BEIJING, China — Kendall Coyne Schofield’s face twitched behind her mask after the Olympic women’s hockey final in Beijing.

The Team USA captain was asked what the exciting gold medal game could do for the future of women’s hockey.

“There are a lot of young girls watching at home. Women’s hockey cannot remain silent after these two weeks,” said Coyne Schofield in tears.

Canada defeated the United States 3-2 to claim the gold medal in an entertaining final. But the 2022 Olympics highlighted the disparity in investment and commitment to women’s hockey around the world, a situation made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Canada outscored their opponents 57 goals to 10 in Beijing. The hockey players have pushed their limits in large part because of their efforts, their ability to adapt in times of pandemic, the time and the money invested by their players, their coaches and their federation.

Women’s hockey hasn’t had the same financial support as men’s leagues and tournaments during the pandemic for the past two years.

“The pandemic has effectively ended hockey in many European women’s leagues,” Zsuzsanna Kolbenheyer, board member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IHFG), wrote in an email to The Canadian Press.

“It had a major impact on the preparation of the players. Women’s league seasons are often shorter than men’s, and so for many they haven’t had a chance to pick them up.

“For some of these players, it’s been a long time since they’ve played competitive hockey. »

Most Canadian players don’t have a league and they’ve also had to deal with lockdowns due to the pandemic.

Among the compensations were being in better shape than ever, using Zoom calls to build incredible team spirit, and improving their attacking game through virtual chats.

“What Team Canada is showing on the ice right now is really what full-time women’s hockey could be,” said Daniele Sauvageau, who guided Canada to gold in 2002 and analyzes hockey games on television in Beijing.

“The gap is even bigger because Canada has improved since 2018 and the rest of the world has continued to do what they were doing, which is not good enough. »

No other country has sent a women’s team whose players gathered in July and spent six months together before Beijing – not even the United States, whose players were assembled in residence only in October, after a defeat of 3-2 in overtime against Canada in the world championship final on August 31.

European countries have prepared their women’s teams even less.

The cancellation of the world championship in April in Nova Scotia and its postponement in Calgary in August put additional financial pressure on hockey federations which were also trying to prepare their women’s teams for Beijing.

“Some of that money was not recovered due to suddenness and last minute cancellation and then had to be re-spent to get the teams ready for August when the tournament was rescheduled. explained Kolbenheyer, who chairs the FIHG women’s committee.

“It was money that would have been spent on Olympic preparation. As a result, the countries didn’t spend as much time together before the tournament in China as they would have. »

Bronze medalist Finland, who stunned Canada in the 2019 world championship semi-finals, lost ground in part because they didn’t invest the same amount of time and money as the Canada for its preparation in the months leading up to the Winter Games.

“They’re always rebuilding because they can’t keep players between 22 and 26,” Sauvageau said. They don’t have the financial resources to keep them. These players have to work, train, play for their club and make it through these (national) training camps. »

The FIHG was blamed for the cancellation of the Women’s Under-18 World Championship in January for a second consecutive year, while the Men’s Under-18 Championship was contested in 2021.

President Luc Tardif specifies that the women’s tournament will take place in June in the United States.

Lower division women’s events were also canceled in Hungary, Austria and Turkey in January. They will be played this summer in these countries, he added.

Tardif also added that the IIHF has distributed five million Swiss francs (C$6.9 million) in development funds to all countries participating in the 2022 Women’s Olympic Tournament and its qualifying tournaments, which represents an increase of 60% compared to 2018.

“I’m not the guy who doesn’t believe in women’s hockey,” Tardif said in Beijing.

Canada and the United States may have invested the most resources in their women’s national teams among the 10 countries in Beijing, but the players who return home with gold and silver medals around their necks always do face an uncertain future when it comes to a league that would allow them to play year-round.

The majority are members of the Professional Hockey Association (PWHPA), born from the ashes of the demise of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL).

Pandemic restrictions have hampered the exhibition games and tournaments they play to muster support for a league that pays a living wage and ensures the support that men get.

So, after pouring heart and soul into their Olympic dreams, North American women are back in pursuit of the league they envision.

They hope the gold medal game in Beijing showed the world what this league could be.

“We hope to get the respect we deserve,” concluded Canadian forward Blayre Turnbull.