Czechia has made their path to the medal round more difficult, Switzerland has young stars step up, and Japan earns a win, but are they still a favorite to advance to the quarterfinals?
Day two of the 2026 Olympic women's hockey tournament is finished with Japan holding on for a win in their opening game against France, while Switzerland pulled off a stunning come from behind victory over favored Czechia.
Switzerland's (New) Stars Came To Play
When Alina Muller and Lara Stalder stepped on the ice for Switzerland, play changed. They were able to consistently shift momentum in Switzerland's favor. Muller scored a crucial goal for the Swiss in the third to begin their comeback, and both Stalder and Muller had a clutch goal in the shootout.
While the duo were the best pair from either side, Switzerland for the first time in international competition had a clear shift where their young additions join in as contributors. Defender Alessia Baechler who is a a 20-year-old rookie at Northeastern led all Swiss players in time on ice and played key minutes in the 3-on-3 overtime. Similarly, Ivana Wey, who turned 20 the day before the Olympics, was one of only three forwards alongside Muller and Stalder to play over 20 minutes. Wey is headed to Northeastern next season. She scored twice for Switzerland in the shootout and made a spectacular pass to Muller for her goal.
Czechia Sets Up A More Difficult Path
Czechia needed one win in the preliminary round, against Switzerland, to set up a more favorable quarter-final. They led 3-1 midway through the third period but squandered the opportunity. Now, instead of facing a team from Group B, it's more likely Czechia will face Finland or Switzerland again in the quarterfinals.
Czechia's younger players including Kristyna Kaltounkova, Sara Cajanova, Natalie Mlynkova and Adela Sapovalivova all came to play, but their veteran core of PWHL players including Tereza Vanisova, Katerina Mrazova, and Denisa Krisova were largely invisible in the loss. Czechia's competitive advantage by this stage in the nation's women's hockey development was supposed to be the wealth of players they have at the PWHL level, or having PWHL experience, but they were simply outworked and outcompeted by a more cohesive, focused Swiss team.
Japan Wins, But Will It Be Enough?
France's second loss of the preliminary round has all but guaranteed the French will not advance to the quarter-finals. Japan needed a late push to defeat France, but it wasn't as convincing as Italy's opening win over the French.
Italy dominated against France outshooting them 46-15. Japan didn't have the same differential, nor did they control play as clearly.
It begs the question, who are the actual favorites to advance from Group B? Sweden is clearly one, but the other two teams are not as clearly Japan and Germany as many believed heading into the tournament. A loss for either at the hands of Italy would likely end their tournament and give the host nation their coveted spot in the quarterfinals.