The GIST

🏒 A campaign for the best game you can name

Canada tops Team USA in overtime to win inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off

Political tension? Check. Glove dropping? Check. Moments that made you cry? Check. The NHL’s innovative 4 Nations Face-Off tournament had it all, with Canada defeating Team USA to win the inaugural trophy in dramatic fashion last night. Here’s how it went down.

February 21, 2025

Team USA and Canada to meet in 4 Nations Face-Off finale

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Drop the gloves because Team Canada and Team USA meet for the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET, a highly anticipated rematch of their feisty round robin tilt. As a refresher, the victor earns bragging rights as winner of the NHL’s inaugural 4 Nations tourney (a replacement for the league’s All-Star break), but the stakes are ultra-high in this storied hockey rivalry. No wonder ticket prices are soaring — it doesn’t get better than this.

February 18, 2025

Everything you need to know about the 4 Nations Face-Off

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It’s been nearly a decade, but the world’s best men’s hockey players are finally taking center ice in international competition, ready to represent their respective home countries at the NHL’s highly anticipated 4 Nations Face-Off.

February 12, 2025

Canada and the USA ready to face off as the Rivalry Series returns

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The PWHL is on international break, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get your women’s hockey fix. The Rivalry Series — aka the spicy, icy five-game showdown between the Canadian and American national teams — is back on the ice. Drop that puck.

February 05, 2025

PWHL sees attendance growth in Canadian and neutral site games

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A new report from Front Office Sports revealed that PWHL attendance has risen about 30% thus far compared to last year’s average, but the gains aren’t being felt everywhere. While neutral site and Canadian games have drawn higher-than-average crowds, U.S. attendance remains flat YoY, which could have ramifications on the PWHL’s expansion plans south of the border.

January 27, 2025

PWHL Takeover Tour could offer brands similar opportunities to the WNBA’s Canadian games

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As discussed on yesterday’s episode of The GIST of It, the PWHL’s nine-city Takeover Tour is only three stops in, but there’s already plenty of discussion on where the league will establish its first two expansion franchises later this year.

January 15, 2025

Checking in on the top teams in men’s and women’s hockey

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With just under two months remaining in the regular season, it’s time to check in on the college hockey scene. Two Big Ten teams sit atop the men’s and women’s rankings, but some of the usual suspects are close behind.

January 06, 2025

Sports Business

PWHL partners with three new brands in Canada as league offers unique cross-border access

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December 13, 2024

Hockey is huge in Canada, so naturally, the PWHL’s popularity is growing fast among Canadian fans and sponsors. After tipping off its second season with nearly 50 corporate partnerships, the league inked three more Canadian-based deals this week, demonstrating its interest in reaching women’s sports fans on both sides of the border.

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The GIST of It Podcast

Ep #433

A 4 Nations preview, plus Trump's trans athlete ban

February 11, 2025

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A 4 Nations preview, plus Trump's trans athlete ban

Today’s episode of The GIST of It has a little bit of everything with one tournament preview and one WTF moment on deck. Co-hosts Ellen Hyslop and Steph Rotz start things off by discussing the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off, an NHL hockey tourney that’ll pit Team USA, Team Canada, Team Finland, and Team Sweden against each other for international glory. Icy and spicy.

Then in part two, El and Steph unfortunately have to dig into a massive WTF moment following last week’s news that U.S. president Donald Trump signed an executive order barring trans athletes from competing in women’s sports. El and Steph discuss what exactly an executive order does and the devastating impact this move will have on girls’ and women’s sports.