Along with Canada, Team USA is one of just two countries that have won gold in women's ice hockey since the event was added to the Olympics in 1998. The Americans won that inaugural year in Nagano, then endured four straight Canadian victories until 2018, when Team USA struck back with a dramatic overtime win to capture gold in Pyeongchang.

The puck has dropped on the first game at the Milan Cortina Olympics in the newly built hockey arena that needed a rush to the eleventh hour to finish.

Here's what to know about Thursday's slate of women's ice hockey games at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, including how to watch information.

The opening women’s hockey game at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics will no longer take place as planned. Team Canada’s Women’s hockey matchup, set for Thursday at Rho Arena, has been pushed back after an illness spread across the Finland

Finland women’s hockey team’s preliminary round-opening game against Canada on Thursday has been postponed due to a stomach virus depleting Finland’s roster.

Three US Olympic bodies have changed the name of their shared athlete hospitality space at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics from “Ice House” to “Winter House,” following widespread protests in both Italy and the US over the role and conduct of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

With puck drop around the corner, The Athletic asked its hockey staff for their bold predictions for the Milan Cortina Olympics.

MILAN (AP) — The main ice hockey arena for the Winter Olympics is finally ready. Although the NHL players might feel as if they’re skating on a lake. Construction delays and other concerns about the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena have drawn headlines for months ahead of the NHL returning to the Olympics for the first time since 2014 and the women’s tournament opening on Thursday.