With their 5-0 win over Sweden in the semifinal round, Team USA women’s hockey will go for a gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan.
Team USA’s win over Sweden was the latest in a string of utterly dominant wins during this tournament. The American women have not allowed a goal in 16 straight periods of play. The only goal scored against the Americans all tournament came all the way back in their opening game of the preliminaries, when Czechia’s Barbora Juříčková put one past Aerin Frankel in net.
Since then, the Americans have shut out each and every opponent they have faced at the Winter Games. They shut down Finland 5-0 last Saturday, blanked Switzerland 5-0 last Monday, locked the Canadians out 5-0 a week ago and knocked out the host country of Italy 6-0 in the quarterfinal game before their rout of the Swedes yesterday.
This is one of the most fun teams you can possibly watch at the Olympics. This American team has blended a group of longtime women’s stars with up-and-coming talent.
Sixteen players on the American team are currently in the Professional Women’s Hockey League. The PWHL, formed in 2023 after the collapse of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, has played a major role in growing the popularity of women’s hockey and stars in North America. The other seven members of the team currently play collegiately but likely have PWHL futures ahead of them if they choose.
The Americans have had tremendous success in net. Frankel, who was in net for Team USA in the semifinal shutout against Sweden, was also between the pipes during the Americans’ preliminary game against the Canadians. Against their neighbors to the north, she stopped all 20 shots she faced and figures to take the crease again as the Americans have gold in their sights.
But the team in front of her is playing just as well.
Up front, the team is led by captain Hilary Knight. At 36 years old, she is representing her country for the fifth straight time at the Winter Olympics — wearing stars and stripes since her first games in 2010 in Vancouver. Knight put her name on the scoresheet during all four of the preliminary games.
Other veteran players who have helped this roster include Kendall Coyne Schofield. Appearing in her fourth Olympic games, Coyne had a fairly quiet preliminary round but scored two goals in the quarterfinals over Italy to help send the U.S. ahead. Coyne was a member of the American team that topped Canada in a shootout to win gold at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang.
On the younger side, players like Abbey Murphy have had their stock explode during these Olympics. A 23 year old from Illinois, Murphy scored a goal and an assist during Team USA’s win over Finland and three assists in the win against the Canadians. Murphy is an elite mixture of skilled vision and lethal shooting, making her a nightmare for opposing defenses and goaltenders.
On the back end, the Americans also have a host of talent, including Laila Edwards. The first Black woman to suit up for the American hockey program at the Olympics, Edwards is surging in this tournament. She led the Americans in ice time during the win over the Swiss, and has picked up at least one point in all but one game Team USA has played so far.
Also helping on the blue line is Caroline Harvey. A left-shot out of the University of Wisconsin, Harvey has made major strides in her game. She has nine points during this tournament, including tying for the team-leading three during their win over Canada, in addition to her defensive work.
Four years ago, at the Winter Games in Beijing, Harvey played the least of any member of the team. Even though she was the youngest player on the team in Beijing — she wasn’t even in college yet — that took a toll on her confidence. Four years later, the Olympics are having the opposite effect.
It all leads to a gold medal game and a rematch against Canada. Despite the 5-0 decision during the preliminaries, the Canadians are far from an easy task, especially when a medal is on the line.
Canada, led by national icon, captain and five-time Olympian Marie Philip-Poulin, the Canadian team will look to avenge their preliminary loss to the Americans. A Canadian team led by Poulin knows very well how to knock off the U.S. in medal games over the years, handing a silver medal to the Americans during the 2010, 2014 and 2022 games.
But recently, it’s the U.S. who seems to have a serious edge in women’s hockey. During the four-game Rivalry Series between these two countries in November and December, the Americans outscored the Canadians 29-7, winning three of those four games by at least five goals.
That dominance continued in the Olympics, where Canada couldn’t put up any of a better score against Team USA than Switzerland or Finland did. That’s concerning for the red and white.
The American women will look to take advantage of a Canadian team that hasn’t looked as confident or put together as they once did.
The women’s gold medal game drops the puck at 3:10 p.m. ET on Thursday on the USA Network and Peacock.
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