The first prime-time game of this year’s women’s hockey world championship, which begins March 31 in Michigan, will pit the United States against its archrival Canada, two teams that have met in every single world championship final. It promises to be fierce and electric, as virtually all their meetings are. But you know what would make it especially great?
If the United States women actually play in it.
On Wednesday morning, the American team — an experienced group that includes world champions and Olympic medalists — announced that it would boycott the event because its negotiations with USA Hockey about pay and equitable support had gotten nowhere in more than a year.