It's about that time again.
No, I'm not talking about reindeer decorations and shopping countdowns. I'm talking about something much better -- the 4 Nations Cup, an annual tournament gathering some of the premier players in each of the four countries participating: Sweden, Finland, Canada, and the United States.
A bit of background before we begin on this year -- 19 years ago, in 1996 (!) three of the top nations in women's hockey got together to hold a tournament to see who would be the best among them, aptly dubbed the 3 Nations Cup. Canada took four of the first five gold medals in the tournament.