Women's Ice Hockey in Canada - Early History

Early History

• The first traces of women's hockey in Canada date back to the 1890s when it is played at the university level. The University of Toronto and Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario were two of the first Canadian universities to field women's hockey teams. There have been disputes over where the first women's hockey game was played in Canada. The Women's Hockey Association claims that the city of Ottawa, Ontario hosted the first game in 1891.
• Lord Stanley of Preston's daughter, Lady Isobel Stanley, was a pioneer in the women's game and is one of the first females to be photographed using puck and stick (around 1890) on the natural ice rink at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, Canada. By the early 20th century, women's teams were common throughout most of the Canadian provinces, the long skirts they were still required to wear giving them a goaltending advantage. On March 8, 1899, the first account appeared in the Ottawa Evening Journal newspaper of a game played between two women's teams of four per side at the Rideau Skating Rink in Ottawa. On February 11, 1891, one of the earliest newspaper accounts of a seven-a-side game between women appeared in the Ottawa Citizen. McGill University's women's hockey team debuted in 1894. In 1920, Lady Isobel Brenda (Allan) Meredith of Montreal donated the 'Lady Meredith Cup', the first ice hockey trophy in Canada to be competed for between women in ankle-length skirts. Lady Meredith (the wife of Sir Vincent Meredith) was the first cousin of Sir H. Montagu Allan who had donated the Allan Cup for men's amateur ice hockey in 1908.
• Elizabeth Graham would play hockey for Queen's University and is credited as being the first goaltender ever to wear a mask for protection. She used the mask in 1927, and the use of the mask was in the Montreal Daily Star. She actually wore a fencing mask and the speculation is that she had used the mask as a means of protecting dental work that was recently performed.

• Abigail "Abby" Hoffman, gold medalist in the 880 yard event at the 1966 Commonwealth Games, first made a name for herself in hockey. She cut her hair short and pretended to be a boy in order to play with the St. Catharines Teepees, in a boys league. Once it was discovered that Hoffman was masquerading as a boy, the story made headlines around the world. An Ontario Supreme Court decision barred her from participating, although her parents challenged the league's "boys only" rule, but the league's policy was upheld by the provincial high court. In later years, Hoffman would help organize a national women's hockey championship (with representation from each province).

• During the 1960s, Cookie Cartwright and a group of dedicated students revived the women's ice hockey program at Queen's University. Cartwright and the Golden Gaels would go on to capture the first women's university championship.

• The province of Ontario has seen growth in the number of women participating in hockey. In 2003, there were 31,122 hockey players in female leagues in the province of Ontario. These players were part of 2,060 teams. In 1993, Ontario had 7,848 girls registered on 557 teams.

===Early rules 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.