The third jersey to be worn by the Canadian women’s hockey team in the world championship in Ottawa will contribute to a campaign against cancer.

OTTAWA — It will still say “Canada” on the front, but there will be a vastly different look when the national women’s hockey team plays its first game of the world championship tournament in Ottawa.

Predominantly black sweaters with yellow and white trim were unveiled Wednesday in Ottawa, and they will be on display again for all to see when the Canadians take on their archrivals from the United States in the marquee matchup on April 2, the opening day of the tournament.

“We have worn third jerseys before, but this is the first time that it will transcend hockey and just wearing a Hockey Canada jersey,” said Jayna Hefford, a longtime national team member who joined teammates Meghan Agosta-Marciano, Gillian Apps and Tessa Bonhomme for the launch in a sports store at Place d’Orléans.

Billed as the Livestrong Team Canada jersey, the sweater is part of a “Fight With Us” campaign involving corporate partners Nike and Sport Chek. The campaign is to support the Canadian women’s hockey team and the Livestrong Foundation dedicated to supporting people affected by cancer.

The limited-edition sweater and other Livestrong apparel are available at Sport Chek and Sports Expert locations across Canada.

“It still has the Canadian logo, but it means just a little bit extra, and we are sort of rallying around all those people we want to play for that night,” said Hefford, who has played for the national team since 1996.

The roster for the Canadian team that in Ottawa will defend the world championship it claimed last April in Vermont — defeating the U.S. in overtime in the final — is expected to be released on March 18.

The team is to hold a pretournament camp starting on March 25, with a tune-up game against Sweden at Pembroke on March 30.

The eight teams in the championship have been split into two pools of four.

The Canadians are in Pool A with Switzerland, the U.S. and Finland, and all round-robin games for that group will be at Scotiabank Place.

Russia, Germany, Sweden and the Czech Republic are in Pool B, with round-robin games at the Nepean Sportsplex.

The top two teams from Pool B will join the Pool A teams for playoff games starting April 6 and ending with the gold-medal game on April 9. The bottom two teams in Pool B will face off to avoid relegation.

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