| Timeline — Evolution Of Women's Hockey |
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1890s |
Women's hockey gains popularity in universities, principally at the University of Toronto and Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. |
| 1920s |
Bobbie Rosenfeld and Myrtle Cook, former track stars and hockey players in their own rights, become Canada's first women sports reporters, specializing in hockey during the winter. |
| 1930s |
The Preston Rivulettes rule the ice lanes (see Hilda Ranscombe). Click here for an interview with Ruth (Dargel) Collins of the Preston Rivulettes. |
| 1940s |
The war halts any development of the women's game, which doesn't revive until the early 1970s. |
| 1956 |
Abby Hoffman challenged hockey's gender barrier by playing in a boys league under the guise of being male. |
| 1970s |
Shirley Cameron becomes hockey's first star of the modern era. |
| 1987 |
The first ever Women's World Championship takes place in Toronto. However, it is not recognized as an official tournament by the IIHF. |
| 1990 |
The first official and IIHF-sanctioned Women's World Championship is held in Ottawa. |
| 1998 |
Women's hockey becomes a full medal sport at the Olympic Winter Games for the first time. |
| 1999 |
The women's division at the World Championships expands to two pools, A and B. |
| 2005 |
USA ends Canada's streak of eight straight (nine unofficial) world titles in a shoot-out. |
| 2006 |
Sweden becomes the first non-North American team to earn silver at the Winter Olympic Games beating United States in the semi-finals. |
| 2010 |
Canada wins its third straight Olympic gold medal, defeating the rival Americans in a hard-fought 2-0 final. Cammi Granato and Angela James are first women selected for induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. |
| 2013 |
Geraldine Heaney becomes the third woman Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. |
| 2014 |
Canada wins its fourth straight Olympic gold medal, scoring the tying goal with seconds left in regulation, forcing overtime in an epic championship contest against the United States. |
