OTTAWA, Ont. – A week from the start of the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship, Canada’s National Women’s Team and the U.S. Women’s National Team will face off on March 31 at the Ottawa Civic Centre (7:30 p.m. ET), just over one year before the 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship comes to the nation’s capital.

Individual tickets for the March 31 game start at just $19.50 plus applicable fees, and are available by clicking HERE or calling 613-599-FANS (3267). The pre-competition match-up between the top two women’s hockey teams in the world will serve as a warm-up for the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship, taking place April 7-14 in Burlington, Vt., and will be broadcast live on Rogers TV in both Ottawa and Toronto, as well as online through FASTHockey at www.hockeycanada.fasthockey.com.

The last time an Ottawa arena hosted Canada’s National Women’s Team was , when 16,347 fans filled the stands, breaking a women’s hockey game attendance record, and watched Canada edge the United States 3-2 in a shootout. Hockey Canada, the Ontario Women’s Hockey Association and Senators Sports and Entertainment, will also host the 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship in the nation’s capital next April 2-9 at SBP Arena, home of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators, and the Nepean Sportsplex.

Fans who purchase a ticket package for next year’s world championship now will also receive a ticket to Saturday’s pre-competition game for free. Ticket packages for the 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship in Ottawa range between $184 and $289 each, and include tickets for 12 games at SBP Arena next April. They are also available for purchase by clicking HERE, or by calling 613-599-FANS (3267).

Saturday’s match-up between Canada and the United States is the final game of Canada’s National Women’s Team selection camp, which kicked off in the nation’s capital Monday, March 26. The 28-player camp roster features three goaltenders, nine defencemen and 16 forwards, including 18 returnees from the Canadian contingent that claimed silver at the 2011 IIHF World Women’s Championship in Winterthur and Zurich, Switzerland, last April.

On Sunday, April 1, Canada’s National Women’s Team head coach Dan Church (Toronto, Ont./York University, CIS), assistant coaches Doug Derraugh (Arnprior, Ont./Cornell University, ECAC) and Danielle Goyette (St-Nazaire, Que./University of Calgary, CIS), along with head scout of national women’s team programs Melody Davidson, will select 23 players for the final roster that will compete at the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship. Canada’s National Women’s Team will also hold a pre-competition camp April 1-6 in Jay Peak, Vt.

The puck drops on Canada’s opening game at the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship, also against the United States, at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 7. TSN and RDS, Hockey Canada’s official broadcasters, will air all of Canada’s games, including preliminary games against Finland at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 8 and Russia at 3 p.m. ET on Tuesday, April 10. The semifinals are scheduled for Friday, April 13 and medal matchups take place Saturday, April 14. Check your local listings for broadcast times in your area.

Canada has faced the United States in every gold medal game at the IIHF World Women’s Championship, winning nine gold medals (1990, 1992, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, and 2007) and four silver (2005, 2008, 20). The Canada-U.S. rivalry also includes three Olympic gold medal games, with Canada winning two gold medals (2002, 2010) and one silver (1998). The 2013 world championship will mark the sixth time Canada has hosted the tournament, joining 1990 in Ottawa, 1997 in Kitchener, Ont., 2000 in Mississauga, Ont., 2004 in Halifax, N.S., and 2007 in Winnipeg, Man.

NOTE TO MEDIA: Kristen Lipscombe, Hockey Canada’s coordinator of communications, will be on site with Canada’s National Women’s Team in Ottawa, Jay Peak and Burlington. Please contact her for interview requests at [email protected] or (403) 826-4819.

For more information on the 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship, please follow www.Twitter.com/HC_WWHC, become a fan at www.Facebook.com/WorldWomens and visit www.HockeyCanada.ca/2013Ottawa.

To stay up-to-date on Canada’s National Women’s Team at the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship this April in Burlington, please follow Team Canada at www.Twitter.com/HC_TeamCanada, become a fan of Hockey Canada at www.Facebook.com/HockeyCanada and visit www.HockeyCanada.ca/NWT.