MILAN – Hayley Scamurra (Buffalo, N.Y./Montreal Victoire) netted two goals as the U.S. Olympic Women’s Hockey Team achieved a 5-1 win against Czechia to commence the 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena.
“Today was an excellent beginning, but we need to improve with each game,” stated John Wroblewski (Neenah, Wis.), head coach of the 2026 Olympic Women’s Hockey Team. “We have developed a style of play over the past four years, and we have complete confidence in this team as Olympians. It may sound cliché, but we must evolve as a team with every match.”
Team USA took the lead 15:55 into the first period. Alex Carpenter (North Reading, Mass./Seattle Torrent) redirected a Megan Keller (Farmington Hills, Mich./Boston Fleet) shot into the net 30 seconds into the game’s initial power play.
U.S. goaltender Aerin Frankel (Chappaqua, N.Y./Boston Fleet) made a vital save with 1:32 left in the period, extending her pad to stop a bouncing puck in the crease, which maintained her team’s lead after the first period. She concluded the game with 13 saves, marking her first Olympic win.
GAME PHOTOS
Joy Dunne (O’Fallon, Mo./Ohio State University) increased the U.S. lead 3:13 into the second period. She scored from the slot after receiving a centering pass from Tessa Janecke (Warren, Ill./Penn State University).
Team USA struck again just 1:23 later, as Scamurra took advantage of a screen in front of the net, catching Czech goaltender Klara Peslarova off guard with a low shot that found the back of the net, extending the lead to 3-0.
Czechia narrowed the U.S. lead to two at 8:27, as Barbora Jurickova scored on a breakaway opportunity immediately after exiting the penalty box.
Hilary Knight (Sun Valley, Idaho/Seattle Torrent) recorded her 13th career Olympic goal at 17:50, as she maneuvered past a Czech defender and fired a wrist shot past Peslarova’s glove to give the U.S. a three-goal advantage.
Scamurra netted her second goal of the game at 4:22 of the third period, firing a shot from the right faceoff circle into the net off a pass from Kelly Pannek (Plymouth, Minn./Minnesota Frost).
Team USA will return to preliminary round action on Saturday (Feb. 7) against Finland at Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena. The puck is set to drop at 4:40 p.m. CET (10:40 a.m. ET), and the game will be available on USA Network and streamed on Peacock.
NOTES: Team USA outshot Czechia, 42-14 … The U.S. converted 1-3 on the power play, while Czechia was 0-1 … The U.S. Olympic Women’s Hockey Team improves to 8-0-0-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L) in opening games at the Olympics and 2-0-0-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L) against Czechia in Olympic matchups.
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