Twenty years ago this week Halifax played host to the 2004 World Women’s Hockey Championship.
Much like when we hosted the World Juniors in 2003 and 2023, the city was filled with hockey fans from all over the globe experiencing our beautiful city.
Team Canada’s lineup that year featured some of today’s female hockey legends like Captain Haley Wickenheiser, plus hockey broadcasters Cassie Campbell, formerly Hockey Night in Canada, Cheryl Pounder, now of TSN, Jennifer Botterill now on Hockey Night in Canada and many more household names.
(Above: Post game after Canada’s 2-0 win!)
(Above: Media scrum.)
It was fitting that in the end in 2004, it was a Canada and United States final where Team Canada went on to win 2-0 to claim championship Gold!
Haley Wickenheiser had the game winner while Kim St-Pierre got the shutout.
Tickets to that game cost $15.00.
Back then I worked all the games as the Tournament’s Promotions Announcer and provided the soundtrack to the games as in rink DJ at the then Metro Centre and fondly remember playing Queen’s “We Are The Champions” as Canada celebrated. It seems like yesterday!
(Above: My Public Address Announcer perch in 2004 with my Canadian flag draped over the booth on the 5th floor of the then Metro Centre.)
This week, the tournament is being held in Utica, New York with our own adopted Haligonian Kenzie Lalonde doing an excellent job on the play-by-play with Cheryl Pounder.
Canada’s facing Sweden in the Quarter Finals game tonight.
Go Canada GOLD is a line Haley Wickenheiser taught me at the tourney some 20 years ago.
-Ian
(Credits: Ian Robinson photos.)
