By Kristi Patton /

Hockey fans salivating for a taste of Olympic competition will get their crack at a sneak preview of the top four women’s hockey squads in the world this month.
From Aug. 31 to Sept. 6 the Hockey Canada Cup, hosted in Vancouver, will be a sampling of what is to come in February when the Canadian National Women’s team, United States, Finland and Sweden meet on the ice at GM Place.
“This is a great opportunity for our athletes to play in the Olympic city and at the Olympic venues, in front of Canadian fans,” said Julie Healy, Hockey Canada’s director of female hockey. “It is also a unique opportunity for fans to come out and watch the teams that are ranked one through four going into the Olympics.”
Over the five days, the teams will play a game a day, but for Canada’s National Women’s Team, this won’t be the first time they have hit the ice together. A three-week training camp took the team to Dawson Creek and Tumbler Ridge in mid-June before 26 centralized players moved to Calgary to continue training full-time. The players will be fighting for the 21 available spots on the final Olympic roster.
Included on the centralized roster is Captain Canada herself, Hayley Wickenheiser (Shaunavon, Sask.). The 31-year-old is looking to help lead Canada to their third Olympic gold. Wickenheiser played her 200th international game for Canada on Aug. 15 in a 7-2 win over Sweden. While the captain was kept off the scoreboard celebrating her 200th game, Brianne Jenner (Oakville, Ont.) notched her first-ever goal for the Canadian senior team after snagging a rebound off the Swedish goaltender and sliding it past her.
“It was great to get my first international goal with the senior team. It’s always good to get that first goal out of the way and I was happy it happened in our first game,” said Jenner. “I am really excited for us to get some more games under our belt and continue to develop as a team. We have had good progression just in this past week so it will be exciting to see how we do in Vancouver.”
The U.S. National Women’s Hockey team are hosting their annual festival in which 41 players will compete for Olympic roster spots from Aug. 18 to 24 in Blaine, Minn., leading up to the Hockey Canada Cup. Included on the list of invitees is annual favourites Angela Ruggiero, Julie Chu, Jenny Potter and Natalie Darwitz.
“The [Hockey Canada Cup] will be the first international competition for our centralized women’s team. We’re looking forward to the opportunity to face our toughest competitors and compete in GM Place, which will be the site of many women’s hockey games at the Olympics, including the gold-medal final,” said head coach of Canada’s National Women’s team, Melody Davidson.
Tickets for the Hockey Canada Cup start at $10 and are available through Ticketmaster, either at www.ticketmaster.ca, 1-800-970-SEAT or any Ticketmaster outlet. A full-tournament package is also available with tickets to all 10 games for $120. A portion of the ticket sales proceeds will be donated to the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation, thanks to a partnership with Save-On-Foods. The gold medal match will be televised on TSN on Sunday, Sept. 6 at 7:30 p.m. PST / 10:30 p.m. EST.