Canada’s women’s Para hockey team storms way into semifinals of world championships

Canada’s women’s Para hockey team clinched first place in Group B and earned safe passage into the semifinals after a 7-0 victory over Great Britain at the inaugural Para Ice Hockey Women’s World Championships in Dolny Kubin, Slovakia on Thursday.

Defender Christina Picton scored a team-high 2 goals, while forward Aubree Clements led the way with a goal and three assists, including a plus-six rating.

The victory puts Canada on a potential collision course with the United States in the tournament final.

Team USA won Group A after a 10-0 victory over Norway, setting up a semifinal match against Great Britain. The top two teams in each group advance to Saturday’s semifinals, with the medal games on Sunday.

The tournament runs through Sunday and features six teams: Canada, the United States, Britain, Australia, Norway and  Team World, made up of players from nine countries.

All games are being streamed live on the Paralympic YouTube channel and World Para Ice Hockey Facebook page. 

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World Para Ice Hockey needs to organize at least two women’s world championships before submitting a proposal to the International Paralympic Committee’s governing board to be included as a women’s only sport in the 2030 Paralympics. 

As a non-Paralympic sport, women’s Para hockey does not fall under the Hockey Canada umbrella — although the governing body’s foundation is a key sponsor — and the national team does not receive funding from Sport Canada or Own The Podium.

Since the program’s inception in 2007, players have paid thousands annually to travel across the country for training camps and competitions.

That’s starting to change thanks to the world championships. Three months ago, the team thought each player would have to shell out between $5,500 and $6,000 for the tournament, but several corporate sponsors and supporters covered the costs.