Defending Olympic champions Canada will look to quiet the praise heaped on their U.S. rivals when the women’s ice hockey tournament kicks off on Thursday in Milano Cortina, after a string of infuriating defeats.

The United States sent a message when they closed out 2025 with a four-game sweep over Canada in the Rivalry Series, months after beating their neighbors to the North in the World Championship.

But with several veterans and a tried-and-true formula on the Olympic stage – with five golds to the United States’ two – Canada showed no apprehension resuming one of the Winter Games’ fiercest rivalries.

“I don’t think there’s any percentage of stress in them based on previous anything,” said head coach Troy Ryan, who was also at the helm when they won gold in 2022.

“But I also don’t think there’s this crazy amount of confidence because they’ve won two world championships (in 2022 and 2024) and won the last Olympics. I just don’t think they get caught in the positive of the negative in that.”

While the players have moved on from the Rivalry Series, fans may still feel the sting, having lost by three or more goals in all four of their encounters across November and December.

“We never like to lose the way we lost – I think it was really sloppy play, uncharacteristic of us,” said Ryan. “But in the quad we won three Rivalry Series. We lost one. So it isn’t that stressful when you’re looking at the quad.

“I was joking with our team, I said: ‘No one put a parade together for the first three Rivalry Series wins so I’m not going to hang ourself on the Rivalry Series loss.'”

Experience V Youth

The showdown between Canada and the United States is shaping up to be a classic clash of experience versus youth, with the two teams set to face each other in the group stage on February 10.

Sixteen players from the winning 2022 team were named to the Canadian roster this time around, with all 23 players in the professional ranks in the PWHL.

The United States, in contrast, brought up several young collegiate players to help grind through the grueling Olympic schedule.

“They have a special group of young talent coming up,” said Ryan.

“When you look at some of the young talent that America has, if it were available to us, there would be some consideration for some of the young talent. We just don’t have some of that.”

Natalie Spooner, who will compete in her fourth Games, is one of several veterans who can expect muscle memory to kick in when her skate touches the ice.

“The Rivalry Series is something totally different than the Olympics and we’ve seen that year after year, that the Olympics – when it comes down to that game – it’s going to be who’s better prepared,” said Spooner.

“When it comes down to a gold medal, you’re going to play with a chip on your shoulder either way.”

—

(Reporting by Amy Tennery in Milan; Editing by Christian Radnedge)