When the 2021 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship kicks off on 20 August in Calgary, it’ll be the single biggest moment in Alberta women’s hockey history. The 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary didn’t include women’s hockey. However, this Western Canadian province has never been short on major landmarks in this sport.

Let’s take a quick look back at 10 big Alberta women’s hockey moments. This is not an exhaustive list. It’s a catalogue of shining lights.

1) 1897: Hats Off to Medicine Hat

For NHL fans, the name “Medicine Hat” evokes longtime pros like Trevor Linden, Lanny McDonald, and Kelly Hrudey, who starred as juniors for the WHL’s Tigers. But in the 19th century, women took an important step forward when Alberta’s first recorded women’s hockey game took place here.

In his 2009 book Women on Ice, historian Wayne Norton notes: “That game in Medicine Hat was played by women in long dresses, and, perhaps as a concession to those who might raise objections to the sight of women engaging in strenuous physical activity, no spectators were permitted.”

2) 1917: Women’s Hockey Showcased in Banff

In its 1917 debut, the Banff Winter Carnival featured a huge ice palace and family-friendly activities like sledding and skating – as well as competitive outdoor women’s hockey games.

Through 1935, the picturesque town in the Rockies saw the crowning of championship teams from across Western Canada, including dynasties like the Calgary Regents (1919-21) and Edmonton Monarchs (1929-32). The female athletes were compensated with anything from 25 percent of the gate receipts in the earlier years to travel expenses in the later years.

3) 1984: Edmonton Chimos Triumph at Nationals

Founded in 1973, the Edmonton Chimos women’s hockey team forged a tradition of excellence as perennial Alberta title favourites in the 1980’s and 90’s. In 1984, the Chimos captured their first of four Canadian women’s senior national titles when the Esso Nationals took place in the Edmonton suburb of Spruce Grove.

In the new millennium, the club would compete in both the original, Canadian-based National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) and the Western Women’s Hockey League (WWHL).

4) 1990: Four Edmontonians Claim Gold at First Women’s Worlds

The original 1990 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Ottawa gained a degree of infamy for the host team’s decision to wear pink uniforms. However, four members of Team Canada brought fame to their native Edmonton with their hard-fought 5-2 gold medal victory over the rival Americans on 25 March at the Ottawa Civic Centre.

Defender Dawn McGuire cracked the tournament all-star team, while forward Shirley Cameron ranked fourth in Canadian scoring (5+6=11). Fellow right wing France Montour and blueliner Judy Diduck rounded out the Edmonton contingent.

5) 2002: Wickenheiser Shines in Salt Lake

Let’s be clear: Hayley Wickenheiser was born in Shaunavon, Saskatchewan. However, the 2019-inducted IIHF Hall of Famer moved to Calgary in 1990 when she was 12. Wickenheiser’s elite power forward game was certainly on display at the inaugural 1998 Olympic women’s hockey tournament in Nagano, where she settled for silver. But “Wick” brought tears of joy to the eyes of many Cowtown residents when she scored a tournament-high seven goals and 10 points en route to the Canadian women’s first Winter Games gold medal ever in 2002 in Salt Lake City. She was named Best Forward and MVP.

In a recent Facebook post, Wickenheiser summed up her sentiments about the 3-2 final win over the U.S. as “pure unfiltered and untamed emotion...[the] absolute ecstasy of winning, proving all the doubters wrong, banding together as a team and playing one hell of a game, spending it half shorthanded.”

6) 2003: Extreme Success for Oval X-Treme

Finding a place to play with world-class talent in between the Olympics and Women’s Worlds has, regrettably, been a challenge for decades for Canadian Olympians. Founded in 1995, the Calgary Oval X-Treme offered one alternative in the city that’s home to Hockey Canada’s headquarters.

The club’s powerhouse roster included the likes of Hayley Wickenheiser, Cassie Campbell, Danielle Goyette, Tessa Bonhomme, and Cherie Piper over the years. The Oval X-Treme proved nearly unbeatable with two straight original NWHL titles (2003, 2004) and four straight Western Women’s Hockey League championships (2005-08).

7) 2006: MacLeod Makes Alberta History in Turin

Strange but true: it took until 2006 for an Alberta-born and bred skater to have an Olympic women’s hockey gold medal hung around her neck. And Carla MacLeod did it in style in Turin. The savvy two-way defender, who previously captained the University of Wisconsin Badgers, put up two goals and two assists as Canada went undefeated en route to its second consecutive Winter Games title.

MacLeod, who hails from Spruce Grove, was named a tournament all-star. After retiring in 2010 with a second Olympic gold medal, she added to her international legacy by serving as an assistant coach with Japan (2012-14). The 39-year-old has just been named Danielle Goyette’s replacement as the head coach of the University of Calgary Dinos.

8) 2008: First U18 Women’s Worlds in Calgary

Talk about coming full circle. At the 2021 Women’s Worlds, potential Canadian scoring leaders include Marie-Philip Poulin, Natalie Spooner, and Brianne Jenner. They also wore the red Maple Leaf and placed in the top 10 scoring leaders – Poulin first overall (14 points), Spooner fourth (10 points), and Jenner eighth (nine points) at the inaugural IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women’s World Championship in Calgary in 2008.

Staged at the Father David Bauer Memorial Arena, the tournament featured lots of soon-to-be-familiar American aces as well. In the 5-2 U.S. gold-medal victory over Canada, Kendall Coyne notched the eventual winner in the second period, and Brianna Decker and Amanda Kessel also scored. Those three are back for 2021 too.

9) 2016: Inferno Romp to Their First Clarkson Cup

Until 2016, no Western Canadian team had ever captured the Clarkson Cup, the championship trophy of the now-defunct Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL). That changed with the Calgary Inferno’s 8-3 shellacking of Les Canadiennes de Montreal at Ottawa’s Canadian Tire Centre on 13 March that year.

Chipping in two goals apiece were Rebecca Johnston, Brianne Jenner, Blayre Turnbull, and Rebecca Johnston. It was an all-time high for goals by a victorious team in the CWHL final. Inferno defender Brigette Lacquette, meanwhile, provided an inspirational example for Canadian Indigenous youth as she hoisted the Clarkson Cup. The Inferno would triumph again in the CWHL’s final season (2019).

10) 2021: PWHPA Plays Secret Cup in Calgary

Needless to say, the last two years have been extremely difficult for elite women’s hockey players, from cancelled tournaments to uncertain professional prospects. The Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) got a ray of light in May when the Secret Cup, sponsored by the deodorant manufacturer, was held in Calgary.

The final saw Team Bauer (Montreal) beating Team Sonnet (Toronto) 4-2 on the strength of Marie-Philip Poulin’s third-period game-winner. Poulin added a pair of assists. The hope is that events like this will add to the momentum that the Women’s Worlds and 2022 Beijing Olympics generate, leading to the formation of a sustainable women’s pro league.