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.
USA Hockey is officially off to the races at the 2026 Winter Olympics, hitting the ice in Milan for their initial group-stage matchup against Czechia on Thursday morning ahead of Friday's Opening Ceremony.
The competition's preliminary round features two groups of five teams, with Team USA squaring off against fellow automatic quarterfinalists Czechia, Finland, Switzerland, and Canada in Group A over the next six days to determine seeding for the knockout rounds.
Meanwhile, the countries comprising Group B — Sweden, Germany, France, Italy, and Japan — will concurrently play their round-robin group stage, but with higher stakes: Only the top three finishers from their pool will advance to the knockouts.
"It's a clean slate every time you get to a tournament," Team USA captain Hilary Knight said. "You have to work hard."
The US and Canada enter the eighth edition of the tournament as strong gold-medal favorites, but the rapid rise of the PWHL has produced the deepest field in Olympic history.
Czechia's roster includes eight PWHL players, with a total of 22 PWHL athletes representing six European countries at the Winter Games.
Along with the 16 standouts playing for Team USA and the 23 on Canada's roster, 61 PWHL players — 30% of the entire North American league — are competing on the Olympic ice this month.
"It's only our second Olympics," said Czechia head coach Carla MacLeod, who also helms the PWHL's Ottawa Charge. "But certainly there's a belief in the room that we can go play our best games and see where it takes us."
How to watch USA hockey vs. Czechia at the Winter Olympics
USA Hockey will open their 2026 Winter Olympics against Czechia at 10:40 AM ET on Thursday, with live coverage airing on USA Network.
USA Hockey is sending a refreshed lineup to Italy this winter, with Friday's 23-player Olympic roster tapping both newcomers and seasoned veterans looking to avenge 2022's silver-medal finish.
US hockey legend Hilary Knight will play in her fifth — and final — Winter Games next month, with the 36-year-old forward joining fellow veteran mainstays Kendall Coyne Schofield and Lee Stecklein as just 11 players return from the team's Beijing campaign.
After falling just short of gold in Beijing, this year's USA hockey roster balances youth with experience, heading to Milan with a full dozen Olympic debutants, including seven college players — a full four from reigning NCAA champion Wisconsin.
All other 16 athletes currently compete in the PWHL with the pro league sending players from five of its eight teams to join the US squad in February.
The rest of the team focuses on young talent, including University of Wisconsin defender Laila Edwards, who will make history as USA Hockey's first-ever Black woman Olympian when she steps on the ice in Italy.
"It still hasn't really kicked in yet. Getting that call is like a dream come true," said Edwards.
How to watch Team USA hockey in the 2026 Winter Olympics
The USA will open their 2026 Olympic campaign against Czechia at 10:40 AM ET on February 5th before subsequent Group A games against Finland, Switzerland, and defending champions Canada.
The clash will air live on USA Network as part of the full 2026 Olympic Games coverage across NBC platforms.
USA Hockey's 2026 Olympic roster
Goaltenders: Aerin Frankel (Boston Fleet), Ava McNaughton (University of Wisconsin), Gwyneth Philips (Ottawa Charge)
Defenders: Cayla Barnes (Seattle Torrent), Laila Edwards (University of Wisconsin), Rory Guilday (Ottawa Charge), Caroline Harvey (University of Wisconsin), Megan Keller (Boston Fleet), Lee Stecklein (Minnesota Frost), Haley Winn (Boston Fleet)
Forwards: Hannah Bilka (Seattle Torrent), Alex Carpenter (Seattle Torrent), Kendall Coyne Schofield (Minnesota Frost), Britta Curl-Salemme (Minnesota Frost), Joy Dunne (Ohio State University), Taylor Heise (Minnesota Frost), Tessa Janecke (Penn State University), Hilary Knight (Seattle Torrent), Abbey Murphy (University of Minnesota), Kelly Pannek (Minnesota Frost), Hayley Scamurra (Montréal Victoire), Kirsten Simms (University of Wisconsin), Grace Zumwinkle (Minnesota Frost)
After defeating Germany 3-0 in Thursday’s quarterfinal round, Team USA will take on host nation Czechia in Saturday's 2025 IIHF World Championship semifinals, as the squad seeks a record-extending 24th straight appearance in the tournament's title game on Sunday.
"They have the home crowd, so it's definitely going to be a gritty game," US forward Lacey Eden said of Saturday’s matchup. "It's going to be a battle, but we'll be ready for it. We can use the fan energy and kind of go off that."
This year's tournament mirrors Team USA's path in 2024, when the US downed fellow powerhouse Canada in the group stage to reach the title game undefeated — only to lose 6-5 to their North American rivals in an overtime thriller of a championship match.
"It's everything to us," USA defender Cayla Barnes said earlier this week. "We want to be in that final and obviously want to be back on top of the podium, seeing as we fell short last year."
Canada has their own semifinal ahead of them, as the 2024 champs take the ice against Finland in Saturday’s IIHF closer.
Finland is the only country other than the US and Canada to ever play in a Women’s World Championship final, earning silver after taking down Canada in the semis in 2019.
How to watch the 2025 IIHF World Championship this weekend
The 2025 IIHF World Championship semifinals begin Saturday, when the USA takes on Czechia at 9 AM ET, before Canada battles Finland at 1 PM ET.
Saturday's winners will square off in Sunday's final at 12 PM ET.
All US games will air live on the NHL Network.