Canadian women ' s ice hockey history The first instances of organized women ' s hockey date back to the 1890 ’ s when it is played at the university level . The Women ' s Hockey Association claims that the city of Ottawa , Ontario hosted the first game in 1891 . In February 1921 a women ’ s international championship series that was be played in conjunction with the Pacific Coast Hockey Association . One of the first professional teams were the the Vancouver Amazons from the 1920s . They were the first women ’ s hockey team from Vancouver to participate in the invitational women ’ s hockey tournament sponsored by the Banff Winter Carnival . On December 16 , 1922 , a meeting was held to announce the Ladies Ontario Hockey Associaton was formed . The Dominion Women ’ s Amateur Hockey Association was founded in winter 1933 . Lady Bessborough , the wife of Governor General of Canada Lord Bessborough donated a championship trophy . In 1987 , Toronto , Ontario hosted the first ever Women ' s World Championship , though the tournament was not recognized by the International Ice Hockey Federation . The Ontario Women ' s Hockey Association hosted the tournament . During the tournament , representatives from participating nations met to establish a strategy to lobby the International Ice Hockey Federation ( IIHF ) for the creation of a Women ' s World Championship . The first IIHF - sanctioned tournament was held in Ottawa , Ontario in 1990 . women ' s hockey was included in the Olympics for the first time in 1998 . Early History . Early rules . For the early part of the 20th century , referees in the women ’ s game were male . When women fell to the ice , the male referee was expected to help them get back on their feet . Until 1914 , women participating in hockey in Western Canada were expected to wear long skirts . PCHA Tournament . As early as January 1916 , Frank Patrick and Lester Patrick talked of the formation of a women ’ s league to complement the Pacific Coast Hockey Association . The proposal included teams from Vancouver , Victoria , Portland and Seattle . The proposed league was never formed . In early January 1921 , a team from Victoria , referred to in the Victoria Colonist as the Victoria and Island Athletic Association ladies team defeated a team from the University of British Columbia . This was the first reported occurrence of women ’ s ice hockey in Victoria since 1914 . In February 1921 , Frank Patrick announced a women ’ s international championship series that would be played in conjuction with the Pacific Coast Hockey Association . The three teams that competed were the Vancouver Amazons , Victoria Kewpies , and Seattle Vamps . On February 21 , 1921 , the Seattle Vamps competed against the Vancouver Amazons in Vancouver , and were vanquished by a 5 - 0 score . Two days later , the Vamps played against a team from the University of British Columbia and won the game . Jerry Reed scored three goals ( a hat trick ) in the game for the Vamps . In both games , the Vancouver media referred to the Seattle team as the Seattle Sweeties . The Amazons would travel to Seattle and defeat them again . On March 2 , 1921 , the Vamps were defeated by the Kewpies 1 – 0 in Seattle . In the rematch on March 12 , the Vamps travelled to Victoria . The result was a 1 – 1 tie , and Jerry Reed scored the goal for Seattle . The goaltender for the Vamps was Mildren Terran . After the 1921 season , the Vamps and the Kewpies ceased operations . Western Canadian history . Reporters in Western Canada would refer to women not as hockey players but as fair manipulators of the twisted hickory . Alberta . The first mention of a women ’ s ice hockey game occurred in Medicine Hat in 1897 . Two years later , the Edmonton Ladies Hockey Team were the first Canadian women ’ s hockey team to endorse a commercial product . In an 1899 team photo , the Ladies Club is pictured lacing up Starr Acme Club skates . In the winter of 1937 , intergender matches were contested in Alberta . A ladies club from Nanton , Alberta was formed and they defeated a local men ’ s club by a 3 – 2 score . In High River , Alberta , a high school girls team was formed . The team played a boys peewee team , also from High River , and this game was won by the boys team . The Edmonton Rustlers were winners of the 1933 Alpine Cup , and defeated the Preston Rivulettes to become National Champions . It was one of the few times that the Rivulettes ever lost a game as Hazel Case scored the game winning goal and the Rustlers prevailed by a 3 – 2 score . In 1934 , the Rivulettes were slated to play the Rustlers in a rematch for the National Championship , but the Rivulettes were unable to raise the $ 1800 necessary . By default , the Rustlers were champions . British Columbia . Sandor holds the recognition of having the first women ’ s hockey team in the province . The 1900 Rossland Winter Carnival added women ’ s hockey as an event . After 1900 , the Rossland Winter Carnival was recognized as hosting the Provincial women ’ s hockey championships . In 1911 , the Rossland Carnival final between Rossland and a team from Grand Forks , BC was hailed as the women ’ s championship of the world . Calgary . Calgary ’ s roots in women ’ s hockey date back to 1908 . A Swastika skating club was formed in 1909 ( at the time , the swastika was considered a sign of good fortune ) , and formations of teams in the Calgary Collegiate Institute and Mount Royal College provided women with many opportunities to participate . Calgary ’ s first city team was the Calgary Crescents . The Crescents played teams from Red Deer , Okotoks , Canmore , Banff , and Medicine Hat . At the 1917 Banff Winter Carnival , the Crescents qualified for the championship game but were defeated by the newly formed Calgary Regents . As Banff carnival champions , the Regents were given the Bernard - Harvey Trophy . The Crescents would play their final game at the 1918 Banff Carnival and would defeat the Regents . The defeat of the Regents would allow the Edmonton Monarchs to win the tournament . In 1919 , the Calgary Patricias were formed but they were never able to usurp the Calgary Regents as a better team . The Regents would win the Banff Winter Carnival tournament in 1919 , 1920 and 1921 . In addition , the Regents would go undefeated for four years . In 1924 , the Regents would dissolve and form a new team with some members of the Calgary Byngs Ladies club . The newly formed team was known as the Calgary Holliles , and they actually lost their first game , a 2 – 0 defeat at the hands of the Calgary Patricias . The Hollies would win four Banff tournaments and be awarded the Alpine Cup . In mid January 1921 , the city of Calgary introduced its own winter carnival to compete with the Banff Winter Carnival . A women ’ s ice hockey game was featured . The Calgary Regents defeated a team from Fernie . During the 1936 – 37 season , the Calgary Avenue Grills ( named after their sponsor , the Avenue Grill restaurant ) were the provincial champions of Alberta . They were scheduled to play the Preston Rivulettes in March 1937 at Maple Leaf Gardens but were prevented to . The Dominion Women ’ s Amateur Hockey Association intervened and ask that the Avenue Grills ladies team join the DWAHA . When the Avenue Grills refused to , a ladies team from Winnipeg was chosen to play the Rivulettes . Eastern Canadian history . Maritimes . With the involvement of future Olympian Stacy Wilson , various women at Acadia University formed a women ' s hockey team in 1984 . There was no varsity hockey team at the university so the team was a club team . The team wore used Acadia varsity men ' s hockey sweaters , and raised funds to play in a few tournaments . Wilson and her teammates were part of two Nova Scotia provincial championships . In addition , the Acadia club team represented Nova Scotia at the Women ' s National Championship in 1986 and 1987 . After Wilson graduated from Acadia University in 1987 , she began to play senior women ’ s hockey with the Moncton Blades ( later known as the Maritime Blades ) . New Brunswick did not have a senior women ' s hockey league , therefore , the Blades were forced to arrange competitive games against men ' s minor hockey teams and men ' s old - timer teams . In order to play competitive hockey against other women , the Blades had to travel to Quebec . From 1988 - 98 , the Blades represented New Brunswick at the Women ' s National Hockey Championship . The Rivulettes played teams from Ontario cities such as Toronto , Kitchener , Stratford , London , Hamilton , Guelph and Port Dover . Over the years , other players represented the Rivulettes team . These included : Violet Hall , Sheila Lahey , Gladys Hawkins , Norma Hipel , Ruth Dargel , Elvis Williams , Fay Hilborn , Winnie Makcrow and Eleanor Fairgrieves , Midge Robertson and Marie Bielstein . Teams . Preston Rivulettes . Between 1930 and 1940 , the team played an estimated 350 games . They lost only two and tied three . For the entire decade of the 1930 ’ s , the Rivulettes were the winners of the Bobby Rosenfeld Trophy . The trophy was given to the Ontario champions . In addition , the Rivulettes were six time winners of the Eastern Canadian championship and the Elmer Doust Cup ( the honour for winning the Eastern Canadian championship ) . The team also won the Lady Bessborough Trophy ( given to Canadian Champions ) six times . The Rivulettes were invited to play games in 1939 in Europe , but were unable to due to the start of World War II . In 1963 , the club was inducted into the Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame . Rossland Ladies hockey team . The 1900 Carnival would see the debut of the Rossland Ladies Hockey Team ( women could join the team for fifty cents , while men would be given an honorary membership for the same fee ) . Rossland played a ladies team from Nelson and won the game by a score of 4 – 0 . One of Rossland ’ s most notable players was Eva Blackman . She would play numerous positions over the year including goaltender . At the 1905 Carnival , no one would challenge Rossland , so the team split into two teams and played each other . The teams were known as the Reds and the Blues . Rossland ’ s biggest upset came in 1917 when the club were defeated a ladies team from Grand Forks for the West Kootenay Championship . Vancouver Amazons . The Vancouver Amazons were a women ’ s hockey team from the 1920s . They were the first women ’ s hockey team from Vancouver to participate in the invitational women ’ s hockey tournament sponsored by the Banff Winter Carnival . The Amazons competed in 1921 . The Amazons qualified for the final that year but were defeated . The team was owned by Frank Patrick , who also owned the Vancouver Millionaires . Patrick would organize a tournament featuring the Amazons , the Seattle Vamps and the Victoria Kewpies . The Amazons went undefeated in the tournament and did not allow a goal . The Amazons were West Coast Women ’ s champions . As the tournament featured a team from the United States , many consider this the first ever international women ’ s hockey competition . At the Banff tournament in 1922 , Elizabeth Hinds , became the first woman from British Columbia to score a hat trick in a game Phebe Senkler was captain of the Amazons and her sister Norah played on defense . The forwards were Kathleen Carson and Nan Griffith , while the goaltender was Amelia Voitkevic . The bench featured Lorraine Cannon and Mayme Leahy . The Amazons qualified for the 1922 final and played the Calgary Regents . In the third peiod , the Amazons were down 1 – 0 , and Kathleen Carson tied the game . Carson would score the game winning goal in overtime and were awarded the Alpine Cup . Associations . LOHA . On December 16 , 1922 , a meeting was held to announce the Ladies Ontario Hockey Associaton was formed . The organization was structured similarly to the Ontario Women ’ s Softball Association in which women would run the organization but men served in an advisory capacity . During the December 16 meeting , Frank McEwen , president of the Toronto Hockey League , presided over the meeting . Members from ladies clubs in London , Ontario and St . Thomas , Ontario were present . A letter from the Ottawa Alerts ladies club was presented , indicating their interest to join . In 1923 , Janet Allen was the first female to be elected LOHA president . In autumn of 1923 , the LOHA suffered a setback when the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association held a meeting in Port Arthur . The Association voted not to give women official recognition as hockey players . In 1927 , LOHA president Janet Allen , and LOHA treasurer Bobbie Rosenfeld attended the 38th meeting of the Ontario Hockey Association and asked the OHA to help endorse the league . In the process , they announced that if the OHA would help boost its membership , the LOHA would create a provincial championship for its member teams . The Preston Rivulettes would join the LOHA in 1931 . Although their early success would promote women ’ s hockey , by 1938 , their later success would prove to be an organization challenge to the LOHA governing body . From 1931 to 1935 , the Rivulettes were undefeated and won five consecutive provincial championships . Many ladies teams in Ontario did not want to join the LOHA because they felt they had no chance of winning . The Rivulettes success caused the number of member teams to decrease . The decision was for the LOHA to create an A League and a B League . The B League would include first year teams , and teams that were not at a high skill level . LOHA president Bobbie Rosenfeld found it to be the only way to increase the number of member teams . In 1939 , new LOHA president Roxy Atkins appealed to past OHA president Dudley to promote the LOHA B League . Atkins wanted Dudley to help increase membership by encouraging ladies teams from Northwestern and Western Ontario to join . Despite the appeal , by 1941 , the LOHA was dissolved and it amalgamated with the Ontario branch of the Women ’ s Amateur Athletic Federation . Dominion Women ’ s Amateur Hockey Association . The Dominion Women ’ s Amateur Hockey Association was founded in winter 1933 . Lady Bessborough , the wife of Governor General of Canada Lord Bessborough donated a championship trophy . The trophy would be contested between the Edmonton Rustlers and the Preston Rivulettes . Players . < br Figures . Patrick family . In the fall of 1907 , the Patrick Family ( consisting of five children , including future Hockey Hall of Fame members Frank and Lester Patrick ) relocated to Nelson , British Columbia . By 1910 , the Patrick family would have an impact on the Nelson Ladies Hockey Club . Myrtle , Cynda and Dora Patrick were all involved with the club . There were so many members , that the club was split into two teams : the Stirlings and the Wanderers . In 1911 , the Nelson Ladies Club was coached by Lester Patrick , and Dora was the captain . Once again , the team would eventually split into two smaller teams : the Cubs and the Athletics . After 1911 , the Patrick family left Nelson and moved to Victoria . The Nelson Ladies Club would continue until 1916 , but would lose to the Rossland team every year . Awards . Abby Hoffman Cup . The Abby Hoffman Cup was first competed for in 1983 . It was played for at the first Canadian National Women ’ s Hockey Championship . The event was held in Brantford , Ontario and the Ontario Women ’ s Hockey Association presented the trophy . Isobel Gathorne Hardy Award . Lady Isobel Gathorne - Hardy ' s role as a pioneer of women ’ s ice hockey in Canada is acknowledged with the Isobel Gathorne - Hardy Award . The award is given to an active player ( at any level ) whose values , leadership and personal traits are representative of all female athletes .