The women’s hockey tournament has just two days left. Let’s dig into what surprised us, what stood out and what you need to know about what has happened so far.
13 February 2026
Czechia vs. Sweden : 2-0 Sweden
Nicole: I said in my preview that I thought Sweden was too full of talented players to be in Group B and ranked sixth in the world and it felt like they really showed why in this game. They were disciplined and cohesive and able to really find the balance of protecting their own end while putting pressure on offensively. This was the first of the quarterfinals so I’m not sure I appreciated it enough in the moment, but with the benefit of hindsight I’m just really impressed with how composed and solid they’ve been. That’s so underrated over the course of a tournament like this.
I thought Czechia looked like they floundered a bit as this game wound down and I didn’t love how overwhelmed and unprepared they seemed. It was honestly enraging to watch Sweden tighten up even more on defense, blocking shots and clogging lanes while Czechia just kept trying to bulldoze their way to the net front. And when they did take shots from the exterior, the shots were weak and unthreatening. There was far too much talent on this Czech team to watch them look kind of useless and floundering in the final minutes with no solution for what they were facing and seemingly no conscious understanding that changes were needed.
Kirsten: Honestly, I think I can’t really fault Czechia for its final minutes; getting to the inside is, and should be, nearly always the goal. I appreciate that they kept trying. What stood out to me most in this game is that the Czechs, who have had a habit of toeing – and often crossing – the line, gave up the winning goal after taking a very unnecessary and undisciplined penalty. This game could’ve easily been 0-0 and into overtime, and potentially a shootout, if it weren’t for Czechia’s bad habits, which have seemingly gone unaddressed for years.
I had two key questions leading into this match: could Sweden maintain its offence and stay steady defensively against a much tougher opponent than those it met in Group B, and could the Czechs slow Sweden down without getting into penalty trouble. The Swedes managed on both counts, whereas Czechia took five penalties and lost to a power play goal. The Czech team has a tonne of potential, but to me, this game mirrors the story of their tournament. They’ve played (overly) physical at the expense of playing well.
Nicole: You’re being so generous, lol! I mean, yes, getting inside is the goal. But so is winning and playing for a medal. I just think that when your available options dwindle to “go home” you have to be doing everything you can do to avoid that and to me, trying something that had shown itself to be futile was not the move. I thought Czechia left it late to pull the goalie and just generally did not play those final few minutes like they were a team about to have their dreams crushed.
Overall it felt like far too much of their tournament was played without finesse. I don’t know if that was an overall system or approach choice or if it just came as they faced strong defenses who clogged the middle and slowed their transition.
(If I’m being completely honest, I fear this is where the women’s game is headed and I’m really, really not a fan. As contact continues to increase, women’s hockey is losing many of the things I loved so much about it. Czechia’s roster is full of talented skaters, puck-handlers and shooters and that was really only passively on display throughout their games as they seemed to spend more energy on bulldozing than anything else.)
Kirsten: I want to believe that it isn’t, in part because I do think their focus on physicality was the biggest factor in the Czechs’ downfall at this tournament. I don’t mind physical play, but there’s a limit, and this isn’t the first time Czechia’s failed to respect it. Hopefully the disappointment will help them learn their lesson, because they’re a tremendously skilled team.
USA vs.Italy: 6-0 USA
Kirsten: Realistically, the Italians had no chance beyond a miracle of winning this one, so I was more interested in evaluating their play under pressure. I was impressed, to be honest, even if the coaches did get into a heated discussion partway through. Apparently the U.S. team was instructed to hold off in the third period to avoid injury, but frankly, a number-one seed holding off against a seventh-seed shouldn’t typically involve zero goals scored; you’re still allowed to shoot the puck — and they did. To me, that says something very positive about Italy's defensive play. I suspect that a lot of the dual-citizen veteran players will be retiring shortly after these Games, but I hope the Italians can carry the momentum and learnings of these Olympics forward.
Meanwhile, I never really know what to take from such lopsided matches, but before the game, I’d singled out the U.S. power play as perhaps needing practice. They had plenty of opportunities in this one, but didn’t score on any. I’ve been surprised by this throughout the tournament given that Team USA has a lot of strong shots, smart quarterbacks, and crafty forwards who, in theory, should combine for an excellent power play. Is there anything you take away from this game?
Nicole: We write this in a shared document and I left this game blank before sharing it because I didn’t really know what to say. This went as we expected. USA advanced. Italy’s run ended, but it was still impressive and gives them something to build on.
It’s not necessarily a big takeaway, but as Hannah Bilka is tied for the tournament lead in goals scored, I can’t help but think about how she was left off the 2025 World Championship roster and rumor was that it had to do with her finishing and scoring. So I guess good on the staff for re-evaluating and good on her for not letting it affect her path to this roster. And if pettiness is driving this (as it absolutely would be for me, lol) I respect it even more.
Though not necessarily surprising, I like the way each game has seemed to showcase a different line and different goal-scorers. It’s not like the depth of this team is a surprise, but I just think it bodes well as they face tougher opponents that they aren’t reliant on a single line or player or matchup. And the players all know that, as well.
14 February 2026
Canada vs. Germany : 5-1 Canada
Nicole: The most important thing in this game for Canada fans is that Marie-Philip Poulin returned to the ice after missing two games with a lower body injury. She also scored her first goal of the tournament, which tied her with Hayley Wickenheiser at 18 for most goals in Olympic history.
Kirsten: Okay, so I do want to talk about the hockey, but I’ll start with the Poulin information. Troy Ryan said postgame that the decision to insert her into the line-up wasn’t really made until a discussion with her after the pre-game meal, and said it was more her talking them into playing her than him really wanting to put her in. He said he was leaning towards waiting one more game, but the medical team had said it was safe so he went with what Poulin wanted. The CBC broadcast reported that she had been allowed to play on the condition that she was honest with the staff about how she was feeling mid-game. Christine Roger of Radio-Canada spoke to Poulin in the first intermission, and reported that Poulin told her she had asked toward the end of the period to have her ice time reduced.
This might sound worrisome, but I was thrilled to see it. I, too, would’ve probably preferred to see her rest another couple days, but Poulin explained, in essence, that she wanted to get a feel for things before the stakes were raised. The fact that she proactively requested that her ice time be reduced tells me that she’s recognizing her limits and not just pushing through anything and everything at all costs.
Nicole: That’s all super interesting and of course wasn’t really reported here. It’s definitely not great overall that she needed to pull things back a bit, but I agree that her knowing and communicating her limits is a good sign. So is, I think, Troy Ryan listening to her and the staff. It’s been really interesting to hear all that he’s been saying. The Olympics are so nice because so many different outlets are talking to people and getting responses. It’s different from a World Championship when all five of us covering it are all standing in the same scrum and getting the same answers (or non-answers).
I think there are probably still a decent number of concerns, questions and unknowns with Canada right now and that is leaving people feeling off-kilter and skeptical because it’s so different from what we’re used to. But I also think there have been positives and the team is growing as the tournament goes on. That being said, they’re kind of out of time. The ideal is peaking and being at your best heading into the semifinals and finals and it feels like Canada is still making big adjustments and trying to figure things out.
Did you feel like this game settled any questions you still have about them?
Kirsten: Great question – definitely not. Canada got off to a slow start in this one, and I’m not sure how much to read into the game as a whole. The Canadians did improve as time went on, but not necessarily to a level that would be sustainable against more competitive opponents. I’m not sure we learned much from this one, to be honest, but that’s not necessarily unusual in a quarterfinal matchup, especially in this Group A vs. Group B format.
I do think the Canadian team is growing through the tournament, but at this point I’m not convinced it’ll be enough to overcome the U.S. team, which is one of the better women’s hockey teams we’ve ever seen. I suspect that not many readers will remember 2006, but Canada brought such a stacked roster to those Games that Hockey Hall of Fame forward Caroline Ouellette suited up at defence. Italy is once again hosting the Olympics, and I see some parallels in the current USA team.
On another note, overall, I got the sense that the German structure is very similar to the Swiss. It’s not a bad model for a team with some excellent defence and which has forwards with the ability to capitalize on rare opportunities.
Finland vs. Switzerland: 1-0 Switzerland
Nicole: In a lot of ways this game wasn’t remotely surprising. We’ve seen Swiss goalies in general and Andrea Brändli in specific put together masterclasses in the net before, so none of what happened there was particularly out of the ordinary. And the team defense has been outstanding this tournament. It’s clear there was a plan and the team has stuck to it game after game. They’ve kept their shape and been disciplined, forcing teams to the outside, clogging up the middle and closing down lanes to the net.
Kirsten: Before this game, I speculated that a better-rested Swiss team could’ve held Finland to the perimeter and overall played better team defence than they showed in their preliminary round meeting; at that point, this Swiss were on their fourth game in five days. That was also the only game in which the Finns scored any goals. At all.
I think it’s important to emphasize that Finland, overall, played well. They played well in this game, they played well in the prior match against the Swiss, they played well against the U.S. and they played well against Canada. They were getting into good positions and getting a good amount of shots, not all from the outside. Yet nothing was really coming together for them, and even from dangerous spots, the shooting just wasn’t where it needed to be.
Nicole: I feel like you’re maybe being a bit too generous in saying they played well. I’m not trying to be pedantic, I just don’t feel like you can look at their tournament and come away saying they played well. It doesn’t feel like there’s much to look at here to give positive takeaways or things to build on.
Now that I’ve written them both out, this game and the Czechia/Sweden quarterfinal had a lot in common.
What was surprising was Finland both coming into the game assuming that they could power through the defense and goaltending and then absolutely failing to make adjustments when it wasn’t working. Sure, the only three goals the Finns scored in this tournament were on Switzerland on Feb. 10, but certainly their staff didn’t imagine Saturday’s quarterfinal would proceed exactly the same? Right?
Because I have to say as I watched Finland barely look dangerous on the power play, getting off maybe one shot and then failing to even effectively hold the zone late when they were six-on-four, I’m not convinced much thought or strategy had gone into Finland’s approach to this game at all. I don’t know if it was hubris (they had a long winning streak against Switzerland before losing to them in December 2025) or naiveté or incompetence, but Finland looked absolutely unprepared to handle this game.
Kirsten: I mean, they lost 1-0 and outshot their opponent 40-14. A lot of those shots were from the inner slot. I don’t think it’s fair to the Finns to say they didn’t play well overall in this tournament (their only massive shot discrepancy was against the U.S., and in all other games except Canada, they led in shooting); they just could not, for the life of them, finish. (I am aware of the potential pun and refuse to accept it.) But I fully agree with you that they failed to adjust when it became clear that what they were trying wasn’t working.
Nicole: The game - and the loss - feel like an indictment of the Finnish Ice Hockey Federation and specifically their decision to hire Tero Lehterä seven months ago to lead this team when he had no experience coaching women and admitted in this introductory press conference that he wasn’t very well-informed about women’s hockey.
That this game came just 27 days after their U18 team was defeated by Hungary and relegated from the top tier at the U18 IIHF Women’s World Championship is no coincidence.
It’s time for some massive conversations and probably some drastic changes in leadership at the Finnish Ice Hockey Association.
Kirsten: I can’t disagree with you there.
Meanwhile, I had said before that Switzerland had found what worked for them and it wasn’t pretty hockey, but it did the job; this was yet another example. I still haven’t seen them play a game where I felt like they were in the driver’s seat, but they’re playing for a medal at the Olympics, so does that really matter? They’re giving themselves a chance to win every single match, even if it’s against all odds. It’s a great example of recognizing a team’s limits and playing to its strengths.
Looking ahead
The semifinals are set for Monday. USA and Sweden will play at 10:40 am est and Canada faces Switzerland at 3:10 pm est. A few things to keep an eye on in these games:
USA vs. Sweden
Can USA stay composed and not get drawn into a physical battle, particularly on the boards, with Sweden? They need to not get baited into crossing the line. If a physical game turns into a special teams battle, can the Americans tighten up the power play? How will they handle Sweden’s structure? Can they adjust without losing what has made them so successful so far? They haven’t faced much adversity, so how do they react when things don’t come quite as easy as they have?
For Sweden, can they ride the right side of the physicality line and stay out of the box? We know they can be solid in the offensive zone, but to really rein in the US they probably have to be stronger on the forecheck and not let the Americans gain speed in transition and through the neutral zone. The Swedish defense has been a little passive in that they’ve allowed the play to come to them and then been smothering. I don’t know that they can cede two thirds of the ice to the US and let them get set up and come away with a win. And maybe most importantly, can they get zone time and sustained offense without giving up ground defensively. Ultimately, I don’t see this being a low-scoring game. I think they can probably slow down the US offense, but not bottle it up completely. Sweden is going to have to do more than steal a goal to win this game.
Canada vs. Switzerland
Can Switzerland replicate what has worked so well for them so far? No matter who is in net, the team will be counting on another stand-on-their-head performance with 40 or more saves. As Kirsten has pointed out throughout the tournament, Switzerland has remained calm and steady whether they’re facing five shots or 25 in a frame. They’ve not strayed from their game plan and they have to maintain that here. They have to block shots, maintain shape and leave Alina Müller and Lara Stalder with enough space up top to pick off pucks and take off in transition. I trust their vision to see those chances, but the rest of the team has to be able to pick up their slack on defense at times so they feel comfortable taking the chance.
For their best shot at another gold medal, I think Canada has to play as close to a perfect rendition of their game as possible here. With adjustments and injuries and feeling their way through this, I don’t think they’re playing fluid or instinctive hockey right now and they aren’t going to have the time or space to be thinking about things when it comes to the medal games. After handling themselves well against Germany, Canada is well set up to face what Switzerland brings, so their goals are to stay calm and not get frustrated, to adjust to the game and the opportunities open to them and to pick up their pace of play in preparation for the medal round.
(Photo: SwissIceHockey/X)
