The best women’s hockey players in Canada and the U.S. are going to battle in Windsor in their first meeting since the Olympic gold medal game.
Hockey Canada announced Tuesday that Canada’s national women’s team will face the U.S. women’s team at 7 p.m. on October 28th at the WFCU Centre.
The game is a warm-up game ahead of the 2026 IIHF Women’s World Championship from November 6 to 16 in Denmark.
Team USA beat Canada 2-1 in overtime to win the women’s hockey gold medal at the 2026 Winter Games in Milan, Italy, this past February.
CEO of Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island Gordon Orr says this is a big game, and they expect a full house.
“At a time when there’s a lot of uncertainty between our two countries, it’s nice to see sport bring people together, and at the same time, we’ve proven over and over again that this community can host sporting events,” he says. “We’ve developed a track record that’s impressive; Hockey Canada knows that. We’ve got the infrastructure, we’ve got the accessibility, we’ve got the accommodations, we’ve got the attractions, and we’ve got the volunteerism.”
Hockey Canada has partnered with the City of Windsor and the Windsor Spitfires to bring the game to the WFCU Centre.
Director of House League for Lakeshore Lightning Girls Hockey Association Carson Clarke Bartolo says the growth of the PWHL and events like this change the way girls think about the sport and their future.
“For so long, girls have been sort of left in the shadows and dream of the NHL, maybe one day, and having one girl make it,” she says. “Now every team and player is female, and every opportunity they get to be the majority, they get to be the voice, they get to be the person they see on the ice, and they get to be the person in the stands cheering for those teams.”
Clarke Bartolo says girls’ hockey is growing so fast in this area and across Canada.
“We have somewhere around 450 people registered just in Lakeshore alone. I know the statistic Hockey Canada provided was that there are 121,000 girls and women playing in Canada in the sport, and that’s the highest participation record they’ve seen. I can say at least 1,500 of those girls are in Windsor-Essex,” she says.
A second pre-tournament game between these teams will be played in the U.S. with details to still be announced.
TSN will broadcast both games.
Tickets will start at $68 and will be available September 10 at HockeyCanada.ca/Tickets.