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.
The puck dropped on the 2025/26 PWHL Takeover Tour on Wednesday, when the No. 2 Montréal Victoire took down the No. 5 Toronto Sceptres 2-1 in an overtime shootout in front of a sold-out crowd in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Packed into Scotiabank Centre, 10,438 fans watched Team Canada and Victoire captain Marie-Philip Poulin score the shootout's lone goal, handing Montréal their third straight win.
"It was amazing to see the young girls and boys in the crowd wearing our jerseys, saying our names, and wanting our autographs," said Victoire head coach Kori Cheverie. "It's just extremely special."
The PWHL's 16-stop Takeover Tour is just beginning, with nine games planned for Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Washington DC, Denver, and more before the league pauses for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
"We hope that the impact is a positive one. Everywhere we go, that's the impression we want to leave — for little girls to know that they have a dream and that their dream can become a reality," said Sceptres captain and Nova Scotia product Blayre Turnbull following Wednesday's Tour stop.
Halifax marks the third-year league's fourth sold-out stop, joining fellow Canadian cities Edmonton, Québec City, and Vancouver.
How to attend the 2025/26 PWHL Takeover Tour
The PWHL will next pull into Chicago's Allstate Arena for a Takeover Tour stop on Sunday, when the No. 8 Ottawa Charge will take on the No. 6 Minnesota Frost on at 2 PM ET.
Tickets are currently available for purchase via Ticketmaster.
The PWHL hit a new single-season salary record, with the Associated Press reporting that the contract extension inked by Ottawa Charge forward Emily Clark last week pushes her 2025/26 season payday north of the $100,000 mark.
The two-year extension will keep Clark in Ottawa through the PWHL's fifth season in 2027/28.
While the specific amount is not public, the restructuring of Clark's third-season pay — the last on her initial PWHL contract — will reportedly net her the highest single-season salary in league history.
"We know what she brings. She's really the heart and soul of our organization," Charge GM Mike Hirshfeld told the AP.
A two-time Olympian who earned 2018 silver and 2022 gold with Team Canada, Clark is the only player to have taken the ice in every Charge game to date. The 29-year-old was second on Ottawa's 2024/25 scoresheet with nine goals and 10 assists in last season's 30 games.
"I am proud to have been part of this organization from the inaugural season, and I am really grateful to get to extend my contract," Clark said in a statement. "Playing for such a passionate fan base made it easy for me to want more time here.... After coming up just short of the Walter Cup last season, I am as motivated as ever to work to bring a championship in Ottawa."
While the PWHL requires a minimum salary of $35,000, the league does not set any individual maximum pay.
The only other figures that PWHL front offices must abide by are the $1.3 million-per-team 2025/26 salary cap, and a CBA mandate that at least six players on each squad must earn a minimum of $80,000.
Next season, Clark will be one of nine PWHL players making a six-figure salary, as the league expands from six to eight teams.
The Minnesota Frost are back-to-back PWHL champions, taking down the Ottawa Charge 2-1 in Game 4 of the league's best-of-five Finals to lift the Walter Cup for the second time on Monday.
All bouts in the 2025 PWHL Finals were overtime affairs that finished in 2-1 results, with No. 3-seed Ottawa claiming Game 1 before the No. 4-seed Frost swept the next three games to claim the 2024/25 league title.
Monday's deciding matchup saw forward Kelly Pannek give Minnesota their first lead of the entire series by striking first in the second period before Ottawa forward Tereza Vanišová equalized in the third to force overtime.
Following 12 extra minutes of play, Frost forward Liz Schepers netted the game-winner — doing so for the second year in a row — to secure the Walter Cup in front of a Minnesota home crowd of 11,024 fans.
"I'll win anywhere. It's always fun — but to get to do it at home is extra special," said Frost defenseman Lee Stecklein following the Memorial Day victory.
Frost's Stecklein, Charge's Philips top PWHL Playoffs stat sheet
Stecklein finished the postseason as the league's scoring leader, notching four goals and four assists to finish atop the Frost-laden skaters' table with eight points — narrowly surpassing the seven points posted by teammates Sophie Jaques (two goals, five assists) and Taylor Heise (one goal, six assists).
On the other hand, Ottawa goaltender Gwyneth Philips led all net-minders on the PWHL's postseason stat sheet while playing the most minutes between the pipes in league history.
The rookie's failure to drop a single game in regulation throughout the Charge's eight playoff matchups helped earn her the Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP Award, despite Monday's series loss.
Notably, Minnesota's second straight PWHL championship belies the Frost's underdog status.
After needing another team's downfall to even squeak into the playoffs, doing to on the last day of the regular season, Minnesota got hot at just the right time to retain their singular hold on the second-year league's title.
"It's the belief we have in the room," Frost captain Kendall Coyne Schofield said after the win. "It's hard to put into words. I think when you look at the way we won, it takes everybody."
For the second straight year, the 2025 PWHL Finals are down to the postseason's underdogs, with the No. 3 seed Ottawa Charge and the No. 4 seed Minnesota Frost facing off in the best-of-five championship series after ousting the league's top teams.
Minnesota booked their Finals spot with a 3-1 series victory over No. 2 seed Toronto last Wednesday, before Ottawa ousted top-seeded Montréal by the same series margin on Friday.
While the Frost gear up to defend their 2024 Walter Cup title this week, first-time playoff team Ottawa will aim to make even more history by securing Canada’s first-ever PWHL trophy.
This year's PWHL Finals pits Minnesota's red-hot offense, which netted 18 goals across four semifinal games, against Ottawa's shutdown defense.
Led by rookie goaltender Gwyneth Philips — a 2025 Goaltender of the Year finalist — the Charge allowed just six pucks into the net through four playoff games.
Philips's top save percentage and low 1.14 goals-against average will be put to the test by the Frost, who claim seven of the PWHL's Top-8 postseason players, led by forward Taylor Heise and her seven playoff points.
How to watch the 2025 PWHL Finals
The puck drops on the 2025 PWHL Finals tonight at 7 PM ET, as Minnesota hits the ice against Ottawa live on YouTube.
The defending champion Minnesota Frost punched their ticket to the 2025 PWHL Finals on Wednesday, keeping their dream of a second-straight Walter Cup alive by repeating semifinals history.
For the second year in a row, the lower-seeded Frost eliminated the Toronto Sceptres from the PWHL semis, adding Wednesday's 4-3 Game 4 overtime win to take the pair's 2025 best-of-five semifinal series 3-1.
Handing the No. 2-seed Sceptres an especially hefty dose of déjà vu was No. 4-seed Frost forward Taylor Heise, who netted the series-clinching goal to oust Toronto for second straight postseason.
With Wednesday's game-winning goal plus six assists across Minnesota's four semifinal clashes, the reigning Playoff MVP's seven points currently leads the 2025 PWHL postseason stat sheet — where an astounding seven of the league's top eight points-getters hail from the Frost.
Unlike Minnesota's 2024 semifinal series with Toronto, which required a full five games, the Frost completed the job early this year, earning some extra rest as they await the winner of the other 2025 semi.
Ottawa takes charge as Montréal faces elimination
Unlike the record-setting scoring that defined Minnesota and Toronto's series, defense owns the spotlight in the second set of semifinals, where the top-seeded Montréal Victoire are facing elimination, entering Friday's Game 4 against the No. 3-seed Ottawa Charge in a 2-1 series deficit.
At the center of Ottawa's success is rookie goaltender Gwyneth Philips, who stepped up in a big way after the Charge lost first-string goalie Emerance Maschmeyer to injury in March.
Since then, the third-round pick in the 2024 PWHL Draft has put together a star turn, becoming one of three 2025 Goaltender of the Year finalists and leading all postseason netminders with the top save percentage and an astoundingly low 1.18 goals-against average.
Additionally, Philips owns the only shutout of the 2025 Playoffs so far, with Tuesday's 1-0 Game 3 win over the Victoire also registering as the first postseason clean sheet by a rookie in PWHL history.
"I'm getting more comfortable and gaining confidence because I can feel that my teammates are feeling a little bit more confident with me. That's been my key to success," said Philips after Tuesday's shutout victory. "It's just knowing how much I trust my teammates and how much they give it back to me."
How to watch Ottawa vs. Montréal in the 2025 PWHL Semifinals
While the Charge aims to follow in the Frost's footsteps by booking a 2025 PWHL Finals spot in Game 4, Montréal will be hoping for a victory to send the series to a winner-take-all Game 5.
The puck drops on Friday's Game 4 at 7 PM ET, with a potential Game 5 decider set for the same time on Sunday.
Coverage of all PWHL Playoff games will stream live on YouTube.
Top-seeded Montréal suffered a surprising loss in their first 2025 PWHL Playoffs game on Thursday, falling 3-2 to postseason debutant No. 3-seed Ottawa.
Despite a tense back-and-forth battle, Ottawa forward Shiann Darkangelo broke through with a third-period game-winning goal, pushing the Charge to an early lead in the best-of-five semifinal series.
The Victoire, who notably used their No. 1-seed advantage to handpick the Charge as their semis opponent, have yet to log a playoff win, adding Thursday's defeat to last season's first-round sweep by Boston.
Even so, Montréal is already viewing the loss as fuel to even the score this weekend.
"We outshot them, we had a lot of great opportunities. We were right there," said Victoire forward Laura Stacey. "If we can put that game together for a whole 60 minutes, it'll look scary I think."
Toronto takes Game 1 from defending champs Minnesota
In the PWHL's other semifinal matchup, No. 2-seed Toronto claimed a one-win advantage over No. 4-seed Minnesota on Wednesday, halting the defending champion Frost's late-season surge with a 3-2 Sceptres victory.
Captain Blayre Turnbull opened scoring in the first period, giving Toronto a lead that they never relinquished, while rookie Julia Gosling netted a second-period brace to secure the Sceptres' win.
Minnesota, acknowledging the tough road they face to return to the championship ice, has already set their eyes on Game 2.
"It's going to be a hard-fought series," said Frost head coach Ken Klee after the Frost's Game 1 loss. "We didn't get one tonight…[so now] we're looking forward to Friday."
How to watch the 2025 PWHL Playoffs this weekend
Toronto and Minnesota are back in action for Game 2 of their series at 7 PM ET on Friday, before traveling to St. Paul for Game 3 at 6 PM ET on Sunday.
Sunday will also see Montréal’s attempt to even their series with Ottawa, with the puck dropping on their Game 2 matchup at 2 PM ET.
All games will stream live on the PWHL YouTube channel.
The 2025 PWHL playoffs are officially set, with the Ottawa Charge and Minnesota Frost punching their postseason tickets in Saturday's final regular-season games to join the first-place Montréal Victoire and second-place Toronto Sceptres in the second-year league's playoff bracket.
While third-place Ottawa secured their postseason spot with a 2-1 overtime victory over Toronto on Saturday, the reigning champion Minnesota Frost staged an improbable late-season surge to claim the fourth and final playoff berth.
Needing two wins in addition to two losses from either the Charge or the Boston Fleet for a chance to defend their 2024 title, Minnesota found another gear in the season's final week.
The Frost first defeated Ottawa 3-0 last Wednesday before handing a crumbling Fleet side an 8-1 Saturday thrashing, leapfrogging Boston to narrowly advance to the playoffs following an up-and-down regular season.
Minnesota's massive momentum grab directly affected this week's 2025 PWHL semifinals pairings.
As first-place finishers, the Victoire had the opportunity to choose their first-round opponent between the third- and fourth-place finishers — with Montréal opting out of facing the Frost to instead open the playoffs against the Charge.
"This group is hungry, and we're excited for the playoffs," said Victoire captain and the 2024/25 PWHL season's top goal scorer Marie-Philip Poulin. "We're pretty excited to start the playoffs at home, in front of our fans."
Also snagging home-ice advantage is second-place Toronto, who must now overcome Minnesota in their best-of-five semifinal series to earn a spot in the 2025 Walter Cup championship series.
How to watch the 2025 PWHL Playoffs
The puck drops on the 2025 PWHL Playoffs on Wednesday, when No. 2-seed Toronto and No. 4-seed Minnesota will meet on the ice at 7 PM ET.
Top-seeded Montréal's semifinal series against No. 3-seed Ottawa will begin at 7 PM ET on Thursday.
All games will stream live on the PWHL YouTube channel.
With the puck dropping on the league's second postseason next week, the PWHL unveiled the Minnesota Frost's 2024 Walter Cup championship rings on Monday.
The reveal came as part of the league's multi-year partnership announcement with Paris Jewellers Canada, a family-owned jewelry brand that the PWHL has tapped to create its championship rings for years to come.
In order to personalize the championship jewelry, the design of the 2024 title-winning rings included input from inaugural victors Minnesota.
Fashioned from sterling silver, the rings feature an image of the Walter Cup. Surrounding the trophy are 74 diamonds, in honor of the goals scored by the team throughout their first season, as well as 18 purple amethyst stones representative of the squad's total 2023/24 wins.
The rings also bear inscriptions of the May 29th, 2024, championship game date and 3-0 winning score, the Frost's "Win One Game" motto, and each athlete's name and jersey number.
The champs received their rings in a private celebration on Sunday.
"This group will always carry the honor of being the first team in PWHL history to win the Walter Cup," said Minnesota captain Kendall Coyne Schofield. "Now, we will forever have these special championship rings that encapsulate the journey to the top."
With the 2024/25 PWHL regular season closing on May 3rd, the Frost are locked in a battle with the Boston Fleet and Ottawa Charge for the two remaining playoff spots.
For a shot at defending their 2024 title, Minnesota must win their final two games by defeating both Ottawa and Boston this week.
As PWHL action returned to the ice following the IIHF World Championship international break, the Toronto Sceptres booked their 2024/25 postseason berth this weekend, leaving just two spots left in this year's Walter Cup Playoffs.
Despite Toronto's 3-0 Saturday loss to the Boston Fleet, New York's 2-0 win over Minnesota on Sunday gave the second-place Sceptres enough of a point differential over the fifth-place Frost to solidify their postseason position.
Meanwhile, Saturday's games saw the Sirens suffer playoff elimination for the second straight year, with New York immediately banking Sunday's victory points toward securing yet another overall No. 1 pick in June's 2025 PWHL Draft under the league's Gold Plan.
Three teams hunt two remaining spots in 2024/25 PWHL Playoffs
With this weekend's results, the Sceptres join the league-leading Montréal Victoire in clinching a 2024/25 postseason berth, leaving three teams — the Fleet, the Frost, and the Ottawa Charge — battling for the final two spots.
Minnesota's Sunday loss, however, has the reigning PWHL champions on the brink of elimination.
With both Boston and Ottawa holding a significant points advantage over the Frost, Minnesota needs to win both of the final regular-season games and have either the Fleet or the Charge lose their two last matchups to squeeze above the PWHL table's cutoff line.
Following the close of the regular season on May 3rd, the 2024/25 PWHL Playoffs — featuring a semifinals round before the Walter Cup final — will begin the week of May 5th.