The women's hockey world championship is back where it belongs

This is an excerpt from The Buzzer, which is CBC Sports' daily email newsletter. Stay up to speed on what's happening in sports by subscribing here.

After being cancelled in 2020, played in a bubble in 2021 and moved to the summer again last year, the women's world hockey championship is finally returning to a normal time and place. The tournament is back in its traditional early spring slot and will be played in front of hockey-loving crowds in Brampton, Ont., starting Wednesday.

Here are a few things to know about the tournament:

Canada rules women's hockey once again.

But the balance of power has shifted back toward Canada, which reclaimed the world title in 2021 in a Calgary bubble and retained it last summer in Denmark. A few months earlier, Canada reclaimed the Olympic gold medal by defeating the Americans in the final in Beijing. Throw in the Canadians' dramatic comeback from down three games to none to win this season's best-of-seven Rivalry Series and it's clear: they are the undisputed queens of international women's hockey right now.

Expect another Canada-U.S. showdown for gold.

The cross-border archrivals have met in 20 of the 21 women's world championship finals, and no other country has ever won one. They've all but monopolized the Olympics too, squaring off in six of the seven women's finals and winning all of the gold medals.

The only time another nation really came close to stealing a major championship came at the 2019 worlds in Finland. With goalie Noora Räty playing out of her mind, the hosts upset Canada in the semis, then appeared to score the overtime winner in the final vs. the United States. But a lengthy video review resulted in the goal being overturned for netminder interference, and