Bitter rivals clash as US women’s hockey eyes Olympic gold medal in final against defending champion Canada

The stage is officially set in the 2026 Milan Cortina Games — the United States against Canada for women’s hockey gold on Thursday night.

Since women’s hockey joined the Olympic schedule in 1998, only the U.S. or Canada have ever won gold. And six of the seven gold-medal games in Olympic history have been between these two countries.

Both teams understand that better than anyone, but it’s been Canada winning four of those six matchups, including the most recent Olympic Games in Beijing in 2022.

This time around, though, it’s Team USA that is the heavy favorite to take home gold when the puck drops at 1:10 p.m. ET in Milan.

While it was a 3-2 win in 2022 for Team Canada, the U.S. dominated them, 5-0, to finish their preliminary round games on Feb. 10.

So, with that in mind, let’s take a look at how each team got to the Olympic final, and more importantly, what to expect between these bitter rivals.

TEAM USA WOMEN’S HOCKEY SHUTS OUT SWEDEN, MOVES TO GOLD MEDAL GAME AT WINTER OLYMPICS

OVERWHELMING OPPONENTS

Since touching down in Milan and hitting the ice together, it’s been an onslaught of offense for Team USA, and virtually nothing from their opponents.

The U.S. has outscored their opponents 31-1 entering Thursday game, tallying at least five goals in every game thus far.

Since that last game against Canada, Team USA defeated Italy, 6-0, in the quarterfinal. Then, it was another dominant performance against Sweden in the semifinal round on Monday, 5-0, at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena.

And it hasn’t just been a few Americans who have contributed on the scoresheet, but 15 total players scoring goals. The puck is being spread around through players like Alex Carpenter, Coyne Schofield, Laila Edwards, Carolina Harvey and many more.

Momentum couldn’t be higher for this group entering the game they’ve been waiting for since 2022.

COOL CANADA

Despite the 5-0 loss to Team USA, this Canadian bunch has still been a clear favorite in most of their games, including a 4-0 final over Switzerland to start their Olympic journey.

Then, a 5-1 win over Czechia and 5-0 finish over Finland after the loss to the U.S. had them looking ahead to a Germany matchup in the quarterfinal.

It was a 5-1 finish for Team Canada, taking care of business before having a tougher time against Switzerland in the semifinal. But the game was a tight 2-1 win for Canada, as they made their way back to the gold-medal game with the chance to defend their 2022 title.

TEAM USA PLAYER TO WATCH: CAROLINE HARVEY

For those who haven’t watched the U.S. women’s hockey games thus far in the Olympics, Harvey will be a player who immediately stands out. And those who have been following usually can’t wait to see Harvey’s shifts considering the skill that has been on display in Milan.

Harvey, a strong skater with tremendous stick skills and vision as a defensewoman, has been getting praise from the men’s hockey team, including Matthew Tkachuk. Harvey is only 23 years old and still a senior at Wisconsin, making her the clear-cut favorite for the No. 1 pick in the PWHL Draft later this year.

Harvey leads all players with nine total points in the tournament, including an Olympic-high seven assists. She has tallied two goals for a total of nine points. She also has a plus-minus of +14 to lead the tournament as well.

While there are tons of players to watch for the Stars and Stripes — be on the lookout for Edwards, Abbey Murphy and Tessa Janecke — Harvey has been pure fun to watch on the ice.

TEAM CANADA PLAYER TO WATCH: MARIE-PHILIP POULIN

Canada’s captain has shown grit and determination through injury in this tournament, battling a right knee injury that kept her out against the U.S. last week.

But she was needed in the tough matchup with Switzerland, burying both of the team’s goals in the net to lead the way to the gold-medal game.

While Canada’s roster has been debated since head coach Troy Ryan left some of the country’s solid young talent back home, it’s been veterans like Poulin who have set the tone even after defeat to the U.S.

There are 16 total players from the 2022 Beijing gold-medal roster that have returned in 2026 for Team Canada.

TIME TO FIGHT?

It’s no secret these two teams don’t like each other, but Team USA was not afraid to talk about the tension even months before the Games.

Multiple stars on the team told Fox News Digital they were prepared to drop gloves if need be against Team Canada if the situation arose.

“They don’t like us very much,” Harvey said in October 2025. “So, it’s more motivating than anything and, personally, it fuels the fire and makes us want to, you know, beat them more than ever.

“I don’t like them either. They’re a respectable competitor, they’re so good, and always give us such a hard game, it’s so back-and-forth. But when we get in the heat of the moment, we just always fight and don’t like them.”

Veteran Brianne Knight added: “I think the U.S.-Canada rivalry will always be there and no matter how many other countries are dueling in the final game that U.S.-Canada thing will always be special.”

These two sides have brawled in the past, including one of the most iconic fights in women’s hockey history in 2013 in a pre-Olympic exhibition game, where 10 fighting majors were dished out after every position player on the ice dropped gloves and fought.

A similar situation occurred in men’s hockey during the 4 Nations Face-off, where tensions between the two countries were certainly heightened last year when President Donald Trump imposed new tariffs on the country. But don’t sleep on tensions spilling over into very physical moments between these two teams on Thursday.

Fox News’ Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.

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