Olympic hockey game schedules set for 2026 Milan Cortina Games
The U.S. women's hockey team will face Czechia in its first game of the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics, while the U.S. men play Latvia in their opener.
The women's tournament starts Feb. 5, one day before the Opening Ceremony, and finishes with medal games Feb. 19. The men's tournament starts Feb. 11 (the U.S. opens Feb. 12) and finishes Feb. 22, the day of the Closing Ceremony.
In the women's tournament, the U.S. and Canada have met in six of the seven Olympic finals. Canada is the reigning Olympic champion. The U.S. is the reigning world champion.
They're joined in Group A by Czechia, Switzerland and Finland. At the world championship in April, the U.S. edged Czechia 2-1 in a close semifinal, though the Americans outshot the Czechs 45-11.
OLYMPIC HOCKEY SCHEDULES: Women | Men
All of the Group A teams — the world's five highest-ranked teams — automatically qualify for the quarterfinals and will be seeded based on their group results.
In the men's tournament, NHL players will participate for the first time since the 2014 Sochi Games.
The U.S. is grouped with Latvia, Denmark and Germany.
The three group winners, plus the single best second-place team, advance to the quarterfinals. The other eight teams play in a qualification round to determine the last four quarterfinalists.
Finland won the 2022 Olympic title without NHL players. Canada won the last two Olympics with NHL players. The U.S. last won Olympic men's hockey gold at the 1980 Lake Placid Games.
Nick Zaccardi,
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