As the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina have ended many stars had the opportunity to show off their talents in hopes to win gold for their country. In the early stages of the games there was a team that definitely stood out: the USA Women’s Hockey Team.
Historically, the Women’s Team has been a strong competitor on the ice. Despite that, they have always had Team Canada standing in the way of them winning gold. In the last Olympic Games Team USA was able to make their way to the Gold Medal game, but Canada wasn’t backing down. They lost 3-2 taking home silver. That loss crushed their hopes of having back to back golds from the win against Canada in 2018. Now, they have a new opportunity for redemption, and the players didn’t want a repeat. Especially since many players from the 2022 team are making a reappearance this year; specifically, America’s Hillary Knight who wanted to lead her team to Gold as the Captain and veteran olympian. She has experienced winning gold in 2018 PyeongChang and then later losing it. That’s why she and her team came back with vengeance.
Before the Olympic Games even started, Team USA has been working on their Gold Medal dreams. Back in April 2025 the team worked their way to having an undefeated tournament and getting the win against Canada in overtime during the International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World Championship. This win didn’t only show how dominant they are on the world stage, but also gave an idea of the possible outcome of the 2026 Olympics. This is because out of the 25 player team, 22 of the women would be making a reappearance in the later Winter Olympics.
However, winning a world championship is just the beginning for their Olympic Gold journey. Throughout the tournament the hockey team dominated the competition. During the six round tournament leading up to the Gold Medal game, Team USA only let one goal get past during their game against Czechia; they later won five or even six goals to nothing against teams like Sweden, bronze medalist Switzerland, and even Canada. After the phenomenal success from the team, hopes were high and so were expectations. Like so many Olympics before Milano-Cortina, the rival teams USA and Canada would face off once more.
At first it seemed like their dreams were slipping away; they trailed the Canadians 1-0 throughout the entirety of the match, a bitter reminder of previous Gold Medal Games. That was up until Hillary Knight made the game tying goal in the 3rd and final period with minutes left. She was living up to her Captain title as she pushed the match into overtime. This was devastating for the Canadian team since they were ready to take home the gold however they weren’t ready to give it all up now. Overtime was neck and neck and neck with both teams going back and forth. That was until Megan Keller made the final goal for Team USA. The women were able to bring back gold after it seemed like a repeat of the 2022 Olympics. This historic team played until the final moments, and made history as one of the most dominating teams in the 2026 Winter Olympics.