The Mississauga Chiefs Senior AAA team was founded in 1993. Like any new team joining an established league, their first season was very interesting and challenging. When the season was over, the Chiefs had played .500 hockey and were National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) playoff finalists. By all accounts, a very respectable start.

Year two was even better. By Christmas, the Chiefs' record was 13-2-3 and they were one point behind the first place team. It was a battle, but the Chiefs overcame their arch rivals, the Aeros, in an overtime game to become Ontario champions and to win a place at the Canadian Nationals. It was overtime that got the Chiefs to the nationals and overtime that stopped them from advancing to the championship round as Quebec had defeated them in the quarter finals. When it was over, the disappointed Chiefs settled with fourth place. That year, the Chiefs also won the NWHL league championships - in all a very successful year.

Years three and four were frustrating for the Chiefs; no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't seem to push themselves out of third place. During their fifth year (last season), the Chiefs placed second in the NWHL and suffered a disappointing overtime loss to the North York Aeros in the championship game at the Ontario Senior AAA Provincial Championship.

The Chiefs enter the 1998-99 season with the return of their original head coach, Rick Osborne, after a year of absence from the team. Only captain Carol Cooper, Liz Duval, and Jenny Pettersen remain from the original 1993 Chiefs. Relying on the expertise of Rick Osborne, Bruce Rose and Bill Campbell and dedication and hard work of both players and staff, the Chiefs expect to move up in the NWHL standings and take another crack at the Canadian championships.

The Chiefs' home games are played at Icelands Arena on Mathewson Road in Mississauga. Visit our web page at whockey.com/team/chiefs/. The Mississauga Chiefs Senior AAA team is a member of the Mississauga Girls' Hockey League. The MGHL has been in existence since 1967 and has been a leader in female hockey in Canada. Dedicated to the advancement of female hockey, it runs a house league program of 22 teams and a rep program that includes teams from Tyke to Senior AAA. The MGHL gives financial support, moral support and provides a natural fan base to the Chiefs.

Welcome to the NHL of female ice hockey. The National Women's Hockey League is host to the highest level of play of female hockey in Ontario. The exact anniversary date of the National Women's Hockey League is not known, but it is fact that it has been in existence for at least thirty years. It was originally called the Central Ontario Women's Hockey League (COWHL). The original teams included Don Mills, Lambton, Canadettes (Brampton) and Burlington. There have been as few as three teams and as many as nine in any given season. For the most part, strength in the league has come in waves. In the late seventies and early eighties, Agincourt Canadians dominated. Hamilton Golden Hawks reigned in the mid-to-late eighties and the North York Aeros (formerly the Toronto Aeros) picked up where Hamilton left off and have been provincial champions every year with the exception of 1994/95 when the Mississauga Chiefs won the provincial title.

The league is and has always been the only one in this province at the AAA (formerly A and AA) level. The numbers and the names of the member teams have changed over the years, but the major focus has been with teams in the Toronto area. This is year there are eight teams registered in the NWHL. In the Western Division are the Beatrice Aeros, Brampton Thunder, Durham Lightning, Mississauga Chiefs, and Scarborough Sting and in the Eastern Division are the NCCP Raiders, Sainte Julie Panthers, Laval Le Mistral, and Wingstar Bonaventure.

The NWHL has always been a major drawing base for both provincial and national teams. Since the first national tournament in 1981/82, Team Ontario has been represented by the winner of the Provincial AAA Championship Tournament. Ontario has captured six gold, four silver and three bronze medals in the 16 tournaments held to date.

Since the introduction of the World Championships in 1990, the NWHL has been well represented on Team Canada. The figure is close to 40 percent. Team Canada has brought home the gold medal from all four World Championships to date: 1990 in Ottawa, 1992 in Finland, 1994 in Lake Placid USA, and 1997 in Kitchener.

The dream has been realized -- women's hockey is now in the Winter Olympics! Many players in the NWHL brought that dream to fruition. Team Canada claimed the silver medal at the first-ever Olympics in Japan in 1998.

For up-to-date information and statistics, visit the NWHL web page at whockey.com/nwhl.