Once the New Year’s Eve ball drops in Times Square at midnight, the 21st century will be 25 years old. In recognition of the past quarter-century, here is our list of the 25 most significant women’s hockey stories over that period. These events have captivated hockey fans worldwide and inspired women, especially young girls, for generations to come.
25. Three women inducted in HHOF 2025 Class
Since 2010, the Hockey Hall of Fame has made a maximum of two women players per year eligible for induction. Although the recognition of females has crawled at a snail’s pace, in 2025, players Jennifer Botterill and Brianna Decker, along with builder Daniele Sauvageau, earned their rightful place in the hallowed shrine, marking the first-ever induction of three women in a single year.
24. Hilary Knight’s hat trick leads the USA to the 2023 Worlds victory
Yet another chapter in the hotly contested Canada-USA rivalry was written in Brampton, Ont., as the two heavyweights deadlocked at 3-3 heading into the waning moments of regulation in the Women’s World Championship gold medal game. That’s when Hilary Knight made Canada’s penalty kill look shakier than the wi-fi at CAA Centre, potting a pair of power-play goals (the first coming at 5-on-3) to complete a hat trick, cementing a gold medal for the United States.
23. PWHPA formed, Dream Gap Tour created
Following the collapse of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League in 2019, the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association was formed. In the absence of a single, united league with the best available personnel, about 150 of the world’s top players competed in exhibition games across North America, divided into teams sponsored by the likes of Sonnet Insurance and Adidas. The Secret-sponsored Dream Gap Tour was staged until 2022-23.
22. Cassie Campbell-Pascall calls HNIC broadcast
On October 14, 2006, two-time Olympic gold medallist Cassie Campbell-Pascall joined play-by-play man Bob Cole as an analyst for a game between the host Toronto Maple Leafs and the Calgary Flames. Campbell-Pascall was a late replacement for Harry Neale, who was unable to drive to the game due to a snowstorm. She became the first woman to do colour commentary for Hockey Night In Canada.
21. Riikka Sallinen enters Hockey Hall of Fame
In 2022, Finnish legend Riikka Sallinen (nee Niemenen) became only the ninth woman to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, and the first non-North American female to be so honoured. Sallinen represented Finland at four Olympics, winning a pair of bronze medals two decades apart, in 1998 and 2018. At the latter Winter Games, she became the oldest player ever to win an Olympic hockey medal, at age 44.
