The Lineup
BOOK EDITOR
Gene Myers
AT THE GAMES
MANAGING EDITORS
Rachel G. Bowers
Alicia Del Gallo
Ellen J. Horrow
MEN’S HOCKEY REPORTER
Helene St. James
WOMEN’S HOCKEY REPORTER
Cydney Henderson
COLUMNISTS
Nancy Armour
Christine Brennan
REPORTERS
Chris Bumbaca
Alex Connor
Gentry Estes
Jordan Mendoza
Josh Peter
Payton Titus
VIDEOGRAPHERS
Sam Cardona-Norberg
Jack Gruber
Jeff Zegas
IT MANAGER
Adam Wood
PARALYMPICS PROJECT
A partnership between USA TODAY Network and the College of Communication and Information at University of Tennessee-Knoxville
Students: Allie Campbell, Alex Carpenter, Molly Dignan, Alexa Durben, Drew Garrison, Hollan Hines, Trevor McGee, Mikayla Poteet, Jordan Smitherman, Elliot Walker
Professors: Nick Geidner, Erin Whiteside
BACK STATESIDE
HOCKEY EDITOR
Mike Brehm
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Blake Schuster
DESIGNERS
Joey Schaffer
Lee Benson
PROOFREADERS
Sherrill Amo
Heather Hewitt
PROJECT COORDINATOR
Gene Myers
SPECIAL THANKS
Chris Thomas, Chris Fenison,
Tracy Collins, Clarissa Shine, Jared Sábado-Hernández
About the book
“Red, White & Gold” condenses the world’s best coverage of the goldmedal-winning U.S. hockey teams at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics and Paralympics. A team of two dozen journalists from USA TODAY Sports and the USA TODAY Network covered every goal, triple toe loop, 1080, shot rock, goofy, mass start and gold medal at the Italy Games. For the best coverage of Olympic sports year-round go to usatoday.com/sports/olympics. Order print or digital subscriptions or access the eNewspaper for USA TODAY by calling 800-872-0001 or going to subscribe.usatoday.com/offers.
On the cover
Bedlam ensued after Jack Hughes (86) scored the golden goal at 1:41 into overtime to end the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics. Team USA won all six of its games, including two overtime thrillers in the knockout round. Not long before Hughes’ goal, the young center for the New Jersey Devils suffered severe damage to his front teeth from the stick of Canada’s Sam Bennett.
GEOFF BURKE / IMAGN IMAGES
PREVIOUS PAGE: After Hughes (86) scored, Team USA players fell over themselves rushing off their bench to celebrate. The Canadian players were heartbroken and dumbfounded with nowhere to go. GEOFF BURKE / IMAGN IMAGES
OPPOSITE: Team USA players, coaches and support staff posed at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. GEOFF BURKE / IMAGN IMAGES
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright owner or the publisher.
Published by Pediment Publishing, a division of The Pediment Group, Inc. www.pediment.com • Printed in Canada.
This is a book featuring news coverage from USA TODAY Sports and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, USA Hockey or International Olympic Committee.
HOW AMERICAN MEN AND WOMEN BECAME THE KINGS AND QUEENS OF OLYMPIC HOCKEY
RED, WHITE & GOLD RED, WHITE & GOLD
Draped in gold at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, Team USA celebrated with its medals after defeating Canada 2-1 in overtime. The Olympic champions honored the memory of the late Johnny Gaudreau by including his No. 13 jersey and two of his children in their picture for posterity. GEOFF BURKE / IMAGN IMAGES
FOREWORD
U-S-Slay! U-S-Slay! Hockey teams grab all the gold at Milano Cortina
HELENE ST. JAMES • APRIL 8, 2026
WHAT A MAGICAL COUPLE OF weeks for USA hockey.
The 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics offered everything: As good a woman’s team as ever assembled, a men’s team deliberately built not just on skill but personality. Players hung out with Snoop Dogg and Elmo, embraced tight living quarters with a roommate, and, in the end, cherished a pair of gold medal games for the ages.
That the women and men left with the best medal, that both beat Canada in overtime, was perfection on ice.
Perfection on ice, and expectations met by squads for which anything less than gold would have tarnished their Olympics. Their sweep kicked off a year in which the United States celebrated its 250th birthday.
And it was followed soon after by the U.S. sled hockey team winning the gold medal in the final event of
the Milano Cortina Paralympics.
The women dominated to the point the overarching story line was if they were the best women’s team ever. They certainly played like it.
The men played as if they were on a mission, determined to exorcise the demon of not beating Canada for gold since the NHL started sending its players to the Olympics in 1998. They also were keenly aware the U.S. hadn’t won gold since the Miracle on Ice in 1980.
It was a perfect challenge. It was what Bill Guerin, the general manager, and Mike Sullivan, the coach, were thinking of when they picked the players.
“The team was built with personality in mind,” Sullivan said. “We were loaded with personality up and down our lineup.
There are whiskey drinkers and milk drinkers, and we’ve got a lot of whiskey drinkers on this team.”
From the moment the men arrived in Milan on Feb. 8, 2026, they embraced everything about the experience. That’s not
always the case when professionals were millionaires — in Paris, USA Basketball players had luxury accommodations outside the athletes village. The Canadian men’s hockey team ditched village life after a few nights and moved to a luxury hotel.
The American men wanted to embrace the experience. Jake Oettinger said he and fellow goalie Jeremy Swayman already were close — and “now we’re sleeping six inches apart.”
Twelve years had passed since the NHL sent its players to the Olympics, seeming to stoke the desire to be a part of everything. Snoop Dogg stopped by to deliver an inspirational speech, appearing, even to star NHL players, to be bigger than life. Players appeared in interviews conducted by Elmo, the affable Muppet from Sesame Street, and were outfitted with Olympic swag. It was one fun event after another, one amazing experience followed by one even more amazing.
Most remarkable of all as the tournament progressed, there were the games.
OPPOSITE: Jack Hughes received a hero’s welcome somewhere in that pileup after scoring 1:41 into overtime. In the game’s waning minutes, he lost his front teeth to a Sam Bennett high stick and committed a high-sticking penalty of his own. GEOFF BURKE / IMAGN IMAGES
The women began preliminary play on Feb. 5, the day before the opening ceremony, defeating Czechia 5-1. It was the only time they surrendered a goal until the final. The men, bound by their NHL jobs, arrived Feb. 8 on a red-eye charter from New York and went through a light skate to get their legs going.
Four days later, they played their first game of the round-robin phase — and faced the biggest challenge from Latvia’s crack video team, which succeeded in getting two goals called off in the first period, one for goalie interference, the other for offside.
Never mind … the men just kept at it. In the end, Brady Tkachuk would claim the first goal scored by the men in a 5-1 victory, and the team as a whole soaked in the celebratory atmosphere of Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena.
“It was amazing, and it was great to see the flags, the chants and just the support that you have here,” Tkachuk said. “Just a little example of the support you have back at home.”
They put the jersey back on two days later to face Denmark. Give the Danes credit: Of the three preliminary opponents, they gave Team USA the biggest challenge. They scored first and took a 2-1 lead when Nicholas B. Jensen fired a shot while near his bench that Swayman didn’t see. USA prevailed 6-3 and looked on the first two games as a good springboard.
USA Hockey commemorative prints are available for purchase.
Scan the code to shop.
“When you hit bumps in the road and you’re able to overcome those types of things, I think it says a lot about your group,” Sullivan said. “I think it galvanizes the group in a lot of ways.”
Germany didn’t provide much of a challenge, with Team USA winning 5-1. That bought the Americans two days before their quarterfinal, and an opportunity to watch the women’s semifinal. That turned out to be a 5-0 rout of Sweden, the fifth straight shutout for the U.S. women.
“This group is so good because of how we play together,” goaltender Aerin Frankel said after making 21 saves. “Any time I can just focus on my job and let them do theirs … that makes us a pretty hard team to score on.”
As it turned out, the men’s path to the semifinals was against Sweden, too. Dylan Larkin scored midway through the quarterfinal, assisted by the Hughes brothers, Jack and Quinn. The U.S. was 91 seconds from winning when Sweden forced overtime. That lasted only 3:27, with Quinn Hughes crafting a 2-1 victory.
Three of the men’s quarterfinal games went to overtime, all ended within minutes. Larkin summed up the feeling going into 3-on-3 overtime when there was so much on the line. The NHL used the format, too, but only in the regular season.
“That’s as nervous as I’ve been ever in a hockey game,” Larkin said. “Just the way 3-on-3 goes, it’s really just being opportunistic. Someone could fall, some puck could bounce, anything could happen.”
There were nerves on the women’s side, too, but for a different reason. It was Hilary Knight’s fifth Olympics, but there was a personal reason why she was anxious: She had decided to propose to her
significant other, American speed skater Brittany Bowe. The two met at the 2022 Beijing Games.
Knight realized it offered peace of mind to do so before the gold medal game, because, as she put it, “my legs felt like Jell-O” throughout the tournament. Knight got down on one knee after a morning
coffee run, and, just like that, the two were engaged.
A day later, the women celebrated a gold medal. That took keeping nerves in check, too. When Canada’s Kristin O’Neill scored a minute into the third period, it marked the first goal surrendered by Team USA since the opening game, a stretch of 352
minutes and 17 seconds, a record-setting streak that spanned 17 periods.
Who else but a Knight could come to the rescue? Knight set the record for the most Olympic goals (15) and points (33) in U.S. hockey history, scoring the tying goal with 2:04 left to play in the third period. Barely four minutes into overtime,
LEFT: In the traditional moment of sportsmanship, despite their heartache, Canadian captain Connor McDavid (9) and goaltender Jordan Binnington (50) shook hands with the victorious Americans at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. McDavid wore the “C” on his jersey because Sidney Crosby could not play due to a leg injury later revealed to be an MCL sprain. McDavid scored 13 points during the tournament, a record for an NHL player at the Olympics, and was selected its most valuable player. It was the second time in a Hall of Fame-caliber career that McDavid was given an individual prize when his team came in second. He was voted the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2024 after his Edmonton Oilers lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final to the Florida Panthers. AMBER SEARLS / IMAGN IMAGES
First Period
AFTER TWO ADVERSITY-FILLED GAMES, TEAM USA HITS ITS STRIDE HEADING INTO KNOCKOUT ROUND
OPPOSITE: After a 6-3 U.S. victory in the preliminary round, American and Danish players lined up for the traditional handshake at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. Team USA trailed 2-1 after the first period on fluky goals. MIKE
SEGAR / REUTERS
FEB. 12, 2026 W PRELIMINARY ROUND
TEAM USA 5, LATVIA 1
AT MILANO SANTAGIULIA ICE HOCKEY ARENA
‘Never any panic’: Despite disallowed goals, Team USA takes care of business in opener
HELENE ST. JAMES • FEB. 12, 2026
BRADY TKACHUK TRIED TO PUT it all into words.
The Americans had just come off the ice at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, where festive and loud fans created a fabulous atmosphere for their first game of the 2026 Winter Olympics. Tkachuk had the first goal, set up by his brother, Matthew, en route to a 5-1 victory over Latvia.
“It was amazing,” Brady Tkachuk said, “and it was great to see the flags, the chants, and just the support that you have here. Just a little example of the support you have back at home. You’re playing in front of millions of Americans, and you just want to represent them well.
“It’s always an honor to put this jersey on.”
The U.S. men overcame a challenging first period before cruising to victory
in the first of three round robin games in Group C. Still to come were games against Denmark and Germany. The top four teams from three four-team groups received byes to the quarterfinals; the other eight teams played for the four remaining berths.
The Americans had two goals disallowed in the opening period, learning a valuable lesson to start the tournament that there was a zero tolerance policy in international hockey for contact in the crease with a goaltender.
Soon after Tkachuk scored at 5:29 of the period, defenseman Quinn Hughes scored for a 2-0 lead. However, the Latvians successfully challenged that Brock Nelson was offside on the play.
At 7:25, Latvia tied the game by scoring during a net-front scramble.
At 11:35, Nelson deflected Brock Faber’s shot from the point for a 2-1 lead, but Latvia again challenged and a review determined J.T. Miller interfered
with goalie Elvis Merzlikins.
“They never got deflated,” U.S. coach Mike Sullivan said. “They just, the selftalk and the talk amongst themselves about just staying with it and keep playing, that, we’re going to be fine. And, of course, we were. But those types of moments, they can be game-changing moments.”
The second period started with “U-S-A! U-S-A!” chants and soon a minor penalty the U.S. killed off. Finally, at 10:38, Vincent Trocheck found Jack Hughes with a pass behind the net, Hughes found Nelson in the low slot and he maneuvered the puck past Merzlikins. Nelson pointed to the net as if to say, “That counts.”
A power play led to a 3-1 lead at 17:35 when Tage Thompson took a pass from Jack Eichel by the net, pivoted and got the puck on his backhand. There were 11.1 seconds left when the Americans made it 4-1 on a tic-tac-toe goal by
Nelson after passes from Jack Hughes and Matthew Tkachuk.
“I was skating up the ice with Jack, a little bit of 2-on-1,” Nelson said. “I just tried to give him a little bit more time and try to drive the back post. I peeled out, saw him make a drop pass and another guy come in, and I thought maybe one of those guys was going to rip a one-timer. So, I just kind of looped around. And then a couple great passes and poise by those guys. I find myself on the back side with space and an open net.”
Nelson owned a long family history of Olympic success. He had relatives on the two U.S. teams that won gold: He was the nephew of Dave Christian, a gold medalist in 1980 at Lake Placid, New York, and the grandson of Bill Nelson and great uncle of Roger Nelson, gold medalists in 1960 at Squaw Valley, California.
Family was big in Team USA’s opener.
OPPOSITE: After finding the back of the net with Team USA’s first goal of the Olympics at 5:29 of the first period, Brady Tkachuk (with the high stick) celebrated with brother Matthew before defensemen Noah Hanifin and Zach Werenski arrived on the scene. Latvia, however, tied it less than two minutes later. MIKE SEGAR / REUTERS
NELSON 2, LATVIA 1
U.S. goals: First — Brady Tkachuk (1), 5:29. Second — Brock Nelson (1), 10:38; Tage Thompson (1), 17:35 (pp); Nelson (2), 19:48. Third — Auston Matthews (1), 2:35 (pp).
Latvian goal: First — Renars Krastenbergs (1), 7:25.
U.S. goalie: Connor Hellebuyck (18 shots, 17 saves, 1-0).
Latvian goalies: Elvis Merzlikins (32 shots, 28 saves, 0-1), Artus Silovs (6 shots, 5 saves, 0-0).
Matthew Tkachuk fed Brady for the opening goal and added another assist. Each Hughes brother contributed two assists.
The U.S. held a 17-2 edge in secondperiod shots. Connor Hellebuyck finished with 17 saves.
“I thought it was a hell of a first, but a couple of goals called back, and then it’s just 1-1, but there’s never any panic,” Matthew Tkachuk said. “The second period on, we just wanted to make sure somebody was out of the net at all times. They were playing pretty tight. The skill and possession and strength that we have, we knew we were going to win some
battles, but somebody had to be at the net, so we tried to make it harder on the goalie. We tried to make him haul us down.”
Down three goals, Latvia put Arturs Silovs in net for the final period. After captain Auston Matthews scored on a power play at 2:35, the Americans eased off a bit. It was, all in all, an excellent first outing for them.
“I mean, just an unbelievable experience,” Nelson said. “I tried to soak it all in. I thought our line was good and made a lot of great plays, good chances, good support and a good team win overall to get it going.”
ABOVE: Latvia’s Renars Krastenbergs slipped the puck past Connor Hellebuyck for his team’s first (and only) goal against the United States. DAVID W CERNY / REUTERS
OPPOSITE: Brock Nelson celebrated after scoring the team’s second goal against Latvia. Nelson had two goals in the second period. GEOFF BURKE / IMAGN IMAGES
The Lineup
BOOK EDITOR
Gene Myers
AT THE GAMES
MANAGING EDITORS
Rachel G. Bowers
Alicia Del Gallo
Ellen J. Horrow
WOMEN’S HOCKEY REPORTER
Cydney Henderson
MEN’S HOCKEY REPORTER
Helene St. James
COLUMNISTS
Nancy Armour
Christine Brennan
REPORTERS
Chris Bumbaca
Alex Connor
Gentry Estes
Jordan Mendoza
Josh Peter
Payton Titus
VIDEOGRAPHERS
Sam Cardona-Norberg
Jack Gruber
Jeff Zegas
IT MANAGER
Adam Wood
BACK STATESIDE
HOCKEY EDITOR
Mike Brehm
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Blake Schuster
DESIGNERS
Joey Schaffer
Lee Benson
PROOFREADERS
Sherrill Amo
Heather Hewitt
PROJECT COORDINATOR
Gene Myers
SPECIAL THANKS
Chris Thomas
Chris Fenison
Tracy Collins
Clarissa Shine
Jared Sábado-Hernández
About the book
“Red, White & Gold” condenses the world’s best coverage of the goldmedal-winning U.S. hockey teams at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics and Paralympics. A team of two dozen journalists from USA TODAY Sports and the USA TODAY Network covered every goal, triple toe loop, 1080, shot rock, goofy, mass start and gold medal at the Italy Games. For the best coverage of Olympic sports year-round go to usatoday. com/sports/olympics. Order print or digital subscriptions or access the eNewspaper for USA TODAY by calling 800-872-0001 or going to subscribe. usatoday.com/offers.
On the cover
With gold medals and Old Glory, Kendall Coyne Schofield (left) and captain Hilary Knight celebrated Team USA’s 2-1 overtime win against Canada in the gold medal game at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics. It was Team USA’s third gold medal since women’s hockey joined the Olympic lineup in 1998 and second gold medal in the last three Olympiads. AMBER SEARLS / IMAGN IMAGES
PREVIOUS PAGE: Pure elation swept across the rink for Team USA after Megan Keller scored the golden goal at 4:07 into overtime. Taylor Heise provided the assist for Keller, a three-time Olympian. AMBER SEARLS / IMAGN IMAGES
OPPOSITE: After routing unbeaten Sweden 5-0 in the semifinals, Team USA was pretty much all business as it left the ice at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena one victory from gold. KATIE STRATMAN / IMAGN IMAGES
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright owner or the publisher.
Published by Pediment Publishing, a division of The Pediment Group, Inc. www.pediment.com • Printed in Canada.
This is a book featuring news coverage from USA TODAY Sports and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, USA Hockey or International Olympic Committee.
HOW AMERICAN MEN AND WOMEN BECAME THE KINGS AND QUEENS OF OLYMPIC HOCKEY
RED, WHITE & GOLD RED, WHITE & GOLD
22 50 62 78
CHAPTER ONE FIRST PERIOD CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR OVERTIME
Draped in gold at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, Team USA celebrated with its medals after defeating Canada 2-1 in overtime. Besides precious metal, the Olympic champions received plushies of the mascot, Tina the Stoat, and of a snowdrop flower, called a Flo. GEOFF BURKE / IMAGN IMAGES
USA WOMEN
FOREWORD
Games brought a sense of pride and gratitude for this reporter
CYDNEY HENDERSON
• APRIL 8, 2026
DURING THE U.S. WOMEN’S HOCKEY team’s game against Switzerland, thousands of spectators belted out John Lennon’s “Imagine” during a break in play. The scene was stunning, one that sent chills through my body.
To be fair, the icy temperatures in Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena accounted for some of my goosebumps. But, in that moment, it hit me: I was at the Winter Olympics. I was living my dream.
Like U.S. defender Laila Edwards and 11 of her teammates, the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics marked a first for me. I had the tall task of covering Team USA’s pursuit of gold during Hilary Knight’s final Games. Sitting in the press tribune with my laptop and hand warmers, I quickly realized I might be watching the greatest team ever assembled.
The question lingered as Team USA recorded blowout after blowout. Olympic champion Monique
Lamoureux-Morando told me that this was the most complete team to wear USA across its chest. Hockey Hall of Famer Angela Ruggiero was quick to agree.
And why wouldn’t they? Every time the puck found the back of the net, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird” roared through the arena. Let’s just say I became very familiar with this unofficial hockey anthem as Team USA outscored its opponents 33-2.
The players, however, weren’t ready to make that declaration. Why add pressure or expectations, Knight later explained. But after they won gold in an overtime thriller against Canada, Knight confidently said: “This team is so special: The best U.S. hockey team I’ve ever been a part of.”
I was on the edge of my seat throughout the last game. For the first time all tournament, the Americans were trailing. Journalists typically prepared prewrites for every scenario, and as the clock ticked down, I started drafting a “Canada wins” story.
Then the unexpected happened. With
the goalie pulled for an extra attacker, Knight scored the tying goal with 2:04 remaining. Then Megan Keller followed with the golden goal at 4:07 of overtime. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a louder roar at a sporting event. The relief. The belief. You could feel it ripple through the packed arena.
It’s a moment I will never forget. As the American flag rose during the medal ceremony and the national anthem played, I felt an overwhelming sense of pride and gratitude. I paused writing to soak it in. Team USA met the moment. So did I. I arrived in Milan equal parts nervous, excited and unsure of what to expect, but it somehow exceeded all of it.
Another unforgettable moment: Edwards became the first Black woman to score for the Olympic hockey team. As she said: “Representation matters.”
Cydney Henderson serves as national women’s sports reporter for USA TODAY Sports, highlighting the athletes and stories driving the rising popularity of women’s sports.
OPPOSITE: When defender Laila Edwards (10) fired a low shot that Hilary Knight (21) deflected between her legs and into the back of the net, Team USA stayed alive in the gold medal game, tying Canada at 1-1 with 2:04 left in the third period. DAVID W CERNY / REUTERS
RIGHT: USA TODAY Sports crafted commemorative page prints after Team USA beat Canada for the gold medal. U-S-SLAY! captured the scene after Megan Keller scored the golden goal in overtime. CAPTAIN AMERICA celebrated the legacy of Hilary Knight, a five-time Olympian who set U.S. records for career goals and points when she tied the game late in the third period. IAN YOUNG / USA TODAY NETWORK
USA Hockey commemorative prints are available for purchase.
Scan the code to shop.
ABOVE: After four minutes of overtime, Megan Keller dangled the puck around a Canadian defender, slipped a backhander past their netminder and celebrated the golden goal for Team USA. Her heroics produced a 2-1 victory and increased Team USA’s collection of Olympic women’s hockey gold medals to three. DAVID W CERNY / REUTERS
01 First Period
AT 36, KNIGHT BEGINS HER OLYMPIC SWAN SONG AND EDWARDS BECOMES FIRST BLACK TEAM USA OLYMPIAN
OPPOSITE: Locked in at the faceoff dot, Kelly Pannek of Team USA and Laure Meriguet of Switzerland squared off during a preliminary round game. The Americans won 5-0 but didn’t pull away until early in the third period. MARTON MONUS / REUTERS
FEB. 5, 2026 W PRELIMINARY ROUND
TEAM USA 5, CZECHIA 1
AT MILANO RHO ICE HOCKEY ARENA
Knight closes in on a career scoring record as Team USA overwhelms Czechia in opener
Carpenter recorded the opening goal.
FEB. 5, 2026
A DAY BEFORE THE OPENING CERemony for the Milano Cortina Olympics, Team USA started its campaign to end a 20-year gold medal drought.
Their late afternoon at the Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena included a familiar figure — captain Hilary Knight scored her 13th career goal starting her fifth Olympics — and a trailblazer — defender Laila Edwards recorded an assist while becoming the first Black woman to play in the Olympics for Team USA — and a politician — Vice President JD Vance caught much of the game with his family.
Knight and Edwards had plenty of help as the Americans routed Czechia 5-1. Two-time Olympian Hayley Scamurra scored twice, first-time Olympians Joy Dunne (a goal) and Tessa Janecke (two assists) chipped in points and three-time Olympian Alex
Team USA unleashed the game’s first five shots, and at the midpoint of the first period Czechia had only one shot. Then Vance, dressed in a blue
Goals by Dunne and Scamurra 83 seconds apart early in the second period kickstarted the rout. Janecke assisted on each goal.
After Czechia’s Barbora Juříčková
“It was an unreal fan base today, really on both sides. You just love to play in that environment. ”
JOY DUNNE
jacket, carried his daughter Mirabel to the family’s seats. He was accompanied by the second lady, Usha, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. They came right in time for the action, starring alternate captains Megan Keller and Carpenter. On a power play, Carpenter deflected Keller’s shot for a 1-0 lead at 15:55. Edwards had the other assist.
scored on a breakaway after exiting the penalty box, Knight restored a three-goal with a shot over goalie Klára Peslarová’s shoulder with 17:50 left in the game. The goal was Knight’s 13th, one shy of the U.S. Olympic record shared by Natalie Darwitz and Katie King.
Darwitz won two silver medals and a bronze medal at the Games in the
century’s first decade, was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2024 and served as general manager when Minnesota won the inaugural PWHL championship. King recorded the first Olympic hat trick by an American in 1998, won gold, silver and bronze medals in the late 1990s and 2000s and had coached Boston College since 2007.
Scamurra, described by herself and teammates as “the energy player” but also often the 13th forward, scored her second goal at 4:22 of the final period.
Team USA received a warm welcome at the arena and multiple “U-S-A! U-S-A!” chants broke out throughout the game.
“It was an unreal fan base today, really on both sides,” Dunne said. “You just love to play in that environment.”
Vance left late in the third period and did not speak with the team. His entourage had touched down only hours earlier, but he did catch up with several U.S. Olympians before traveling to the
OPPOSITE: Team USA huddled in front of its goal moments before starting the Olympic hockey tournament. In the seven previous tournaments, the Americans collected two gold medals, four silver medals and one bronze medal. Their bitter rivals from Canada owned five golds and two silvers. GEOFF BURKE / IMAGN IMAGES
CYDNEY HENDERSON AND MIKE BREHM
THE OPENING ACT
USA 1 3 1 5
U.S. goals: First — Alex Carpenter (1), 15:55 (pp). Second — Joy Dunne (1), 3:13; Hayley Scamurra (1), 4:36; Hilary Knight (1), 17:50. Third —Scamurra (2), 4:22.
Czech goal: Second — Barbora Juříčková (1), 8:37.
U.S. goalie: Aerin Frankel (14 shots, 13 saves, 1-0).
Czech goalie: Klára Peslarová (42 shots, 37 saves, 0-1).
hockey arena, wishing them well whatever their political affiliations.
“The whole country — Democrat, Republican, Independent — we’re all rooting for you and cheering for you and know you are all going to make us proud,” Vance said. “Thank you all and hope you guys have fun.”
Forward Kendall Coyne Schofield said Team USA wasn’t aware that Vance was in attendance. Dunne called his visit “really great for the women’s ice hockey game” and would “only help” the sport grow and gain more visibility.
Knight said that the players were “proud Americans” who would continue to lead by example.
“What we stand for and just this team … we are America’s team in the best way through positivity and trying to inspire through sport,” Knight said. “We just hold on to that.
“Whatever political climate is going on, we’re just trying to have a positive impact through our play and obviously show up and represent our country to the best of our ability. We are proud Americans, and there is great unity that we can find through sport together.”
A norovirus outbreak strikes as two-week tourney opens
Hours before Canada and Finland were to play, the Milano Cortina organizing committee postponed their game because
of a norovirus outbreak on the Finnish team.
The Finns suited up only eight skaters and two goalies for a practice. The other 13 players were quarantined in the Athletes Village because they were sick or had been exposed to the highly contagious gastrointestinal virus.
Canada officials wished the Finns a speedy recovery. However, because the game was rescheduled for Feb. 12, Team USA’s chief rivals would lose an off day before the quarterfinals.
On Feb. 7, the Americans were slated to play their second game against the Finns. … U.S. coach John Wroblewski used Hannah Bilka, Carpenter and Knight on the first line, a slight change from the 2025 Rivalry Series with Canada, which had Janecke in Bilka’s place. Keller and Edwards were the first defensive pair. … The second line featured forwards Britta Curl-Salemme, Taylor Heise and Abbey Murphy. Caroline Harvey and Haley Winn were the defenders. … Aerin Frankel made her Olympic debut in goal, stopping 13 of 14 shots. At 26, Frankel played for the PWHL’s Boston Fleet and owned plenty of international experience with two gold and three silver medals at world championships. In 2021, while at Northeastern, she won the Patty Kazmaier Award as the country’s top collegiate player.
ABOVE: Team USA didn’t realize that Vice President JD Vance, with daughter Mirabel on his lap, caught part of the Olympic opener against Czechia. GEOFF BURKE / IMAGN IMAGES
OPPOSITE: In a storm of ice chips, Hilary Knight relished her 13th career Olympic goal, which extended the U.S. lead to 4-1 late in the second period. DAVID W CERNY / REUTERS
