U.S. women’s hockey team winning the new normal in Olympic preparation

EDMONTON — The United States is handling the Rivalry Series’ dual goals of Olympic preparation and winning games better than Canada.

How to build a team to win an Olympic a gold medal in women’s hockey in 2026 within the time limitations imposed by the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s schedule is a new puzzle for the two countries to solve.

The U.S. has a head start in outscoring Canada 20-6 in three Rivalry Series games.

Canada has a chance to wrest some momentum back in Saturday’s fourth and final game of the series in Edmonton, and in its last tilt against the U.S. before the Milan Cortina Olympic Games in February.

The PWHL, which started its third season Nov. 21, did away with Canada’s usual pre-Olympic practice of centralizing players in Calgary for six months, and playing regular games as a team against minor hockey male triple-A opposition, and even Junior A before the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing.

Centralization largely yielded Olympic gold for Canada’s women since the turn of the century with the exception of a shootout loss to the U.S. in the 2018 final in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Canada and the U.S. have met in every Olympic final but one in 2006, when Sweden upset the Americans to reach the final in Turin, Italy.

The PWHL may be a double-edged sword for Canada’s women. They get the league they’ve always dreamed of, that pays a living wage, at a cost to Olympic prep.

The U.S. faces the same dilemma with almost as many PWHL players in its Olympic pool, although the Americans carry a larger contingent of NCAA players.

The U.S. has long held an edge in individual player speed and skill — which makes their power play lethal — but Canada’s superior team game forged in centralization largely carried the day when it came to Olympic finals.

“They’ve got a ton of youth, they’ve got a ton of speed, they’ve got a ton of skill,” Canada’s head coach Troy Ryan said. “It doesn’t mean you can’t be successful against a group like that, but to do it you’re going to have to compete, you’re going to have to play with structure.”

Canada is trying to replicate its centralization cohesion in the three two-week camps before the PWHL’s season started, and four Rivalry Series games.

Winning in February is more important to Canada’s women than November or December.

Ryan’s player deployment in the Rivalry Series has indicated Olympic evaluation and experimentation is as important as winning, given the time constraints he’s under. Canada started third-string goalies in its first two games of the Rivalry Series.

But a 10-4 loss to the U.S. in Wednesday’s third game of the series, with the top tandem in net for the most goals Canada has ever given up to the U.S., indicates a lot of work ahead for the Canada’s women to defend their Olympic gold medal.

“We definitely need to have a big reset and have a plan,” said veteran defender Jocelyne Larocque. “A big part of that is is just competing every single shift and we did not do that.”

There’s little runway left for Canada to hone its team game. Players will disperse after the Rivalry Series for the PWHL’s resumption Tuesday. The league doesn’t break for the Olympic Games until Jan. 28.

Canada’s first game is Feb. 5 against Finland in Milan, Italy.

The Americans were the more connected group in the first three games of the Rivalry Series, and particularly in the third when they overwhelmed Canada’s defence below the faceoff circles.

“I didn’t know what to expect with our first orientation camp back in August and I kind of went into it more of the thought process it would be a development camp for our group, and sort of easing their way in,” said U.S. coach John Wroblewski.

“But it became apparent after Day 1 the hunger and the thirst that group wanted not only individually, but collectively, to raise the tone, raise the battle level. I couldn’t believe it August. We were practising for an hour and a half, two hours and they were chomping at the bit to get it going.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 11, 2025.