Canada and United States will face off in the women's ice hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan, another chapter of one of the fiercest Winter Olympic rivalries. Since women's ice hockey was included in the Olympic programme starting with the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, gold has always fallen in Canadian (five times) or American (twice) soil.
Sweden was the only nation to ever reach the women's ice hockey final in 2006. United States won gold medal for the last time in Pyeongchang 2018, and Canada took the gold again in 2022. At the IIHF Women's World Championship, Canada leads the table with 13 gold medals, but United States has been more successful lately, winning almost every edition of the annual competition since 2005, including the 2025 edition.
So, who will take the gold medal in Milano? We will find out on Thursday, February 19, at 19:10 CET, 18:10 GMT. Canada defeated Switzerland 2-1 in the semifinal, and USA thrashed Sweden 5-0 in their semifinals on Tuesday; the bronze medal match will take place on Thursday at 14:40 CET.
Meanwhile, the men's ice hockey event starts today, Tuesday, its play-off stage, with the final set for the last day of the Olympics, Sunday, February 22.