Legends of Hockey - Time Capsule - Profiles of Notable Women in Hockey

Women's Hockey feature - sponsored by Sports Museum of America

Erika Holst was the offensive catalyst for Sweden at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, helping lead her country to a surprise bronze medal finish with five points in five games. This marked the second Olympics in which Erika led her team in scoring. Four year later, at the Torino Games in 2006, Holst propelled Sweden to the silver medal, upsetting the United States in the semi finals. A power forward, Erika has also excelled at the collegiate level, playing for the University of Minnesota-Duluth where she helped the Bulldogs capture the inaugural NCCA women's championship in 2001 as well as the 2002 and 2003 championships. She ranks first among all Swedes in points at both the World Championships (33) and Olympics (15).

Erika Holst helpped lead her country to a suprise bronze medal finish

Guo Hong, dubbed "The Great Wall of China", was one of the elite netminders in women's hockey for over a decade beginning in the mid 1990s. Hong proved to be the great equalizer for China in international play, often fending off as many as 50 shots a game. She finished the 2002 Olympics with a very respectable 88.79 save percentage, while leading the tournament in saves and shots against. Her best game came at the 1996 Pacific Rim Tournament where she stopped 38 of 39 Team Canada shots in a 1-0 loss. Hong was a eight-time member of China's World Championship team.

Angela James is a legendary name among Canadian women's hockey. The decision to leave her off the roster of the 1998 Olympic Team was as controversial as the decision to leave Mark Messier off the men's team that year. James had been a member of Canada's gold medal teams at each of the previous four Women's World Championships. She was Canada's leading scorer with eleven goals at the 1990 Women's World Championship and was an all-star forward in 1992. James had also been a top Canadian scoring threat at the 1994 and 1997 World Championships and represented her country at the Pacific Rim Championship in 1996. Since her retirement, James has become a sport co-ordinator for Seneca College. In 2008, James joined Geraldine Heaney and Cammi Granato as the first women to be inducted into the International Ice Hockey Hall of Fame.

In 2010, James would again join former rival Cammi Granato when it was announced that the two would be the first female Inductees of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Click Here to view Angela James' Honoured Member page.

In 2010 Angela James was among the first female Inductees of the Hockey Hall of Fame

Born in Sudbury, Ontario, Rebecca Johnston, starred for Cornell University before joining the Canadian national team. In 2012 she helped Canada to victory at the IIHF World Women's Championship and captured her first Olympic gold medal in 2010, scoring six points in five tournament games. She repeated the feat four years later in Sochi, Russia as Canada marched to the gold medal for the fourth straight games.

In 2015, Johnston was awarded the Angela James Bowl as the Canadian Women's Hockey League's top scorer. The following year she helped lead the Calgary Inferno to the Clarkson Cup title as champions of the CWHL.

As member of the Finnish national team, Michelle Karvinen is a two-time Olympic medalist, having brought home the bronze in 2010 and 2018. At the 2018 games Karvinen led all Finnish skaters with six points (three goals and three assists) in six tournament games.

At the 2017 Nations Cup, Karvinen scored the gold medal-winning goal as Finland defeated Canada for the championship.

Katie King ranks amongst the all-time leading Americans in Olympic scoring

High-scoring Katie King excelled at every level of women's hockey. She graduated from Brown University in 1997 with a remarkable 123 goals and 83 assists in just 100 games before moving onto the US National Women's Team. At six World Championships, King registered 36 points in 30 games, including a tournament-high seven goals in 2001, and was part of the 2005 gold medal winning team. Noted for her determination and excellent play at both ends of the rink, Katie ranks amongst the all-time leading Americans in Olympic scoring with 23 points. She has won gold (Nagano), silver (Salt Lake City) and bronze (Torino) during her accomplished Olympic career.

At the 2018 Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, Jocelyne Lamoureux, accomplished what no woman in hockey history had done before. She scored the gold medal-winning goal with a dazzling deke in a shootout. Lamoureux led all American women with four goals in five tournament games and was named to the media all-star team.

An accomplished collegiate player, Lamoureux was the 2012 NCAA scoring champion and has multiple IIHF World Women’s Championship titles to her credit.

A star from an early age, Monique Lamoureux, along with her twin sister, Jocelyne, led her high school team to three state championships before embarking on a highly decorated international career.

A multiple-time champion at the IIHF World Women's Championship and two-time Olympic silver medalist, Lamoureux reached the pinnacle of the sport in 2018 as she helped the United States capture the gold medal in PyeongChang, South Korea. Her goal late in the third period forced overtime and the USA would eventually prevail in a shootout.

Brownstown, Michigan native Shelley Looney was a mainstay on the U.S. Women's National Team for over a decade. She was known as a tough competitor and all-around player who was solid both offensively and defensively. Looney was one of the American's top scorers at the 1998 Winter Olympic Games, helping the team win the gold medal. Her goal at 10:57 of the second period in the final game gave the U.S. a 2-0 lead and proved to be the gold winner in a 3-1 victory. Four years later, she was a key member of the silver medal-winning squad in Salt Lake City. Looney appeared in eight Women's World Championships and played collegiately at Northeastern University from 1991-94, winning multiple awards including ECAC All-Star, 1993 ECAC Tournament MVP and 1993-94 ECAC Player of the Year. She was inducted into Northeastern College's Hockey Hall of Fame in 1999.

Shelley Looney was known as a tough competitor and all-around player who was solid both offensively and defensively

Kim Martin starred for Sweden as a ninth grader at the Salt Lake City Olympics

Goalkeeper Kim Martin was a mainstay on the Sweden's National Women's Team for over a decade. Born in 1986, she recorded a sparkling 1.67 goals-against average as a ninth grader at the Salt Lake City Olympics. Her .939 save percentage ranked second at the Games and her stellar play in the bronze medal game against Finland was the main reason why Sweden captured the bronze. She continued her magic in Torino, by being named top goaltender at those Olympic Winter Games in helping Sweden claim its first silver medal in women's Olympic hockey. Martin made her international debut in November 2000 at the Four Nations Cup, seeing action in one game, a 2-2 tie against Finland. This turned out to be the only game Sweden wouldn't lose in the tournament. Martin's first season of organized hockey was at the age of 10, and she didn't surrender a goal during the entire 17-game schedule.

Stefanie Marty used the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, British Columbia as a coming out party of sorts. Though she had previously competed for Switzerland at the 2006 and 2002 games and put up modest offensive numbers, in Vancouver she tied the Olympic record for most goals scored in a single tournament with nine and helped her homeland to a fifth place finish.

Marty would represent Switzerland for the third time at the Olympic Winter Games in 2014. This time the games were held in Sochi, Russia, and Marty would score two goals and help her homeland to the bronze medal.

Former mayor of Mississauga, Ontario Hazel McCallion began playing hockey in the late 1920s in Port Daniel on the Gaspe coast of Quebec. With her two older sisters playing defence, Hazel took her spot as a lightning quick centre on a team in a ladies' league. After moving to Montreal, McCallion turned 'professional', earning $5 a game to play for Kik Cola, one of three teams in a ladies' league there. Upon being elected as mayor in 1978, Hazel McCallion spread her influence into other hockey-related areas, including sitting on the board of the Ontario Women's Hockey League, obtaining ice time for girls' hockey and helping Mississauga build the Hershey Centre. In 1998, Hazel McCallion assisted a group headed by hockey personality Don Cherry in securing a franchise for the Mississauga IceDogs in the Ontario Hockey League.

Sue Merz was born in Greenwich, Connecticut. She played defense for the U.S. National Team from 1990-2002, winning six silver medals at the Women's World Championships. She was part of the historic Olympic gold medal team in Nagano and won a silver medal in 2002 at Salt Lake City Winter Games. Merz played college hockey at the University of New Hampshire, where she scored 53 goals, 54 assists, and 107 points. She was named to the All-Eastern College Athletic Conference Second Team and the New England Hockey Writers All-Star Team following her senior season. Merz played three seasons for the Connecticut Polar Bears, helping lead the team to the 1990 USA Hockey Girls' Midget National Championship.

Meaghan Mikkleson represented Canada three times at the Olympic games. First in Vancouver where she helped her homeland to the gold medal. She followed that up with a second gold medal in 2014 and a silver in 2018. Mikkelson also wore the red and white at numerous IIHF World Women's Championship tournaments, winning gold in 2012 and being named Best Defender by the tournament directorate in 2011.

At just 15 years of age, at the 2014 Olympic Games, Alina Müller, became the youngest hockey player to ever win an Olympic medal. She scored the game-winning goal as Switzerland defeated Sweden to capture the bronze medal. Four years later Müller tied an Olympic record with four goals in a single game and would lead the tournament with seven goals in total and 10 points in six games.

Riikka Nieminen, the best female hockey player to ever come from Europe

Finland's speedy forward Riikka Nieminen is arguably the best female hockey player ever to emerge from Europe. She led two World Championships (1994 and '97) in scoring and was the top point producer at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games. At the time of her retirement, Nieminen ranked seventh all-time in World Championship scoring with 41 points. She has also proved to be one of Finland's most versatile female athletes. Aside from her on-ice exploits, Riikka is a three-time Finnish Baseball Player of the Year.

Caroline Ouellette Ouellette was born is Montreal, Quebec on May 25, 1979. As a member of the Canadian National Women's Ice Hockey Team, she has won six World Championships (1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2012) and three Olympic gold medals (2002, 2006 and 2010). As one of the tallest players on the ice (she stands 5'10"), Ouellette is always an intimidating presence and her deft scoring touch makes her the quintessential power forward. In addition to her hockey prowess, Ouellette also represented Quebec in fastball at the 1997 Canada Games and graduated from the National Police Academy in Quebec in 2000.

Ouellette would serve as captain for the Canadian squad at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games held in Sochi, Russia, and would lead the team to the fourth consecutive Olympic championship.

At 5'10, Ouellette is always an intimidating presence

By her 24th birthday, Cherie Piper had become one of Team Canada's seasoned veterans whose undeniable talent and experience made her one of the team's leaders. Born in Toronto, Ontario, Piper joined the National team in 2001. After capturing a gold medal in the 2002 Olympics, Piper was offered a hockey scholarship to Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH. As a freshman with Dartmouth, she tallied 17 goals and 15 assists for 32 points in only 26 games. Piper returned to represent her homeland in 2004 winning her first World Championship Gold. Two years later, Piper tallied 7 goals in the 2006 Olympics en route to yet another gold medal for Canada's National Team. She added to her gold rush in 2007 when she captured her second World Championship title.

The 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver was more of the same for Piper as she helped the Canadian team to a third consecutive gold medal victory.

Jenny Potter is one of the best known members of the U.S. National Team. After growing up in a quiet suburban Minneapolis neighborhood, Potter, at the age of 19, reached her goal of earning a spot of the U.S. Olympic Team. As the second-youngest member of the team Potter earned a gold medal in the inaugural Women's Olympic hockey tournament in Nagano, Japan in 1998. Potter has also won three gold medals at the World Championships ('05, '08 and '09).

At the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, Potter was again an offensive standout for the American team. She recorded sixe goals and three assists in the tournament, helping lead the American team to a silver medal.

At a very young age Marie-Philip Poulin reached the highest level of achievement in international hockey. At the 2010 Olympic Winter Games held in Vancouver, British Columbia, while still a teenager, Poulin would show she had a flare for the dramatic. In the gold medal game against the rival Americans, Poulin scored the game’s only goals, leading Canada to a 2-0 victory.

Four years later Poulin was at it again. She scored the game-tying goal with just seconds to play in the gold medal game and notched the tournament-winner in overtime to capture the second Olympic gold medal of her career. At the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, Poulin captained the team, securing the silver medal after batteling all the way to a shoot-out with the Americans.

Her time in the CWHL began at age 16, but she would not join les Canadiennes de Montreal full time until the 2015-16 season. Poulin won the Clarkson Cup twice with Montreal, won the Angela James Bowl as the CWHL’s top scorer, League MVP, and the Jayna Hefford Trophy as the player voted MVP three times each!

Hilda Ranscombe is one of hockey's immortals. Possessed with dazzling speed, she was considered by many the equal of most boy players, some of whom went on to play in the NHL as men. She led the Preston Rivulettes throughout the 1930s, a baseball team that formed a hockey team and lost just two of 350 games played during that decade until war brought an end to their dynasty. Ranscombe led the Rivs to six Dominion championships and it was her fame that enabled a women's league to flourish in Ontario and for women's hockey to become popular right across the country. After retiring as a player, she became a coach and before her death donated all her equipment to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Hilda Ranscombe was women's hockey's first superstars

In 2014, at the age of 22, Fanny Rask, made her Olympic debut for the Swedish national team in Sochi, Russia. Four years later at the PyeongChang games, she led all Swedish skaters with six points (three goals and three assists) in six tournament games.

A mainstay in goal for the Finnish national team, Noora Raty made her Olympic debut at the age of 16 in 2006. Four years later she backstopped her homeland to a bronze medal victory, an accomplishment she would repeat in 2018.

As a member of the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the NCAA, Raty won back-to-back national championships and in 2010 was named the WCHA conference Goaltending Champion by virtue of her 1.33 goals-against-average.

Tiia Reima was one of her country's most productive and decorated forwards from the late '80s to the mid 2000's. She holds the Finnish career mark for most assists in World Championship play with 20 and has earned five bronze medals at the '90, '92, '94, '97 and '99 World Championships. A two-time Olympian, Reima led her teams to numerous European and Finnish League Championships and is a former member of the Finnish national junior women's soccer team.

Perhaps the most famous female hockey player in the world, Manon Rheaume was the first woman to play with an NHL team when she saw action in a 1992 pre-season game for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Thereafter, she proceeded to play for a variety of men's minor pro teams. Rheaume first appeared with Canada's National Women's Team in 1992 and was named to the All-Star Team when Canada won the Women's World Championship that year. Rheaume duplicated both feats, all-star honours and a gold medal, at the 1994 event, but was cut from the team prior to the 1997 World Championships. An aggressive goaltender who could handle the puck well, Rheaume regained her spot on the National Team and was the better of Canada's two goalies at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano.

Manon Rheaume was the 1st woman to play with an NHL team

As both a player and an executive, Fran Rider has made significant contributions to the advancement of women's and girls' hockey in Canada. Beginning in 1967 as a defenceman in her hometown of Etobicoke, Ontario, Rider realized firsthand the lack of opportunities afforded females in playing organized hockey. In 1975, the Ontario Women's Hockey Association was formed to further participation and interest in women's hockey. Under Fran, the organization's executive director, the OWHA has grown exponentially, giving thousands of girls and women opportunities to play female hockey that didn't exist previously. In recognition of her dedication to women's hockey, the silver medal-winning team at the Senior Women's National Championships is presented with the Fran Rider Cup. Fran was the first female recipient of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association's Award of Merit and the first woman to collect the Ontario Hockey Association's Minor Hockey Service Award. In addition, Fran Rider was presented with the OHA's Gold Stick Award, the Ontario Ministry of Culture and Citizenship's Contribution to Sport Award and was elected to the Mississauga Sports Hall of Fame.

At a time when interest in women's sports was germinating, Bobbi Rosenfeld was already dominating, not just in hockey (her favourite team sport), but in lacrosse, basketball, softball, tennis and track & field. In fact, Fanny 'Bobbie' Rosenfeld's sporting exploits were so extraordinary during the 1920s and thirties that she was named Canada's Female Athlete of the First Half-Century (1900-1950). Rosenfeld was born in Austria in 1904, but moved to Barrie, Ontario as a child and by her early twenties, had starred as a centre on the 1927 and '29 Ontario champion Toronto Patterson Pats of the North Toronto Ladies' City League. A newspaper during that era called Rosenfeld the "superwoman of ladies' hockey." In 1924, Bobbie helped inaugurate the Ladies' Ontario Hockey Association. She represented Canada in track & field at the 1928 Olympics, winning a gold medal in the 4x100 relay and a silver in the 100 yard dash. After retiring, Bobbie Rosenfeld wrote a daily column on women's sports for the Globe and Mail.

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