The Rivalry Series Returns For Another Year of Action-Packed Hockey
Courtesy of USA Hockey
It’s that time of year again. The Rivalry Series is back! The best of the best women’s hockey players from Canada and the United States are set to play four Rivalry Series games this year as a lead up to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, Italy. We’re going to get you caught up on who made the rosters, the history of the Rivalry Series and everything you need to know before the puck drops.
History of the Rivalry Series
The 2025 Rivalry Series will be the sixth iteration of the series. The Rivalry Series began in February of 2019 when the women’s national teams from Canada and the U.S. played a three game series over the course of five days. Since then, the Rivalry Series has occurred every year, minus 2020-21 and 2021-22 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Team Canada has won all but one iteration of the series, including three straight. Team USA has won just one Rivalry Series which was back in 2019-20, but the level of competition has never been higher when it comes to this tournament. These games also serve a secondary purpose this year as players will be evaluated for the 2026 Winter Olympics so this series could be more entertaining than usual.
Courtesy of Hockey Canada
Team Canada
A lot of familiar faces are returning for the 2025 Rivalry Series for Team Canada. Of course, Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey, Sarah Nurse and Natalie Spooner all made the roster, but there are some new faces too such as Hannah Miller, Jenn Gardiner and Daryl Watts. Most notably, some of the regular players that do make Team Canada’s roster for the Rivalry Series are missing such as Ann-Renee Desbiens, Brianne Jenner, Emily Clark and Jocelyne Larocque. Canada has just three NCAA players on the roster while the rest is made up of PWHL regulars. The team will be coached by Toronto Sceptres Head Coach Troy Ryan with Kori Cheverie (Montreal Victoire), Caroline Ouellette (Hockey Hall of Fame) and Britni Smith (Syracuse University) all joining the staff as assistant coaches. Here’s a full breakdown of Team Canada’s roster entering the first game of the 2025 Rivalry Series.
Forwards Defense Goaltenders
Laura Stacey Sophie Jaques Eve Gascon
Sarah Fillier Chloe Primerano Emerance Maschmeyer
Caitlin Kraemer Kati Tabin Kayle Osborne
Sarah Nurse Renata Fast
Natalie Spooner Ella Shelton
Emma Maltais Erin Ambrose
Marie-Philip Poulin Micah Zandee-Hart
Hannah Miller Claire Thompson
Blayre Turnbull
Kristin O’Neill
Julia Gosling
Danielle Serdachny
Jennifer Gardiner
Daryl Watts
*italics designate NCAA players
Courtesy of USA Hockey
Team USA
Similar to Canada, a lot of well-known players are returning for Team USA for the 2025 Rivalry Series headlined by Hilary Knight, Alex Carpenter and Kendall Coyne-Schofield. 11 players on the roster have prior Olympic experience and an impressive nine NCAA players made the team as well. The United States will be coached by the U.S. Women’s National Team Head Coach John Wroblewski with Josh Sciba (Union College), Shari Dickerman (Minnesota State University) and Brent Hill (Quinnipiac University) joining the team as assistant coaches. Here’s a full breakdown of Team USA’s roster entering the first game of the 2025 Rivalry Series.
Forwards Defense Goaltenders
Lacey Eden Lee Stecklein Ava McNaughton
Kirsten Simms Cayla Barnes Aerin Frankel
Kelly Pannek Caroline Harvey Gwyneth Philips
Grace Zumwinkle Megan Keller
Hayley Scamurra Rory Guilday
Britta Curl-Salemme Haley Winn
Jesse Compher Laila Edwards
Hilary Knight Emma Peschel
Tessa Janecke Savannah Harmon
Hannah Bilka Anna Wilgren
Joy Dunne
Alex Carpenter
Kendall Coyne Schofield
Taylor Heise
Casey O’Brien
Gabbie Hughes
Abbey Murphy
*italics designate NCAA players
Game Information
The first two games of the 2025 Rivalry Series will be played in the United States. Game one is on Thursday, November 6 in Cleveland, Ohio and game two is on Saturday, November 8 in Buffalo, New York. The series will conclude with two games in Canada, both being played in Edmonton, Alberta on Wednesday, December 10 and Saturday, December 13. All games will be broadcast on the NHL Network in the U.S. and on TSN in Canada. If you want to experience the action in person, tickets are on sale for all four games now.