PLYMOUTH, Michigan — USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan, has been selected to host the 2017 International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World Championship, it was announced here today by USA Hockey.
The event, tentatively slated to run from April 1-8, 2017, will include 22 games and feature the top female hockey players in the world. The majority of the games will be played on the main rink of the two-sheet facility, with the remaining games being staged on the secondary sheet.
“We are thrilled to be bringing the IIHF Women’s World Championship to Michigan,” said Dave Ogrean, executive director of USA Hockey. “We’re confident Plymouth and USA Hockey Arena will provide a great environment for the teams and fans, and know those in the region will enjoy watching the best female hockey players in the world compete for a gold medal.”
The event will be staged at a similar time frame as the Toyota/USA Hockey Girls’ and Women’s National Championships, which are set for April 6-10. The Girls Tier I and Women’s national championships will be staged in Farmington, Michigan, while the Girls Tier II national championship will be played in Troy, Michigan. Both cities are within 45 minutes of Plymouth’s USA Hockey Arena.
“There will be a lot of high-level hockey played in the greater Detroit metropolitan area in the spring of 2017 and we’re excited about the spotlight that will be placed on girls and women’s hockey in our country and around the world,” said Reagan Carey, director of women’s hockey for USA Hockey. “It’s a tremendous opportunity to have the Women’s World Championship back in our country and I know our players will appreciate the heightened fan support they’ll get playing at home.”
The United States has earned gold medals in five of the last six world championships and six times overall (2005, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015), while capturing silver in the remaining 10 years (1990, 1992, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2012). The title game has featured the U.S. and Canada every year of the tournament dating back to its inception in 1990.
Coming off back-to-back gold medals at the most recent world championships in 2013 and 2015 (no IIHF Women’s World Championship was held in 2014 due to the Olympic Winter Games), the U.S. will play for a third straight title at the 2016 IIHF Women’s World Championship from March 28-April 4 in Kamloops, British Columbia. The United States’ finish in that tournament will determine its seeding for the event in Plymouth.
A schedule and ticket packages for the 2017 IIHF Women’s World Championship will be available in the coming months. For more information, visit USAHockey.com.
NOTES: In 2017, the IIHF Women’s World Championship will be held in the U.S. for the fourth time in its history. Previously, Lake Placid, New York, put on the Women’s World Championship in 1994, followed by Minneapolis in 2001 and Burlington, Vermont, in 2012. The United States will be looking to secure its first IIHF Women’s World Championship title on home soil … IIHF Women’s World Championships have not been held in Olympic years (1998, 2002, 2006, 2010) … Gavin Regan, vice president of USA Hockey and the chair of its international council, oversees all aspects of international competition for USA Hockey.
