Live scores for Olympic women’s hockey, where the U.S. team faces Canada in the gold medal game in Italy, are updated.
What’s behind the USA women’s hockey team’s dominance at the Winter Olympics?
The United States will face Canada in the gold medal game, continuing a decades-long rivalry on Olympic ice. USA TODAY Sports’ Sidney Henderson breaks down what to expect from the game.
milan — The 2026 Winter Olympics gold medal game between USA women’s hockey and Canada is the moment we’ve all been waiting for.
Since women’s hockey was first included in the Olympics in 1998, the United States and Canada have faced off in six of the seven games for Olympic gold. Canada has won gold medals five times compared to Team USA only twice, but the women’s red, white and blue team is favored heading into the final on Thursday, February 19th.
The U.S. women have won seven straight against Canada, most recently with a 5-0 shutout victory in the qualifying round, marking the first time in Olympic history that Canada was held scoreless.
Both teams will feature five-time Olympians. Canadian captain Marie-Philippe Poulin surpassed fellow Canadian Hayley Wickenheiser’s all-time Olympic scoring record of 18 goals. Meanwhile, U.S. captain Hilary Knight set U.S. Olympic records for most goals (15) and most points (33) with the game-tying goal to force overtime.
USA TODAY Sports will be in Milan for the 2026 Winter Olympics to provide live coverage of the gold medal match. Here’s what you need to know:
Stream the 2026 Winter Olympics on Peacock
If the teams are tied at the end of 60 minutes of the gold medal match, the teams will play a 20-minute 3-on-3 overtime game with a 15-minute break until someone scores. Teams do not change sides in the first overtime, but they do in subsequent overtimes.
It will be the second overtime game of the day, following Switzerland’s overtime victory over Sweden in the bronze medal match, in which the Americans tied the score late.
Five-time Olympian Hilary Knight kept America’s gold medal dream alive with a goal at 57 minutes, 56 seconds to tie the score at 1-1. With this goal, Knight became the U.S. all-time Olympic goals leader (15) and points leader (33). Lyla Edwards and Megan Keller had assists.
Team USA’s Britta Carl Salem was asked to board after Canada’s Erin Ambrose took a hard fall. Ambrose quickly returned to the locker room after being helped off the ice. As a result of the review, this judgment was downgraded to a minor penalty.
Team USA is in uncharted territory. Christine O’Neill scored a shorthanded goal to give Canada a 1-0 lead. It will be the first time the United States will follow suit at the 2026 Winter Olympics. The last time an opponent scored against the United States was 8 minutes, 37 seconds into the second period of the Olympic opener against the Czech Republic on February 5. Canada had a slight advantage in shots on goal with 21 compared to 20 for the USA.
On Thursday, February 19, 16,000 fans packed into Milan’s Santa Giulia Ice Hockey Arena to watch the women’s hockey gold medal game between longtime rivals the United States and Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Also in the crowd was American hockey player Hilary Knight’s new fiance, American speed skater Brittany Bowe.
Bowe was seen wearing a Team USA jersey on Thursday’s television broadcast, a day after Knight got down on one knee and proposed after morning coffee. The two announced their engagement on Instagram on February 18th. This was a full-circle moment for Knight and Bowe, who first met at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Bowe will compete in the women’s 1,500-meter speed skating race on Friday, February 20th.
Other stars in attendance include Billie Jean King, Mark Messier, and Tom Brady. Read the full story here.
Christine O’Neill scores her third goal of the 2026 Olympics, giving Team Canada a 1-0 lead over Team USA. The short-handed goal came at 20:54 with assists from Laura Stacy and Renata Fast. This is the first time that the United States has been at a disadvantage in the entire tournament.
After the first period, it was a tie for everyone. Team USA entered Thursday’s gold medal game with 13 total penalties through six games, the second-fewest of 10 teams. The Americans have already been hit with up to two penalties in the first period, including having too many players on the ice, which could indicate nervousness and early game tension for the 12 first-time Olympians. As a result, the U.S. women’s team was on defense for most of the first period, losing 8-6 to Canada, but Team USA entered the second period on the power play.
Aerin Frankel was solid in front of the net. She made Olympic history as the first goaltender to record three shutouts in a 5–0 win over Sweden in the semifinals.
Americans now have the advantage. Canada’s Ella Shelton was called for hooking, setting up America’s first power play of the night.
The U.S. women’s team took another penalty, this time tripping Joy Dunn. Despite the odds against her, American Hayley Skamura made her way towards the Canadian goal and almost had a shot on goal. The Americans broke down the power play again.
The American team was given the first penalty of the night for having too many players on the ice, giving the Canadians a power play. Abbey Murphy served the penalty. After the American woman defeated the power play, a chant of “USA!” went up. rang out. The game ended scoreless in the first period.
Online match between America’s Aerin Frankel and Canada’s Anne-Reny Desbiens.
Five-time Olympian Hilary Knight said she was looking forward to competing against fellow veteran Marie-Philippe Poulain again at the Olympics, after previously announcing her retirement from Olympic competition.
“You have two great athletes competing on the world stage, one from Canada and one from America,” said Knight, who recently proposed to his girlfriend, American speed skater Brittany Bowe. Poulin added, “I’ve played against (Knight) throughout my career. It’s always a battle. We both have a hungry spirit. I’d love to play against him again.”
Entering Thursday, the U.S. women have won seven straight games against Canada, the first since the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship, when they won 4-3 in overtime. At the 2025 Rivals Series, Team USA defeated Canada for the first time in the history of the competition, shutting out Canada 5-0 in the qualifying round, marking the first time in Olympic history that Canada’s women’s team was not on the scoresheet.
What time is the USA Women’s Hockey vs. Canada game today?
- date: Thursday, February 19th
- time: 1:10 PM ET (7:10 PM local time)
- position: Santa Giulia Ice Hockey Arena (Milan)
Puck drop between the U.S. women’s hockey team and Canada is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 19 at 1:10 p.m. ET at the Santa Giulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan.
Where to watch the gold medal game between USA women’s hockey and Canada
USA Network will broadcast the 2026 Winter Olympics gold medal match between the U.S. women and Canada on Thursday.
Is there a live stream of the Olympic women’s gold medal match?
Streaming options for the game include NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Olympics app (with cable TV or satellite login). You can also stream the game on Peacock, NBC’s subscription streaming service.
The USA Hockey captain and five-time Olympian is on the verge of breaking two records. Most points by an American at the Olympics and Most goals by an American at the Olympics. She is tied with Jenny Potter for most points (32 points) and tied with Natalie Darwitz and Katie King for most points (14 points).
On Thursday, February 19, Switzerland defeated Sweden in overtime to win the bronze medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics. It was the first medal in women’s hockey for the Swiss since the 2014 Sochi Games. ▶ Click here for match summaries and highlights.
The full roster of U.S. women’s hockey players for the Milan-Cortina Olympics is below.
- goaltender: Eva McNaughton; Aelin Frankel. Gwyneth Phillips.
- defender:Lee Stecklein. Kayla Burns. caroline harvey. Megan Keller. Rory Gilday. Haley Wynn. Lyla Edwards.
- forward: Kirsten Sims. Kelly Panek. Grace Zumwinkle. Haley Skamura. Britta Carl Salem. Hilary Knight. Tessa Janecke. Hannah Birka. Joy Dunn. Alex Carpenter. Kendall Coyne Schofield. Taylor Heise. Abby Murphy.
Contact USA TODAY national women’s sports reporter Cydney Henderson at chenderson@gannett.com and follow @CydHenderson at X.
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