The IX: Hockey Friday with The Ice Garden, December 1, 2023
Canada and the USA will face off in the Rivalry Series. (Photo Credit: USA Hockey)
Happy Friday women’s hockey fans! My name is Alyssa Turner from The Ice Garden. Canada and the USA are gearing up for two more games in the 2023-2024 Rivalry Series, scheduled to take place in Kitchener and Sarnia, Ontario. Canada aims to bounce back after dropping the first two games on American soil, while USA seeks to maintain their dominance in the 2023-24 Rivalry Series.
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Canada’s roster features 17 players who suited up in the first two games of the Rivalry Series in November, while there are three players who are set to make their Canada National Women’s Team debut (Anne Cherkowski, Jennifer Gardiner and Nicole Gosling).
USA’s roster features 23 players who were part of the team’s November Rivalry Series games. They have two players who have been given the call to make their USA Women’s National Team Debut (Kirsten Simms and Ally Simpson). Anna Wilgren returns to the national team stage, last competing with the team during the My Why Tour in the lead up to the 2022 Olympic Winter Games.
When looking at the two rosters one thing that immediately sticks out to me is how much younger each team went with their roster selections. Team USA has 13 players that are currently playing in the NCAA while Team Canada has five. Caroline Harvey is among those NCAA names for Team USA that are on the roster. Following her incredible Women’s Worlds performance in Brampton last April, she has missed more than a month with a knee injury that has kept her out of Wisconsin’s lineup. She is set to return to collegiate action in the next week or so and if all goes well she will be a huge addition for the ladies in red, white and blue.
Team Canada’s roster didn’t change too much with the exception of the return of Ann-Renee Desbiens in goal and Loren Gabel receiving another shot with the national team. During the games in December, USA had the edge when it came to goaltending. Canada outshot the Americans in both contests as Aerin Frankel and Nicole Hensley stood tall to open the series. Canada has a poor .843 SV% across their two games. With Desbiens back between the pipes for Team Canada we could see a change in how the games go in net.
Loren Gabel has received yet another call up to Canada’s National Team ahead of the upcoming Rivalry Series games. The lethal goal scorer will look to impress and put a few pucks in the back of the net for Canada. Gabel led the PHF in scoring last season and was also named MVP. As she gets set for her season with PWHL Boston in January, she has her eyes on the prize for Team Canada first.
The Americans are bringing some new faces into this mix for these two games. Kristen Simms out of Wisconsin will be looking to turn heads. The young 2004-born forward already has an impressive 29 points in 13 games played this season. It’ll be interesting to see how Team USA decides to use her in their lineup and how much ice time she will get. Seeing her on a line with a player like Alex Carpenter or Hannah Bilka could be a treat to watch.
In the US the games will be on NHL Network and, in Canada, the games will be on TSN and RDS. Click here for the full 2023-24 Rivalry Series schedule!
