Women's Olympic Ice Hockey
2026 Olympic
Hockey
Team USA captain Hilary Knight heads to Milan for her fifth Winter Olympics. Leila Devlin / Getty Images
The Athletic has live coverage of the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Team USA has medaled in every Olympic women’s tournament since the sport debuted in 1998, winning gold in 1998 and 2018, silver in 2002, 2010, 2014 and 2022, and bronze in 2006. After sweeping Canada at the 2025 Rivalry Series, the U.S. women’s hockey team is the favorite to take home gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
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The tournament begins Feb. 5. Team USA opens against Czechia and plays Canada on Feb. 10 to close the preliminary round, with the final scheduled for Feb. 19. Here’s how to make sure you don’t miss the action.
Stay updated on the Winter Games with The Athletic’s Olympic schedule interactive page and Games Briefing, a daily Olympics newsletter.
The U.S. bench has Olympic miles: 11 players return from the 2022 Games. Captain Hilary Knight heads to her fifth Olympics, still serving as the primary offensive driver. Kendall Coyne Schofield maintains elite speed in her fourth Olympic appearance. Alex Carpenter, named best forward at the 2024 IIHF Women’s World Championship, scores when it matters and earned a few nods in The Athletic’s PWHL player poll as the league’s most underrated player.
That foundation is built on a blue line that operates like a one-two punch. Cayla Barnes serves as the long-tenured stabilizer, while Caroline Harvey operates as the modern puck-moving driver capable of converting a clean retrieval into an odd-man rush with a single pass.
When you factor in Megan Keller and Lee Stecklein for veteran bite and structure, the defense becomes more than the sum of its parts; it becomes the bedrock of how Team USA plays. Aerin Frankel, making her Olympic debut, will anchor the defense in net.
Keep an eye on the next generation, too. Two-time PWHL champ Taylor Heise’s speed forces turnovers. Tessa Janecke cuts razor-sharp angles. Laila Edwards, a former forward who seamlessly transitioned to defense in 2025, will make U.S. Olympic women’s hockey history as the first Black woman to wear the crest at the Games.
Edwards, whom her teammates nicknamed the “Queen of Cleveland,” has received tremendous support from her hometown. Fellow Cleveland Heights natives Jason and Travis Kelce even donated to a GoFundMe to help send her family to Milan for the Olympics, Edwards told People Magazine.
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The U.S. is coming in with confidence and high expectations, but the Games have thin margins and a bracket with little room for error. Canada remains the threat. Ranked No. 2 by the International Ice Hockey Federation, it won gold in 2022 and returns 16 medalists from that roster. The Feb. 10 matchup is a seeding landmine.
All five teams in Group A advance, but seeding shapes the quarterfinal bracket. A loss to Canada could drop the U.S. into a much harder first elimination game.
All times below are ET. Listings are subject to change.
Thursday, Feb. 5
The game will re-air on USA at 5:30 p.m. Thursday and 10:30 a.m. Friday.
Saturday, Feb. 7
The game will re-air on USA at 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. Saturday.
Monday, Feb. 9
The game will re-air on USA at 11 p.m. Monday.
Tuesday, Feb. 10
The game will re-air on USA at 11 p.m. Tuesday.
Friday, Feb. 13
The games will re-air on USA at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. Friday.
Saturday, Feb. 14
Monday, Feb. 16
The games will re-air on USA at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Monday, and at midnight Tuesday.
Thursday, Feb. 19
The bronze-medal game will re-air on USA at noon and 10 p.m. Thursday. The gold-medal game will re-air on USA at 11 p.m. Thursday.
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