The United States women’s hockey team delivered an emphatic statement in the Olympic preliminary round Tuesday– one that bodes well for their gold medal hopes.
After sweeping all four games against Canada in the 2025 Rivalry Series this fall, the Americans carried that dominance into 2026. Team USA routed Canada 5-0 in Milan-Cortina, marking their widest margin of victory over their archrival in Olympic hockey, men’s or women’s.
With the win, USA clinched the top seed in the quarterfinals, completing a perfect 4-0-0-0 run against Group A opponents.
Aerin Frankel became the first goalie to shut out the Canadian women in the Olympics. The Boston Fleet star made 20 saves for her second shutout in three games, and third overall in these game’s for the United States. Canada played without captain Marie-Philip-Poulin, who sustained a lower-body injury during a preliminary matchup Monday against Czechia.
In a familiar formula for the Americans, their young talent led the way. Hannah Bilka scored twice, and Caroline Harvey and Abbey Murphy each tallied three points
Harvey opened the scoring at 3:45 of the first period. The University of Wisconsin defender skated in from the blue line and flicked a shot on net. Canada goalie Ann-Renée Desbiens got part of her left pad on Harvey’s attempt, but could not prevent the puck from crossing the goal line.
Harvey and Murphy then helped Bilka tally her first of the day at 17:18 of the opening frame.
After a dump-in from Harvey, Murphy retrieved the puck in the corner, drawing the attention of both Canadian defenders. The overcommitment on the backend left Bilka all alone in the slot. Murphy spun to her right and sent a blind backhand pass perfectly onto Bilka’s tape, setting up the 24-year-old for an easy score.
The two early strikes left an already short-handed Canadian squad trailing 2-0 after 20 minutes.
“They’re our rivals. They give us their best game always,” Harvey said at the first intermission. “So if we can get the edge early, it’s really great for us.”
That early edge snowballed into 60 minutes of dominance by the Americans.
An interference penalty on Canada’s Sarah Fillier in the opening minute of the second period helped USA extend the lead to 3-0. Murphy not only drew the penalty on Fillier, but then notched a secondary assist on the ensuing power play. Wisconsin senior Kirsten Simms finished off a chaotic sequence, crowding Desbiens in the crease and jamming in a loose puck at 1:18 of the second.
Murphy and Harvey both reached the three-assist mark at 13:00 of the second. After a good defensive play along the wall, Harvey sent a soft flip ahead to Murphy, who skated it down to the goal line, stopped, and found Bilka at the left dot. The Seattle Torrent forward quickly fired a wrister into the top right corner of the net for her second of the day, and her third goal overall in these Winter Games.
Wisconsin defender Laila Edwards provided the fifth and final tally at 11:53 of the third period, skating in off the rush and depositing a snipe over Desbien’s blocker. With her first Olympic goal, Edwards became the first black woman to score a goal for the United States in the Olympics. She was one of two skaters who scored their first Olympic goal Tuesday, joining Simms.
The eye test reflected the final score. USA outshot Canada 33-20, received five power plays to Canada’s two, and controlled puck possession and offensive zone time.
“They’re our rivals for a reason, and we love playing them,” Harvey said during the game.
Recent history suggests that the Americans have another reason to enjoy playing their rivals up north. The victory Tuesday marks the seventh consecutive win for USA women’s hockey over Canada at the international stage. USA defeated Canada twice in the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship — which featured a 4-3 overtime win in the gold medal game — and won all four games of the 2025 Rivalry Series.
“It just feels good to put one on the board against our biggest rival,” Bilka said.
USA faces No. 8 Italy in the Olympic quarterfinals. Canada can lock up the No. 2 seed with a win over Finland on Thursday.
Takeaways after U.S. women lock up No. 1 seed in dominant win over Canada
The kids are alright
There isn’t a team at the Olympic level with better young talent than the Americans. USA got 11 of its 13 points Tuesday from skaters 24 years or younger; Britta Curl-Salemme (25) and Hilary Knight (36) each picked up an assist in the win. Three goals and more than half of those points (nine) came from skaters who play at the collegiate level.
Harvey, Murphy, and Bilka were the clear standouts thanks to some loud point production; the pugnacious Murphy also drew four of Canada’s five penalties.
For this young core, that success isn’t exclusive to Tuesday.
After back-to-back three-point efforts, Harvey has seven points (two goals, five assists) in four games — tied for the 2026 Olympic lead with Germany’s Laura Kluge. Harvey’s plus-10 rating paces all Olympic skaters, and her D-partner, Fleet rookie Haley Winn, isn’t far behind at plus-eight.
Murphy is tied with Knight and Alex Carpenter for second in team scoring at five points (one goal, four assists). A few other young talents — Bilka, Ohio State junior Joy Dunne, Edwards, and Penn State senior Tessa Janecke — litter the Top 10 of USA’s scoring leaders. It’s been a collective effort, and it’s given the Americans a decisive edge over their opponents.
Compare that to Canada, which has no college talent on the roster, no player younger than third-string goalie Kayle Osborne (23), and no skater younger than Vancouver Goldeneyes forward Jenn Gardiner (24). Perhaps it’s no surprise the Canadians have looked a step slow against USA over the past year of competition.
Poulin asterisk?
Poulin’s absence cannot go unnoticed. Canada listed “Captain Clutch” as day to day, but the Montreal Victoire star was held out of the lineup Tuesday.
Perhaps that’s simply out of precaution. As a Group A team, Canada is already guaranteed to advance to the Olympic quarterfinals. Seeding is not irrelevant, but it’s secondary to the health of a game-changer like Poulin.
It can be argued that Poulin’s injury puts an asterisk on USA’s impressive win. After all, the absence of the greatest women’s hockey player of all time — not to mention the women’s leader in game-winning Olympic goals — certainly changed the complexion of the game.
Fillier and Daryl Watts are talented playmakers at even strength, but it was evident that Canada struggled to enjoy the same offensive success without Poulin in the lineup. Her presence alone poses a far more daunting task for the Americans on defense.
A healthy Poulin may have helped the Canadians break through on the score sheet, but it’s unlikely that it would’ve altered the final outcome. Canada’s faced issues that even a Poulin-sized star can’t solve.
Canada’s blue line failed to make life difficult for a talented USA group that doesn’t need much help on the offensive end to begin with. 37-year-old Jocelyne Larocque logged 21:53 TOI on Tuesday and was minus-two. Even with Canada outscoring opponents 9-1 in their previous two Olympic contests, Larocque trails all Canadian skaters with a minus-two rating in three games.
Even worse, Team Canada looked completely overmatched by USA’s speed and skill. Poulin can shoulder the offense, but she can’t absolve all of Canada’s roster construction issues.
Canada should feel better about their chances with a healthy Poulin in the lineup, but they’ll need a vastly improved team effort to have a chance at toppling the Americans.
USA has makings of ‘special team’
Through four Olympic contests against Group A teams, USA outscored opponents 20-1. Simply put, it’s been utter domination.
“Everybody in that room is doing their job, and I think they’re doing it to the best of their ability,” Bilka said. “It’s really hard to play against — I think that’s what our style of play is. It’s just incredible that really anybody on the ice can score. It’s a really special team.”
That sentiment seems to be shared by the veteran players in the group as well.
“I’ve been on a lot of U.S. teams in my career,” said Kendall Coyne Schofield, who has earned three Olympic medals with Team USA. “They’re all pretty deep. This one’s definitely special.”
Coyne Schofield helped the Americans claim gold at the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang, marking the nation’s second gold medal all-time in women’s hockey and first since 1998. This year’s group has its sights set on the same feat, and they’ve got the talent to do it.
USA has a strong case for the best forward group and defensive corps at the 2026 Winter Games, and they boast two world-class goalies in Frankel and Gwyneth Philips.
“We have one of the best goalies in the world back there, so it feels like any time we make a mistake, she’s saving us,” Bilka lauded. “It’s a really incredible team.”
Yet all of their preliminary round success could be easily diminished if USA falters in the Olympic play-offs.
“We’re happy with what’s happened so far, but after this, we reset,” Harvey stated. “It’s playoff time.”
Quarterfinal play begins Friday.
