The United States women’s hockey team made an emphatic statement in the Olympic preliminary round on Tuesday — which bodes well for their gold medal hopes.
After winning all four games against Canada in the 2025 rivalry series this fall, the Americans continued that dominance into 2026. Team USA defeated Canada 5–0 in Milan–Cortina, the largest margin of victory over its opponent in Olympic hockey, men’s or women’s.
With the win, the USA secured the top seed in the quarterfinals, completing a perfect 4-0-0-0 run against Group A opponents.
Erin Frankel became the first goalkeeper to shut out the Canadian women at the Olympics. The Boston Fleet star made 20 saves for his second shutout in three games, and third overall in these games for the United States. Canada played without captain Marie-Philippe-Paulin, who suffered a lower-body injury during Monday’s preliminary match against Czechia.
In a formula familiar to Americans, their young talent led the way. Hannah Bilka scored twice, and Caroline Harvey and Abby Murphy each had 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 hit a shot on net. Harvey’s attempt found Canadian goaltender Ann-Reneé Desbiens with part of her left pad, but could not stop the puck from crossing the goal line.
Harvey and Murphy then helped Bilka score her first of the day at 17:18 of the opening frame.
After a dump-in from Harvey, Murphy recovered the puck in the corner, drawing the attention of both Canadian defenders. Due to overcommitment on the backend, Bilka was left all alone in the slot. Murphy spun to her right and sent a blind backhand pass to Bilka’s tape, giving the 24-year-old an easy score.
The Canadian team, already weakened by two early strikes, was down 2–0 after 20 minutes.
“They’re our rivals. They always give us their best game,” Harvey said during the first intermission. “So if we can get the lead early, that’s really great for us.”
The early lead translated into 60 minutes of dominance for the Americans.
An interference penalty on Canada’s Sarah Fillear in the opening minute of the second period helped give the USA a 3–0 lead. Murphy not only drew a penalty on Fielder, but also picked up a secondary assist on the ensuing power play. Wisconsin senior Kirsten Sims ended a chaotic sequence, crowding Desbiens into 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 nice defensive play along the wall, Harvey sent a soft flip forward to Murphy, who skated it to the goal line, stopped, and found Bilka at the left point. The Seattle Torrent forward fired a wrist shot into the top right corner of the net for his second goal of the day and his third goal overall at these Winter Games.
Wisconsin defender Layla Edwards provided the fifth and final tally at 11:53 of the third period, skating through the crowd and depositing a snip over Desbien’s blocker. With her first Olympic goal, Edwards became the first Black woman to score a goal for the United States at the Olympics. She was one of two skaters who scored their first Olympic goals on Tuesday, joining Sims.
The eye test showed the final score. The USA outshot Canada 33–20, getting five power plays to Canada’s two, and controlling puck possession and offensive zone time.
“They’re our rival for a reason, and we love playing with them,” Harvey said during the game.
Recent history suggests that Americans have another reason to enjoy playing their rivals to the North. Tuesday’s win marks USA women’s hockey’s seventh consecutive win over Canada at the international level. The USA defeated Canada twice at the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship – including a 4–3 overtime win in the gold medal game – and won all four games of the 2025 Rivalry Series.
“It feels good to get on the board against our biggest rival,” Bilka said.
The USA will face No. 8 Italy in the Olympic quarterfinals. Canada can lock up the No. 2 seed with a win over Finland on Thursday.
Conclusion after US women clinch No. 1 seed in dominant win over Canada
the kids are fine
There is no team with better young talent at the Olympic level than the Americans. The USA got 11 of its 13 points Tuesday from skaters 24 and younger; Britta Curl-Salem (25) and Hilary Knight (36) provided assists 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 due to some strong point production; The aggressive Murphy also took four of Canada’s five penalties.
For this young core, the success isn’t just limited to Tuesday.
After consecutive three-point attempts, Harvey has seven points (two goals, five assists) in four games – tied with Germany’s Laura Kluge for the 2026 Olympics lead. Harvey’s plus-10 rating leads all Olympic skaters, and her D-partner, Fleet rookie Haley Winn, is not far behind at plus-eight.
Murphy is tied with Knight and Alex Carpenter for second on the team in points (one goal, four assists) with five. Some other young talents – Bilka, Ohio State junior Joey Dunn, Edwards, and Penn State senior Tessa Jenneke – are among the United States’ top 10 scoring leaders. It has been a collective effort and has given the Americans a decisive advantage over their adversaries.
Contrast that with Canada, which has no college talent on its roster, no players younger than third-line goalie Kayleigh Osborn (23), and no skaters younger than Vancouver GoldenEyes forward Zane Gardiner (24). Perhaps it’s no surprise that the Canadians have looked a step slower against the United States in the last year of competition.
Pauline asterisk?
Pauline’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.
Maybe it’s just out of precaution. As a Group A team, Canada is already guaranteed to advance to the Olympic quarterfinals. The seeding is not irrelevant, but it is secondary to the health of a game-changer like Palin.
It could be argued that Palin’s injury puts an asterisk on the United States’ impressive victory. After all, the absence of the greatest women’s hockey player of all time – not to mention the female leader in game-winning Olympic goals – certainly changed the complexion of the game.
Fillier and Daryl Watts are equally talented playmakers, but it was clear that Canada struggled to enjoy the same offensive success without Poulin in the lineup. Their presence alone presents a far more difficult task for the Americans in the defense sector.
A healthy Palin may have helped the Canadians get ahead on the score sheet, but it is unlikely it would have made any difference to the final result. Canada faces issues that even a star of Pauline’s size 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 early on. Jocelyn Larocque, 37, logged in at 21:53 TOI on Tuesday and was minus-two. Even as Canada has outscored opponents 9-1 in its last two Olympic contests, Larocque trails all Canadian skaters with a minus-two rating in three games.
Worse, Team Canada was completely outmatched by the speed and skill of the United States. Poulin may take over the offence, but he can’t acquit himself of all of Canada’s roster construction issues.
Canada should feel better about their chances with a healthy Poulin in the lineup, but they will need a better team effort to have a chance to topple the Americans.
Formation of ‘Special Team’ in the United States
Through four Olympic competitions against Group A teams, the USA has outscored opponents 20–1. Simply put, it has been complete dominance.
“Everyone 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 just our style of play. It’s unbelievable that anyone on the ice can actually score. It’s a really special team.”
It seems the veteran players in the group also agree with this sentiment.
“I’ve been on a lot of American teams in my career,” said Kendall Coyne Schofield, who has earned three Olympic medals with Team USA. “They’re all very deep. It’s definitely special.”
Coyne Scofield helped the Americans win a gold medal at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, the nation’s second gold medal in women’s hockey and first since 1998. This year’s group has their sights set on achieving just that, and they have the talent to do it.
The USA has a strong case for the best forward group and defensive core at the 2026 Winter Games, and they have two world-class goalkeepers in Frankel and Gwyneth Phillips.
“We have one of the best goalkeepers in the world there, so it feels like whenever we make a mistake, she’s saving us,” Bilka complimented. “This is truly an incredible team.”
Yet all of their preliminary round success could easily be undone if the United States stumbles in the Olympic play-offs.
“We’re happy with what’s happened so far, but after this we’ve got to be ready again,” Harvey said. “It’s playoff time.”
Quarterfinal play begins on Friday.
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