Women's Olympic Hockey: Quarterfinals Primer

It's now win or go home in the 2026 Olympic women's hockey tournament. USA and Sweden are the only teams entering without tasting the sting of defeat. The eight remaining teams in Milano Cortina will have the opportunity to win their way to a medal game, while the other four will see their Olympic medal hopes end.

The top ranked United States will face off against the host Team Italy in their quarterfinal. USA enters undefeated, and as the heavy gold medal favorites, while Italy has been celebrating reaching the quarterfinals as the equivalent to a medal of their own. This game however, stands the risk of being very ugly. It would be shocking to see USA score less than 10 goals in this game, even if they take their foot off the gas. Italy's top players will get a chance to see how their national program looks against the best in the world, which is a thrilling opportunity for Italy. USA will have the chance to practice set plays off their draws, on the power play, controlled break outs, and off a cycle. This will be a lopsided decision where Italy's crease gets peppered, and USA gets a chance to continue sharpening their tools with the pressure off. If Hilary Knight can notch a point, she'll be USA's all-time Olympic scoring leader. If she can score, she'll be USA's all-time Olympic goal scoring leader. Expect her teammates to look to make this happen. 

Players To Watch: Abbey Murphy (USA), Caroline Harvey (USA), Hilary Knight (USA), Laila Edwards (USA), Nadia Mattivi (Italy), Matilde Fantin (Italy)

No one is picking Canada for gold, and that's a statement that has to bother Canada's veterans. But their veterans just haven't played well. Instead it's been their youth, and former depth players, who Troy Ryan has used sparingly, who have contributed most. This team needs more than a stir, they need to become an abstract version of their former selves with almost no parts remaining where they were. If Canada's brass identified their fastest, most relentless players, and spent the entire quarterfinals against Germany letting them come together, this opportunity could be a positive. If Ryan exits his Delorean and expects lightning to strike later in the tournament, Canada's opportunity for a low pressure tune up against Germany will be lost. On the Germany side, Laura Kluge and Nina Jobst-Smith have been workhorses for their country. This is a hard working team that always believes they have a chance. Germany's best chance is in a career game from netminder Sandra Abstreiter. The biggest remaining question is if Canada will bring back Marie-Philip Poulin, or continue giving her time to recuperate from an injury she suffered against Czechia in the preliminary round. 

Players To Watch: Julia Gosling (Canada), Jennifer Gardiner (Canada), Kristin O'Neill (Canada), Sarah Fillier (Canada), Laura Kluge (Germany), Nina Jobst-Smith (Germany), Sandra Abstreiter (Germany)

Finland had stretches where they not only looked good against Canada, but where they looked better than Canada. They eventually fell 5-0 to the Canadians, but were only outside 23-17, and had some glorious opportunities, that had they capitalized on, there's no telling how it would have shifted momentum. Finland's best asset is their forward depth headlined by Michelle Karvinen, Susanna Tapani, Petra Nieminen, Viiva Vainikka, and Elsa Holopainen. They've come a long way at this tournament on the blueline as well, which was a noted question mark entering the tournament. On the Swiss side, finding scoring is the challenge. Alina Muller, Lara Stalder, and Ivana Wey have been a difficult trio to defend against, including against Canada and the USA. Someone in Switzerland's secondary must step up. It's what's holding this nation back (along with a refusal from many of their top players to leave Switzerland). Their crease, assuming Switzerland rides Andrea Brandli the rest of the way, is their best asset, and could be enough to help the Swiss upset Finland. Finland only had three goals in the preliminary round, a shockingly poor performance. There might not be a lot of scoring, which makes this game a coin toss that might come down to who strikes first and holds the momentum.

Players To Watch: Ronja Savolainen (Finland), Andrea Brandli (Switzerland), Alina Muller (Switzerland), Petra Nieminen (Finland), Sanni Vanhanen (Finland), Ivan Wey (Switzerland).

Sweden has enough firepower to upset Czechia. This will be a battle of the boards, of special teams, and of mistakes. Kristyna Kaltounkova will be the best player on the ice, and a force Sweden must be cognizant of in their zone. Both teams feature well balanced rosters with Sweden's up and coming forwards like Hilda Svensson, Josefin Bouveng, and Thea Johansson playing well, but the real leaders on Sweden has been the line of Sara Hjalmarsson, Hanna Thuvik, and Lisa Johansson. Czechia's stars aside from Kaltounkova and PWHL rookie Natalie Mlynkova have remained relatively quiet. If Tereza Vanisova and Katerina Mrazova can open up their games offensively, Czechia should be fine. If there's a battle to watch, it will be between Ebba Svensson Traff and Klara Peslarova in net. They know each other well, and in the SDHL, Svensson Traff has the upper hand, but interntionally, Peslarova has the experience.

Players To Watch: Mira Jungaker (Sweden), Thea Johansson (Sweden), Hanna Thuvik (Sweden), Sara Hjalmarsson (Sweden), Kristyna Kaltounkova (Czechia) Sara Cajanova (Czechia),