Excitement Building for 2024 IIHF Women’s World Championship
By: Dave Fischer, USA Hockey Senior Director, Communications
UTICA, N.Y. – As city of Utica and Oneida County officials gathered with USA Hockey representatives today for a formal press conference to introduce the 2024 IIHF Women’s World Championship – which will take place April 3-14, 2024, at Adirondack Bank Center – the excitement and anticipation of putting on the best-ever women’s world hockey championship was evident.
With the top women’s hockey players from 10 nations across the world coming to Utica, organizers have big plans for not only a great championship on the ice, culminating with the gold-medal game on April 14, but also a grand celebration off the ice throughout the 12-day event.
Among those in attendance today were former NHL and Olympic goaltender Robert Esche, the current president of Mohawk Valley Garden and the Utica Comets, who spearheaded efforts to bring the event to the region, as well as Oneida County executive Anthony Picente.
“Hosting this event is an opportunity for us to show everything Utica has to offer,” said Esche. “We plan to make it a twelve day spectacle unlike anything the area has seen, from showcasing local businesses and event spaces, to the fan zone festivities surrounding the building, through the games inside the Adirondack Bank Center. Our goal is to make this the best Women’s World Championship to date, and to show the world how strong the hockey community is in Utica.”
“Oneida County is honored to play host to the 2024 Women’s World Hockey Championship and we cannot wait to showcase all our area has to offer to fans from around the world,” said Picente. “Being presented with this enormous opportunity speaks volumes to where this region stands, and together with our partners, we are committed to making this event unlike anything anyone has ever seen."
USA Hockey officials on hand included Mike Trimboli, the organization’s president, who lives in Massena, New York; Tony Driscoll, assistant executive director of marketing, communications and events; and Madison Brown, director of events.
In addition, Olympic gold medalist Megan Keller, a current alternate captain of the U.S. Women’s National Team, was in town to celebrate.
“We’ve seen firsthand the enthusiasm of civic leaders in the Mohawk Valley region and we know how committed they are in working together to make this the best women’s world championship ever held,” said Driscoll. “We’re all excited about the opportunity to welcome teams and fans from the across the world, and also for the fans of Utica and the surrounding region to enjoy the many unique opportunities that come with hosting a world championship.”
The final tournament schedule – which includes 29 total games – is anticipated to be released later this month. The tournament format includes two five-team groups, with the U.S., Canada, Czechia, Switzerland and Finland making up Group A and Sweden, Japan, Germany, China and Denmark comprising Group B. Competition begins with the preliminary round, where each team plays the other four in its group. Following preliminary round play, the top five teams from Group A and top three from Group B advance to quarterfinal action. The winners play in the semifinals, followed by the bronze and gold-medal games.
Last year’s tournament took place in Brampton, Ontario, where Team USA captured its first world crown since 2019, topping Canada by a 6-3 count in the gold-medal game.
The U.S. has hosted the IIHF Women’s World Championship just four times previously, most recently in Plymouth, Mich., in 2017. The 2024 event will mark the second time the prestigious tournament will be staged in the state of New York, with Lake Placid having played host in 1994.
Since the tournament’s inception in 1990, the United States has come away with 10 total gold medals.
All session ticket package are currently on sale at EmpireStateTix.com.
