2023 IIHF Women’s World Championship schedule: Canada, U.S. to face off April 10

Canada and the United States will face off in the group stage of the 2023 IIHF Women’s World Championship on April 10 at 7 p.m. ET, organizers announced Tuesday. Here’s what you need to know about the full tournament schedule:

The 31-game schedule will begin on April 5. The quarterfinals start April 13, the semifinals start April 15 and the gold medal game will take place April 16.
Group A will be comprised of Canada, the Czech Republic, Japan, Switzerland and the U.S.
Group B will be Finland, France, Germany, Hungary and Sweden.

What else to know

The competition will take place at the CAA Centre in Brampton, Ont.

Team Canada enters the tournament as the favorite, having won the last two women’s world championships (2021 and 2022) and the 2022 Beijing Olympics — beating the U.S. in all three gold medal games. The Canadians are hosting women’s worlds for the ninth time and have won six of the eight tournaments played at home.

Group play will begin with France taking on Finland at 11 a.m. ET on April 5. The Americans will open their tournament against Japan at 3 p.m. that day, followed by Canada facing Switzerland at 7 p.m.

Germany, Hungary, Japan and Sweden will each begin play on April 6.

View the full schedule here.

What to make of the groups

For the first time ever, Finland will play in Group B at the world championships after it lost to Japan in the fifth/sixth-place placement game at last year’s tournament. Finland has been a mainstay on the podium in international women’s hockey, even beating Canada in the semis en route to a silver medal in 2019. The Finns had a tough tournament with suspensions and injuries last year, but the significance of Japan’s win — and promotion to the top group — cannot be understated.

Meanwhile, we will see the return of France at this tournament, taking the place of Denmark, last year’s host nation that finished 10th in the tournament. — Salvian

Key matchup to watch

Of course, when the schedule comes out, the first thing I’m looking for is the Canada-USA game on April 10. It’s the best rivalry in hockey for a reason, and it almost always delivers. The U.S. is in an interesting spot this year, having lost the last three major gold medals to Canada.

Despite the loss in 2022, it was arguably the best team in the tournament, with a mix veterans and young stars making up the most high-powered offense in Denmark. Canada got the best of the Americans in the gold medal game when it mattered most, but I can’t wait to see what this U.S. team looks like with an even bigger chip on its shoulder and another year of seasoning for young players like Caroline Harvey, Taylor Heise and Hannah Bilka. — Salvian