The Preliminary Round of the Women's Ice Hockey Tournament at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 concluded today and each of the PWHL’s 61 Olympians will compete in the quarterfinal games to be played on Friday and Saturday. Below is a closer look at today’s notable performers and the action ahead.
THURSDAY’S PRELIMINARY ROUND RECAP
CANADA (5) VS. FINLAND (0)
Ottawa’s Emily Clark scored two goals in the third period and New York’s Kristin O’Neill had a goal and an assist to lead Canada to a commanding victory to secure second place in the Group A standings in the final game of the preliminary round. Vancouver’s Jenn Gardiner scored the first Olympic goal of her career late in the opening frame, which held as the game-winner, and Toronto’s Daryl Watts found the back of the net for the second time in the tournament to add insurance in the middle frame. Six Canadians contributed assists, led by two each from both Seattle’s Julia Gosling and Montréal’s Laura Stacey, plus singles from Sarah Fillier (NY), Sophie Jaques (VAN), Ella Shelton (TOR) and Blayre Turnbull (TOR). Victoire netminder Ann-Renée Desbiens turned aside all 17 shots faced for her second win and first shutout of the tournament. Charge captain Brianne Jenner served as Canada’s captain for the second straight game with Marie-Philip Poulin of the Victoire sidelined with injury. Charge rookie goaltender Sanni Ahola made 18 saves for Finland and Boston’s Susanna Tapani returned to action after missing Finland’s previous contest with an injury. Both teams will play quarterfinal games on Saturday, with Canada facing Germany and Finland taking on Switzerland.
RECORDS AND MILESTONES
- Desbiens tied a Canadian Olympic record with her eighth career victory, joining Kim St-Pierre and Shannon Szabados, who are collectively ranked third on the overall list. She also became the fifth Canadian goaltender to record two or more career shutouts, a feat achieved by teammate Emerance Maschmeyer (VAN) earlier in the tournament.
- Fillier became the 15th Canadian woman to record 15 career Olympic points (10G, 5A).
- Stacey became the 22nd Canadian woman to record 10 career Olympic points (5G, 5A).
- Gardiner (1G) and Jaques (1A) recorded their first career Olympic points in their fourth career games.
- Michelle Karvinen (VAN/FIN) played in her 28th career Olympic game today and will tie the all-time record on Saturday held by Switzerland’s Nicole Bullo.
- PWHL players account for 16 of the top 32 scorers through the preliminary round.
FRIDAY’S QUARTERFINAL PREVIEW
10:40 A.M. ET: CZECHIA (A3) VS. SWEDEN (B1)
Montréal rookie Natálie Mlýnková has scored three of Czechia’s seven goals and leads the way with four points in four games, and New York rookie Kristýna Kaltounková has a goal and an assist in her first Olympics. Czechia leads all European countries with eight PWHL players and are in the hunt for their first Olympic medal after finishing seventh in 2022 and winning back-to-back bronze medals at the 2022 and 2023 Women’s Worlds. Sweden put together a perfect preliminary round in Group B, outscoring opponents 18-2. The team is powered by four PWHL players, featuring Toronto’s Sara Hjalmarsson (2G, 3A) Montréal’s Lina Ljungblom (2G, 1A), New York’s Maja Nylén Persson (2A) and the Sceptres’ Anna Kjellbin (1A) who serves as captain. Despite reaching the medal round in each of the last six Olympic tournaments, the Swedes have earned just two medals, including bronze in 2002 and silver in 2006.
3:10 P.M. ET: UNITED STATES (A1) VS. ITALY (B3)
The U.S., featuring 16 PWHL players, cruised through the preliminary round, outscoring opponents 20-1. Seattle’s Hannah Bilka and Alex Carpenter lead the team with three goals each, and captain Hilary Knight has five points to tie both the all-time U.S. Olympic goal and point records. Between the pipes, Boston’s Aerin Frankel has posted three wins with two shutouts. The Americans have medaled in all seven Olympic tournaments, winning gold in 1998 and 2018, and are the reigning World Champions. Toronto’s Kristin Della Rovere, the lone PWHL player on Italy, has led the host nation to their first-ever quarterfinal appearance with a team-high four points. Italy has come a long way since hosting the 2006 Olympic Winter Games when they were outscored 48-3 across five tournament losses.
SATURDAY’S QUARTERFINAL SCHEDULE
Saturday at 10:40 a.m. ET: Canada (A2) vs. Germany (B2)
Saturday at 3:10 p.m. ET: Finland (A4) vs. Switzerland (A5)
CLICK HERE FOR OFFICIAL SCHEDULE AND BROADCAST DETAILS
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT...
- PBS News - Your guide to women’s ice hockey at the Winter Olympics
- Delish - An Olympic Athlete Is Going Viral For Her Caesar Salad Reviews On Instagram
- D Magazine - Hannah Bilka Could Be North Texas’ First Homegrown Hockey Superstar
- CBC - Vancouver Goldeneyes bring Olympic fans together to cheer on Canadian women’s hockey team
- CKOM - ‘Means everything’: Emily Clark to play in third Olympics for Team Canada
JOCKS IN JILLS
Up Next: Tune in live to Jocks in Jills after the first two quarterfinal games wrap up on Friday, as Tessa and Julia provide instant analysis of the results from Czechia vs. Sweden and USA vs. Italy. They will also look ahead to day two of quarterfinal action, with Canada taking on Germany and Finland meeting Switzerland on Saturday, Feb. 14. After the episode, the duo will travel to Milan to deliver on-location coverage and content from Milan. Catch the live reaction on the PWHL’s YouTube channel and follow Jocks in Jills on social for full coverage.
In Case You Missed It: Get ready for the elimination round by catching up on all the live reaction shows from the preliminary round here.
Feb. 13 – Quarterfinal Day 1 - Live Reaction Show at conclusion of play
Feb. 15 – Quarterfinal Reaction Episode
Feb. 16–19 – Jocks in Jills Live from Milan