USA Hockey is off to a hot start in Milan, taking down Czechia 5-1 on Thursday to open their 2026 Winter Olympics campaign in style.
While Barbora Juříčková registered Czechia's lone tally, Hayley Scamurra scored a brace and Alex Carpenter notched both a goal and an assist in the rout, with Ohio State junior Joy Dunne also finding the back of the net before USA captain Hilary Knight scored the 13th Olympic goal of her career.
"It was incredible," Scamurra told reporters postgame. "Whenever I go out there, I just try to bring all the energy that I can to the team. To be able to produce is the cherry on top."
The US will next turn their attention to Saturday's showdown against Finland, with the Finns still recovering from a norovirus outbreak that postponed their Thursday opener with Canada.
The IOC rescheduled the Finland vs. Canada matchup for next Thursday, but the weekend game remains on the official Olympic hockey schedule.
"I think we're planning on playing Finland, until somebody tells me differently," said USA Hockey head coach John Wroblewski. "But, I hope that they're okay. That's the most important part."
How to watch USA Hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics
Team USA will take on Finland at 10:40 AM ET on Saturday, airing live on USA Network.
The PWHL is coming to the Garden, as the No. 2 New York Sirens announced on Thursday that they'll host the No. 6 Seattle Torrent at Manhattan's legendary Madison Square Garden (MSG) on April 4th.
While MSG staged a fan-less PWHPA game in February 2021, this year's PWHL takeover marks the iconic arena's first-ever ticketed pro women's hockey event.
"Madison Square Garden has a storied women's sports history," said Sirens GM Pascal Daoust in the team's announcement. "New York doesn't just watch moments; it lives with them. This is one of those nights meant to be experienced together, in the building, as part of the history of our team, our league, and everyone who helps bring it to life."
The April showdown will serve as the pair's final regular-season clash, with the 2025/26 series currently tied at 1-1.
Seattle took the first meeting 2-1 behind goals from captain Hilary Knight and Alex Carpenter on December 3rd, before New York stole the second game 4-3 as NYC local Casey O'Brien's hat trick lit up the league's Takeover Tour stop in Dallas on December 28th.
The Torrent and Sirens will next face off in Chicago on March 25th before closing out their four-game slate by making history at MSG at 8 PM ET on April 4th.
How to attend the PWHL clash at Madison Square Garden
While New York season ticket-holders can currently access tickets to the MSG clash, the presale for Sirens newsletter subscribers will begin on Monday before general sales opens at 10 AM ET on Tuesday via Ticketmaster.
Incoming PWHL teams Seattle and Vancouver are one step closer to their 2025/26 season debuts, as Monday's first-ever expansion draft capped a busy trade window to bring each new franchise's roster to 12 players.
Seasoned veterans and young prospects alike found themselves on the move last week, with notable names like former Boston Fleet captain Hilary Knight and New York Sirens vet Alex Carpenter bound for Seattle while Toronto Sceptres standout Sarah Nurse will head to Vancouver.
Each of the six founding PWHL teams could only protect three players ahead of the league's aggressive expansion process, with most front offices opting to prioritize speed and parity.
Team Canada's 2022 Olympic gold medalist Ashton Bell of the 2025 Walter Cup runners-up Ottawa Charge went first in Monday's PWHL expansion draft, with brought each original team's roster losses up to four total players.
Five of last year's six first-round entry draft picks are now en route to either Seattle or Vancouver, with only No. 1 overall selectee Sarah Fillier remaining with her original New York team.
"Selfishly, I'm very excited," Seattle GM Meghan Turner said after Monday's final selection. "I think it's a great roster that we've built so far."
Both Seattle and Vancouver will see their rosters nearly double to the league's 23-athlete tally later this month, when the expansion teams will join the founding six teams in snagging talent from the PWHL's June 24th entry draft.
The PWHL's expansion process incentivizes new teams to hit the ice ready to compete, though its impact on the league's existing clubs will likely not be clear until the puck drops on the 2025/26 season.
The puck has officially dropped on the PWHL expansion process, with existing teams releasing protected players lists as incoming 2025/26 franchises Seattle and Vancouver begin to build rosters.
The teams' exclusive signing window opened Wednesday morning and runs through Sunday, with the 2025 Expansion Draft set for Monday evening.
Both Seattle and Vancouver can sign up to five players each from the league's unprotected and free agency pool this week.
Regardless of how many athletes the franchises choose to sign, the expansion process requires that the new teams grow their rosters to 12 total players by the end of Monday's draft, before completing their 23-athlete lineups alongside the other six teams during the June 24th PWHL entry draft.
The six founding PWHL clubs could only list three protected players for this week's signing window and next week's expansion draft, forcing some difficult roster decisions.
The Boston Fleet did not opt to add captain Hilary Knight to the protected players list — despite the 35-year-old leading the league in scoring this season — with New York's Alex Carpenter and Toronto's Sarah Nurse also headlining the unprotected list.
With growth front-of-mind, the PWHL Players Association also announced that its members voted late last week to publicly disclose their salaries — a move expected to aid negotiations during this week's signing window.
"This will be a tool for players as they consider opportunities across the league," PWHLPA executive director Malaika Underwood told The Athletic.
The new-look New York Sirens continue to impress in the early stages of the 2024/25 PWHL season, most recently notching a big 4-2 win over Toronto in the the team home opener on Wednesday.
All four of New York's goals came in the second period — the most in a single period all season — and all were the first goals of the season by each scorer.
Finland international Noora Tulus opened the game's scoring with her first PWHL goal, with teammates Emmy Fecteau, Micah Zandee-Hart, and Jaime Bourbonnais following suit. Both Fecteau's goal and team captain Zandee-Hart's were the first of their PWHL careers.
Sirens rookie Sarah Fillier and teammate Alex Carpenter both assisted on Tulus's game-opening goal, with each booking a point in their fourth straight contest. Fillier remains in the PWHL's lead with two goals and five assists for a total of seven points, while Carpenter is just behind with six points — though her three goals make her the league's scoring leader.
As for the Sceptres, forwards Hannah Miller and former Siren Emma Woods each made a dent in the scoresheet with goals of their own in the third period, but it wasn't quite enough as Toronto failed to complete the comeback.
Last-place Toronto has now allowed their opponents to breach the scoresheet first in each of their 2024/25 matchups, ultimately losing their last three games in regulation.
New York Sirens to face Minnesota Frost in top matchup
New York's shifting fortune highlights the second-season league's rapidly growing parity. With only one loss through their first four games, the Sirens sit in second place to stake an early season claim on "most improved" after finishing last in the PWHL's inaugural season.
Just above New York on the league's table are the Minnesota Frost. The reigning Walter Cup champions are holding strong as the team to beat, but New York has already proved that it's possible after handing Minnesota an overtime 4-3 season-opening loss on December 1st.
The Sirens' will officially take aim at the top of the PWHL table on Sunday, when New York will try to gift Minnesota a second season loss in the league's pre-Christmas closer. This time, the Sirens will have the crowd on their side as the Frost visit New York's home ice.
How to watch New York Sirens vs. Minnesota Frost in PWHL action
The puck is set to drop on New York vs. Minnesota at 12 PM ET on Sunday, with live streaming coverage on YouTube.