.S. women's hockey rivalry (I mainly like this story because it's based around former American captain Julie Chu and former Canadian captain Caroline Ouellette sitting down to watch the 2018 gold medal game together, except in their home with their daughter.)

‘We have a responsibility’: Angela James and a campaign to raise the profile of women in hockey (a bit about James' reputation)

From ringette to the Olympics to the Hall of Fame: Jayna Hefford reflects on a prolific hockey journey (insights from and about Hefford, one of the top women for a time and someone who played in the first five Olympic tournaments)

Former national team forward Jayna Hefford explains 'intense' Canada-U.S. Olympic rivalry

 

[kaiser matias]

Another book worth adding:

Wayne Norton, Women on Ice: The Early Years of Women's Hockey in Western Canada (2009).

 

[WhiteTiger]

Some additional pre-WWII articles compiled by me on my website. Researched in original newspapers, so many errors that were long floating around online have been corrected, and there is lots of never before seen info to be found.

Alpine Cup (1917-1939 Banff Winter Carnival tourney)

Dominion Women’s Amateur Hockey Association (1933-1940)

Ladies Ontario Hockey Association (1923-1940)

Montreal District Ladies Hockey League (1929-1938)

Preston Rivulettes - the famous team and their league activities in Ontario

 

[Terrier]

For what it's worth, I'll post a couple of items about the Massport Jets, a women's team created in Boston in 1971. In Massachusetts, girls high school teams are commonplace nowadays.

Massport Jets Broke Barriers For Women's Hockey In Boston, Beyond

The New England Sports Network is debuting the highly anticipated Massport Jets hockey feature for Women's History Month on Friday.

nesn.com

Collection: Records of the Massport Jets, 1971-1998 | HOLLIS for

hollisarchives.lib.harvard.edu

Mass High School Hockey

The official site of Massachusetts High School Hockey.

masshshockey.com

 

[WhiteTiger]

Finished a new article on the Winnipeg Ladies Hockey League, which operated from 1933 to 1938. Researched in the Winnipeg Tribune.

 

[WhiteTiger]

Completed another article on Women’s hockey in Prince Edward Island from 1922-1939, including a sketch I found on the Summerside Crystal Sisters/Primeoses in the Charlottetown Guardian.

 

[WhiteTiger]

Wrote an article on the Edmonton Ladies Hockey League and added all game results for the Alpine Cup tournament. Research was done in the Calgary Herald and Edmonton Journal.

 

[Terrier]

Joe Bertagna, former Harvard goaltender and former Hockey East and ECAC commissioner, will receive the Lester Patrick Award. He helped launch the women's program at Harvard and was instrumental in the growth of women's hockey in the U.S.

Joe Bertagna is honored with Lester Patrick Trophy for his service to hockey - The Boston Globe

The Arlington native was the longest-serving college hockey commissioner in NCAA history, running the ECAC (1982-97) and Hockey East (1997-2020).

www.bostonglobe.com

 

[WhiteTiger]

Ottawa Ladies Hockey League

Greater Toronto Ladies Hockey League

 

[wetcoast]

Came to this thread to note that unless I'm mistaken there isn't a women's hockey form on HF Boards or am i missing it in plain sight?

 

[Gigantor The Goalie]

Crease Giant's Top 25 Greatest Goalies of Women's Hockey History

Neat seeing my work here without me promoting it. I recently did a piece on Florence Schelling and her case as a top 3 goalie of all-time in women's hockey but it's behind a paywall unfortunately (bills to pay). Might be able to help out with some stuff.

 

[WhiteTiger]

Added some more information to my Ladies Ontario Hockey Association, Greater Toronto Ladies Hockey League, and Preston Rivulettes articles, from various contemporary Ontario newspapers. Also detailed the 1918-19 Eastern Canadian women’s season.

This should just about complete my work on inter-war Canadian women’s hockey for the time being. I have now extensively covered all the notable leagues and championships from that era.

 

[Bear of Bad News]

Came to this thread to note that unless I'm mistaken there isn't a women's hockey form on HF Boards or am i missing it in plain sight?

Unfortunately, there isn't a dedicated subforum solely for women's hockey - the pro leagues ostensibly go here:

ECHL, PWHL, and other Minor Pro Leagues

forums.hfboards.com

While the national teams go with their respective countries.

If we could exhibit an audience to it, I'm eager to advocate with the site for a dedicated spot, although it's sort of a chicken/egg thing (it may take a dedicated spot to build an audience).

 

[wetcoast]

Unfortunately, there isn't a dedicated subforum solely for women's hockey - the pro leagues ostensibly go here:

ECHL, PWHL, and other Minor Pro Leagues

forums.hfboards.com

While the national teams go with their respective countries.

If we could exhibit an audience to it, I'm eager to advocate with the site for a dedicated spot, although it's sort of a chicken/egg thing (it may take a dedicated spot to build an audience).

I think that having a dedicated forum is long overdue.

If you build it they will come.

 

[Gigantor The Goalie]

Someone I work with put all this together. Lot of player and goalie stats here:

Their Hockey Counts

Covers most WHC's and Olympics, seasons of the PHF, CWHL, NCAA, U18 tournaments.

 

[jigglysquishy]

Someone I work with put all this together. Lot of player and goalie stats here:

Their Hockey Counts

Covers most WHC's and Olympics, seasons of the PHF, CWHL, NCAA, U18 tournaments.

This is an incredible resource. Thank you very much for sharing.

It's gearing up that we can be ready for a top women's project in fall 2024.

 

[kruezer]

With the rise of the PWHL and a unified professional women's league taking shape and the conversations on putting together a list of best women's players of all time on this board I thought a place for us to dive more deeply into the history of women's hockey would be useful. I know I lack knowledge on the history of the game (though I am learning from a few friends of late) so having a place for us to start from would be useful if we ever want to create a list of players. Also we can store player profiles & video here.

Before delving into individual teams and players I wanted to start by getting a broad overview of all of the leagues women have been competing at a high level over the years and put them into a chart format so we can begin to view where the best players have been competing over the years. After that I wanted to address the history of women's international competitions and create a chronology for that one as well. I am starting simply with the information gleaned from the women's hockey history in Canada Wikipedia page as a basis, so we can build from there. Please collect all info you can here and I can add things to this post as necessary! If there is another thread on this that I am missing mods please merge.

Leagues
Quebec Ladies Hockey Association – 1920-??
Ladies Ontario Hockey Association – 1922-??
Dominion Women’s Amateur Hockey Association – 1933-41
Ontario Women’s Hockey Association – 1978-??
Canadian University – WIAU and OWIAA from the 1920s with gaps, formal national championship started in 1998
American University – started in the 1960s by the 70s and 80s ECAC and Ivy league had tournaments, first national championship in 2001, although the AWCHA crowned champs in 1999 and 2000.
Canadian Women’s Hockey League - 2007-2019
Western Women’s Hockey League – 2004-2011
National Women’s Hockey League/Premier Hockey Federation – 2015-2023

International Competitions
Women’s World Championship – 1987
IIHF Women’s World Championship – 1990 (90/92/94/97)
Annual IIHF Women’s World Championship – 1999-Current
Olympics – 1998-Current

Other historical tournaments of note
Banff Winter Carnival – 1917-1935
Alpine Cup – 1933
Canada Winter Games – 1991-2011 every 4 years
Abby Hoffman Cup - 1982-2009
Rossland Winter Carnival – 1900
Ontario Provincial Championships – 1914
PCHA organized tournament - 1921

 

[jigglysquishy]

Collected research into women's hockey history

So it looks like we won't be doing the top 40 women this year, but hopefully we pull it off next year. I'd like to consolidate all research into one thread for easier reading. Feel free to post any and all research into the subject here. I'll update the OP to include a categorized collection...

forums.hfboards.com

I believe this is what you're looking for.

 

[kruezer]

Collected research into women's hockey history

So it looks like we won't be doing the top 40 women this year, but hopefully we pull it off next year. I'd like to consolidate all research into one thread for easier reading. Feel free to post any and all research into the subject here. I'll update the OP to include a categorized collection...

forums.hfboards.com

I believe this is what you're looking for.

Beautiful! Thanks!

 

[WhiteTiger]

I know the other thread exists for this, but I wanted to talk about the 1914 Ontario Ladies Championship. I have seen it mentioned in numerous places. It was supposedly played in Picton and featured six teams. However, I have never been able to confirm that it actually took place. I’ve looked at numerous Ontario newspapers from 1914, and while some ladies games in the province are mentioned, I’ve found nothing on any activities in Picton nor evidence of an official provincial championship being organized.

 

[Bear of Bad News]

Before I do, is there a reason why I shouldn't merge this into the other?

 

[kruezer]

Before I do, is there a reason why I shouldn't merge this into the other?

Not at all! Merge it up I will post my research as I work through it on the other!

 

[Bear of Bad News]

Not at all! Merge it up I will post my research as I work through it on the other!

Thanks! I'll sticky the thread once it's merged. I mainly wanted to make sure that the intent of this one wasn't different than the other.