List of Olympic women's ice hockey players for Canada
Women's ice hockey tournaments have been staged at the Olympic Games since 1998. Eight goaltenders and fifty-three skaters have played for Canada. Men's ice hockey had been introduced at the 1920 Summer Olympics, and added to the Winter Olympic Games in 1924. In July 1992, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted to approve women's hockey as an Olympic event first to be held at the 1998 Winter Olympics. Until 1998, Canada's national team had domonated women's hockey. Canadian teams had won every World Championship; however, by 1997, the American team had improved and was evenly matched with Canada. In thirteen games played between the two teams in 1997, Canada won seven and the United States won six. Canada and the United States dominated the preliminary round of the 1998 tournament, and in their head-to-head match up, the United States won 7–4. The two teams met in the gold medal final, which the United States won 3–1. The Canadian and American teams continued their rivalry, and in a rematch between the two at the 2002 Winter Olympics, Canada won 3–2. In 2006, the Canadian team started the tournament by outscoring opponents 36–1 over three games. American defenceman Angela Ruggiero accused the