Hilary Knight is now the all-time points leader at the IIHF women’s World Championship after surpassing Canadian legend Hayley Wickenheiser during USA’s 12-1 quarterfinal win over Hungary.
In the second period of the contest, Knight tied Wickenheiser’s mark of 86 points assisting on a goal by Hannah Bilka. Then, the record-breaking point came at the three-minute mark of the third period as Bilka returned the favor, feeding a pass to Knight in the slot where Knight made no mistake, burying the goal, and securing her historic 87th point.
Hayley Wickenheiser appeared in 13 World Championship tournaments, playing 61 games for Canada. In that span, she collected seven gold and six silver medals. Wickenheiser, who retired in 2016, was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame and Hockey Hall of Fame in 2019.
Knight broke the record playing in her 64th career game and 12th World Championship. Knight was already the leading goal scorer in tournament history, adding her 51st career goal to break the points mark. She is currently the only active player in the top five in all-time goals and points. Next on the list of active players is injured American teammate Brianna Decker who has 68 points in her career.
Current teammate Kendall Coyne Schofield sits at 66 points following USA’s quarterfinal win where she recorded a pair of assists. If she can notch three more points, Coyne Schofield would join Knight in the top five all-time surpassing Decker, Caroline Ouelette and Danielle Goyette who all sit at 68 points.
Following the game, Knight was honored in a post-game ceremony including a video highlighting memorable moments from her career, and received a plaque from the IIHF.
Throughout her career, Hilary Knight has collected many accolades. Alongside 11 World Championship medals, Knight has four Olympic medals, including gold in 2018. She also has NWHL, CWHL, and NCAA titles on her impressive resume.
In total, Knight has played 88 games for Team USA at the Olympics and World Championship compiling 63 goals and 114 points in that span. At 33, Knight still has time left to expand her World Championship scoring lead. When her career ends, Knight will take her rightful spot alongside the legend she passed, Wickenheiser, in both Hall of Fames.
