• Bilka and Edwards score twice each in American rout

• Canada open with 5-1 win over Sweden as Eldridge shines

• Jersey dispute overshadows tournament’s Danish debut

The United States opened their defense of the women’s ice hockey world championship with a 7-0 victory over Switzerland on Friday in Esbjerg, Denmark.

Hannah Bilka and Laila Edwards scored twice each, while Kirsten Simms, Hilary Knight and Casey O’Brien also found the net as the Americans pulled away after a competitive opening period. Caroline Harvey contributed three assists.

A shared joy of the sport has united Canada for much of its history. But it’s becoming increasingly difficult – and expensive – to watch games on television

The Oilers lost to the Detroit Red Wings on 26 October, but Edmonton captain Connor McDavid got an assist anyway. He’s been doing that a lot lately. Just 16 games into the year, McDavid has 31 assists. It’s the fastest anyone has ever hit that milestone in any NHL season. But on that night in late October, many fans in Edmonton were unable to see McDavid’s feats – including patrons of a local bar – because it was one of nine Oilers games this season that are only available via a subscription to a premium streaming service.

It’s the same story in every Canadian NHL city, thanks to changes to broadcasts that have meant that a handful of games for each team are now only available with a C$12.99 per month subscription to Sportsnet+, a streaming channel owned by Canadian telecom juggernaut – and owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs – Rogers Communications Inc. But it’s not just Sportsnet+. The NHL also expanded its broadcast deal with Amazon, so when, two nights after the game against Detroit, the Oilers played their provincial rival, the Calgary Flames, only Amazon Prime subscribers could watch (true to form, McDavid got two assists in that one).

• Winnipeg had been on nine-game losing streak

• Comeback on Tuesday night breaks NHL record

The Winnipeg Jets had every reason to stop believing. They were down four goals in the third period, less than three minutes from a 10th straight defeat, in their fifth game in eight nights. Their coach was on the hot seat. Their season had been rocked from the start when former MVP goalie Connor Hellebuyck asked for a trade.

The Bell Centre was roaring and a Montreal Canadiens win looked certain, but Kyle Connor still had faith.

Norway, Denmark, and Sweden said on Tuesday they will not play Russia at the 2027 men’s World Championship in Germany, citing safety and geopolitics. Their decision came days after a sports court cleared their return to international competition, according to Reuters.

Last week the Court of Arbitration for Sport allowed Russia back into International Ice Hockey Federation competition, overturning the suspension imposed after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

It is the latest in a run of reversals across sport this year, among them the International Olympic Committee’s reinstatement of Russia’s Olympic committee in July, which drew EU calls to strip the body of its funding.

Ukraine has condemned the decision, noting that Russia has killed more than 760 Ukrainian athletes and coaches since 2022.

The teams that won’t take the ice

“Norway will, based on the current situation and the information available to us today, not play against Russia at the World Championship in Germany in May 2027,” the Norwegian Ice Hockey Federation said.

Its other group games will go ahead as scheduled.

“Our position that Russia should be excluded from all international championships as long as the war in Ukraine continues remains unchanged,” the federation added.

Meanwhile, Sweden said its team would do the same, and that the decision had been coordinated.

“Our stance remains firm, and together with several other countries, we were in agreement that we would announce this decision jointly,” said Anders Larsson, chair of the Swedish Ice Hockey Association.

Denmark put it more bluntly.

“For the sake of the integrity of ice hockey, we cannot see ourselves playing against Russia as things stand,” said Henrik Bach Nielsen, chair of the Danish Ice Hockey Union.

All three said their other matches at the tournament would go ahead, and all three named player safety, including potential threats to their squads and coaching staff, as a core reason.

Cities and sponsors join in

The pushback reaches beyond the locker room. Finland’s ice hockey association, which said on Monday it would use every available means to keep Russia out, has led the charge, and officials in the Finnish city of Turku warned they would give up hosting the 2028 World Junior Championship if Russia takes part.

Sponsors are pulling out too: AJ Products, a Swedish furniture firm that has backed the men’s World Championship since 1989, announced it would withdraw from next year’s tournament over Russia’s participation. Finland’s Nokian Tyres said it would end its own sponsorship of the 2027 event on the same grounds. The 90th World Championship is set for 13 to 30 May in the German cities of Düsseldorf, Gelsenkirchen, and Mannheim.