Canadian Interuniversity Sport women ' s ice hockey The Canadian Interuniversity Sport women ' s ice hockey is the highest level of play at the university level under the auspices of the CIS . Women ' s ice hockey has been played in the CIS since the 1997 - 98 season , following a long stint of teams only competing in the OUA . There are 30 teams , all of which are based in Canada , that are divided into four conferences that are eligible to compete for the year - end championship . As these players compete at the university level , they are obligated to follow the rule of standard eligibility of five years . This competition is considered as the second level in the pyramid of Canadian Women ' s hockey , below the Canadian Women ' s Hockey League ( CWHL ) and the Western Women ' s Hockey League ( WWHL ) . History . The 1890s marked the beginning of the first women ' s ice hockey teams in Canadian universities . These universities included the University of Toronto in Toronto , Queen ' s University in Kingston , and McGill University in Montreal . In 1908 , other schools such as the Calgary Collegiate Institute and Mount Royal University began to ice competitive teams as well . In the early years , teams played behind closed doors and men were not authorized to attend the matches . The referee was the only man present during the matches . Starting in 1900 , male spectators were authorized to assist in women ' s matches in most of the Canadian provinces and some university teams . During this time , there was no university women ' s league and some university women ' s teams competed against rivals representing cities . Sometimes , they were forced to cross big geographical distances by train in order to participate in tournaments The first provincial women ' s championship took place in 1914 in Picton , Ontario . Six teams participated in the event , including the University of Toronto . In 1921 , the University of Toronto bested McGill University during the first Canadian women ' s university championship . The Toronto Lady Blues would gain 11 championship titles , compared with two titles for the Queen ' s Golden Gaels before the women ' s university league dissolved in 1933 During this time period , Elizabeth Graham , a Queen ' s University goalkeeper , carried a fencing mask during matches in 1927 . She would be the first goalkeeper in hockey , before the famous Jacques Plante , to carry a protective face mask . On December 16th , 1922 , the Ladies Ontario Hockey Association ( LOHA ) was formed , and included several Ontario university teams In 1923 , the Women ' s Intercollegiate Athletic Union ( WIAU ) is created with the aim of offering sporting events to students in Ontario . The WIAU coordinated the programs of the students , and several university women ' s teams were members there . In the autumn of 1923 , the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association held its annual meeting in Port Arthur , Ontario . It was here that the association decided not to give to the women official recognition as hockey players . From 1931 until 1941 , the non - university team Preston Rivulettes were unbeaten in the LOHA and won ten consecutive championships . Numerous university women ' s teams are reluctant to join the LOHA because they estimated that they would be unable to compete against the Rivulettes . Due to the Great Depression , several university women ' s teams were dissolved . Consequently , ice hockey teams became rarer for numerous women ' s teams . In 1941 , the LOHA was dissolved and , in the aftermath , several teams begin to disappear . The Second World War also had an impact on the level of participation in women ' s ice hockey in Canada . From 1936 to 1948 , and from 1951 to 1960 , there was no WIAU official women ' s competition . Women ’ s ice hockey would not return until the 1960s at the Canadian university level . The revival in the 1960s resulted in the creation of new women ' s teams in several Canadian universities . In 1969 , the Canada West Universities Athletic Association presents a project which gives birth to the Canadian Women ' s Intercollegiate Athletic Union . The first mission of which , is to organize sporting championships for university students in Western Canada . The first recognized championship ( for volleyball ) was presented in March , 1970 at the University of Waterloo , in Ontario . In 1971 , the Women ' s Intercollegiate Athletic Union ( WIAU ) merged with the Ontario - Quebec University Athletic Association ( OQUAA ) to form the Ontario Women ' s Interuniversity Athletic Association ( OWIAA ) . This resulted in university women ' s teams multiplying and several American university tournaments inviting Canadian teams . Regional university championships exist in various areas throughout Canada . Ontario can boast the involvement of eleven university women ' s ice hockey teams . Each team plays a schedule of approximately 24 matches , and there is no Eastern or Western Conference . The first three teams of every division gain entry into the qualifying rounds of a postseason competition , which takes place under the structure of a " Final Four . " In 1997 , the different university associations ( representing both men and women ) create the Ontario University Athletics organization . The month of March 1998 became a significant time period as the first Canadian national university championship in women ’ s ice hockey takes place . The Concordia Stingers , representing Concordia University in Montreal hosted the event and won the first CIS championship . Schedule structure . In the CIS regular season , 30 teams play between 20 to 27 matches in their respective regional conferences . At the end of the season , qualifying rounds ( in each regional conference ) determine the champion team in each of the four Canadian regions . Afterwards , a national tournament takes place consisting of six teams : the winning team in each of the four regional championships conferences ; ( Atlantic University Sport , Quebec Student Sports Federation ( in french , Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec ) , Ontario University Athletics and Canada West Universities Athletic Association ) . In addition , the organizing team of the national tournament ( the university which hosts the annual event ) and the defending champion ( the university team which gained the national championship of the previous season ) . The nine matches of the final national tournament are presented in Web broadcasting by SSN Canada . National Champions . This is a list of Canadian Interuniversity Sport women ' s ice hockey champions . Previous champions . Previously , the most important Canadian university women ' s ice hockey championship was the one from the Women ' s Intercollegiate Athletic Union ( WIAU ) ( from 1921 till 1971 ) , along with that of the Ontario Women ' s Interuniversity Athletic Association ( OWIAA ) ( from 1972 till 1997 ) which awarded the Dr . Judy McCaw trophy to the team champion : Reference The award honours Marion Hillard , a top player on the University of Toronto Varsity Blues outstanding hockey team which captured six championships from 1922 - 27 . Hillard was President of the University Hockey Club and was a member of the women ' s Athletic Directorate for four years . The award recognizes excellence in a student - athlete in three areas : hockey , academics and community involvement . Awards and honours . R . W . Pugh Fair Play Award . The award recognizes the manners and the sportsmanship of one student - athlete on the ice rink : Coach of the year . Reference All Star Teams . 1998 - 99 . Reference CIS championship MVP player : Lori Shupak , Alberta Pandas 1999 - 2000 . Reference 2000 - 01 . Reference 2001 - 02 . Reference 2002 - 03 . Reference 2003 - 04 . In 2003 , Canadian Interuniversity Sport ( CIS ) made the addition of an All - Stars category for the playoffs . Reference 2004 - 05 . In 2004 , Canadian Interuniversity Sport modified named two All - Star teams ( first All - Stars and now second All - Stars ) and an All - Rookie Team , as well as maintaining the selection of All - Stars Team for the playoffs tournament . Reference 2005 - 06 . Reference Reference 2006 - 07 . Reference 2007 - 08 . Reference Reference 2008 - 09 . Reference Reference 2009 - 10 . Reference Reference 2010 - 11 . Reference Reference 2011 - 12 . Reference