Women's Olympic Ice Hockey
2026 Winter
Olympics
LIVE
3m ago
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The U.S. women’s hockey team has beaten Czech Republic 5-1 in its opening game at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
Alex Carpenter, Joy Dunne, Hayley Scamurra (2x) and Hilary Knight scored for the Americans, while Barbora Jurickova did so for the Czechs.
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Nobody should need extra reasons to watch the women’s hockey tournament at the Olympics. High stakes, incredible talent and one of the very best rivalries in sports speak for themselves. That’s been true since 1998. The 2026 Winter Games in Milan, though, bring a welcome new wrinkle; it’s the first tournament to be played since the advent of the Professional Women’s Hockey League.
GO FURTHER
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.
Forwards
Defenders
Goalies
The Milan Cortina Games marks the eighth Winter Olympics to feature women's hockey. You'll notice a pattern looking at the previous results…
(Gold – Silver – Bronze)
The 10 teams are divided into two groups, with each team playing every team in their group once. The groups are purposefully unbalanced, with the five highest-ranked teams — Canada, the United States, the Czech Republic, Finland and Switzerland — all in Group A. Group B consists of Sweden, Japan, Germany, France and Italy.
This structure exists to create more competitive games in group play, given the significant talent gap between the favorites (especially Canada and the United States) and the rest of the field. All teams in Group A advance to the quarterfinals, with their ranking in group play determining their seed. The top three teams in Group B join them; the bottom two are eliminated.
There are no ties in Olympic hockey. Non-medal games proceed to a shootout if no team scores during one period of 3-on-3 sudden-death overtime. Wins in regulation are worth three points; wins in overtime are worth two points and losses in overtime are worth one point.
In their respective groups, teams are ranked by total points, with head-to-head results breaking two-way ties.
Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena
Also known as Fiera Milano, this complex was opened in 2005. Typically used as a trade fair and exhibition complex, parts of it will host ice hockey and speed skating during the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Who are you rooting for at the Olympics? What events are you most excited to see? And which country will take the gold medal in women's hockey?
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Today's women's hockey game between the United States and Czech Republic at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics will air on USA Network and stream on Peacock for those in the U.S.
Today's women's hockey game between the United States and Czech Republic at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics is scheduled for 4:40 p.m. CET local time in Milan. That's 10:40 a.m. ET and 7:40 a.m. PT in the U.S.
Hello and welcome along to our live coverage of today's women's hockey game at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics between the United States and Czech Republic.
The opening ceremony of the Games isn't until tomorrow but the hockey action on the ice begins today. The United States is a contender for the gold medal here and has an opportunity to lay down an early marker in this game.
Stay with us as we build up to today's game!