With the 2026 Olympic women's hockey tournament fast-approaching, the U.S. won all four Rivalry Series games versus Canada in November and December.
photo: Heather Pollock / Hockey Canada
Talk about making a big statement in women’s hockey. The United States dominated at both ends of the rink, sweeping archrival Canada in four straight games to win the 2025-26 Rivalry Series.
With less than two months to go until the Olympic tournament in Milan, it’s a crucial team-building time for both these gold-medal favourites. Coach John Wroblewski’s Americans outscored Canada 24-7 on aggregate and should come away with renewed confidence.
Wroblewski, who is heading into his first Olympics after winning two gold (2023, 2025) and two silver (2022, 2024) medals at the IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship, was quick to preach caution, however: “I know if the shoe were on the other foot, there’d be a rallying cry. When you’ve got [legendary Canadian captain Marie-Philip] Poulin on your team, you can’t bet against her, unfortunately.”
Coach Troy Ryan and the Canadian braintrust will be looking at some important adjustments, especially on the defensive side, and some serious decisions about whether a roster laden with 30-something veterans can succeed against this speedy, youth-laden U.S. squad.
“I think we’ll watch some more video, continue to watch college and PWHL [hockey], and then hopefully make some selections soon so we can move forward,” Ryan said. “But, I mean, this is our core. There’s not a lot of new people that are coming into the mix. So we’ll re-evaluate things.”
With less than two months to go until the Olympic tournament in Milan, it’s a crucial team-building time for both these gold-medal favourites. Coach John Wroblewski’s Americans outscored Canada 24-7 on aggregate and should come away with renewed confidence.
Wroblewski, who is heading into his first Olympics after winning two gold (2023, 2025) and two silver (2022, 2024) medals at the IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship, was quick to preach caution, however: “I know if the shoe were on the other foot, there’d be a rallying cry. When you’ve got [legendary Canadian captain Marie-Philip] Poulin on your team, you can’t bet against her, unfortunately.”
Coach Troy Ryan and the Canadian braintrust will be looking at some important adjustments, especially on the defensive side, and some serious decisions about whether a roster laden with 30-something veterans can succeed against this speedy, youth-laden U.S. squad.
“I think we’ll watch some more video, continue to watch college and PWHL [hockey], and then hopefully make some selections soon so we can move forward,” Ryan said. “But, I mean, this is our core. There’s not a lot of new people that are coming into the mix. So we’ll re-evaluate things.”
The Americans celebrate after an Abbey Murphy goal in Game Three of the 2025-26 Rivalry Series in Edmonton.
photo: Heather Pollock / Hockey Canada
Game Three on 10 December was the clincher – in a big way. The U.S. laid a 10-4 walloping on Canada in front of a stunned Edmonton crowd. That was the most goals ever scored by the senior American women against Canada. In official IIHF competition, the highest number of goals versus Canada came in a 9-2 U.S. win at the 2012 Women’s Worlds in Burlington, Vermont.
Here, the Americans prevailed with speed, skill, and relentlessness. When the Canadians pushed back – as in Game Four in Edmonton, a 4-1 U.S. win where first-period shots favoured Canada 12-6 – the U.S.’s edge in goaltending was unmistakable.
American starter Aerin Frankel recorded a series-best 1.00 GAA and 96.1 save percentage. She split the four games with Gwyneth Philips, whose numbers (2.50 GAA, 92.2 save percentage) also outshone her Canadian counterparts, including veteran Ann-Renee Desbiens (5.99 GAA, 81.6 save percentage).
In Game Four, 23-year-old Caroline Harvey, the top offensive defender in the women’s game, scored the U.S.’s opening goal with a blast that deflected in off 18-year-old Chloe Primerano, the consensus next great Canadian defender. It was just that kind of series for the motherland of hockey.
Here, the Americans prevailed with speed, skill, and relentlessness. When the Canadians pushed back – as in Game Four in Edmonton, a 4-1 U.S. win where first-period shots favoured Canada 12-6 – the U.S.’s edge in goaltending was unmistakable.
American starter Aerin Frankel recorded a series-best 1.00 GAA and 96.1 save percentage. She split the four games with Gwyneth Philips, whose numbers (2.50 GAA, 92.2 save percentage) also outshone her Canadian counterparts, including veteran Ann-Renee Desbiens (5.99 GAA, 81.6 save percentage).
In Game Four, 23-year-old Caroline Harvey, the top offensive defender in the women’s game, scored the U.S.’s opening goal with a blast that deflected in off 18-year-old Chloe Primerano, the consensus next great Canadian defender. It was just that kind of series for the motherland of hockey.
Canadian captain Marie-Philip Poulin is seeking her fourth Olympic gold medal in her fifth Winter Games.
photo: Heather Pollock / Hockey Canada
Looking ahead, Poulin, the Montreal Victoire captain who has scored in four straight Olympic finals, said: “I think it's going to be about holding each other accountable on an individual side and collectively. Connect over Zoom, have some meetings, and go from there. We know there’s work to be done. I don’t think we can take these four games and get down on ourselves. I think there were positives to get out of there. For sure, it’s hard to see right away, but we’ll step back and see where we’re at, how we can come back again. Nothing’s going to be easy.”
The U.S’s Abbey Murphy tied for the series goal lead (five) with superstar captain Hilary Knight. The talented 23-year-old agitator is one of eight NCAA players on the American roster, which looks unlikely to change much before Milan. The Canadians, by contrast, could bring an older all-PWHL Olympic squad, unless someone like Primerano, Murphy’s University of Minnesota teammate, is selected to play.
The Americans swept their home-ice leg of the Rivalry Series in convincing style. In Game One in Cleveland (6 November), Murphy led the way with a hat trick in a 4-1 victory. In Game Two in Pittsburgh (8 November), Knight, the all-time Women’s Worlds scoring leader, tallied three goals as the U.S. won 6-1.
Minnesota Frost star Taylor Heise, who led the Rivalry Series with nine points, hailed Murphy’s growth: “She’s sometimes a villain, and I think she takes that with great pride. And I love her for it, because she’s someone that you know loves so hard on her teammates and her people, and she will do anything for them. For her, I have seen not only a change in intensity, but a lock-in-like mentality.”
The U.S’s Abbey Murphy tied for the series goal lead (five) with superstar captain Hilary Knight. The talented 23-year-old agitator is one of eight NCAA players on the American roster, which looks unlikely to change much before Milan. The Canadians, by contrast, could bring an older all-PWHL Olympic squad, unless someone like Primerano, Murphy’s University of Minnesota teammate, is selected to play.
The Americans swept their home-ice leg of the Rivalry Series in convincing style. In Game One in Cleveland (6 November), Murphy led the way with a hat trick in a 4-1 victory. In Game Two in Pittsburgh (8 November), Knight, the all-time Women’s Worlds scoring leader, tallied three goals as the U.S. won 6-1.
Minnesota Frost star Taylor Heise, who led the Rivalry Series with nine points, hailed Murphy’s growth: “She’s sometimes a villain, and I think she takes that with great pride. And I love her for it, because she’s someone that you know loves so hard on her teammates and her people, and she will do anything for them. For her, I have seen not only a change in intensity, but a lock-in-like mentality.”
The Canadians, likewise, can be expected to lock in before Milan kicks off. Despite this adversity, they remain the defending Olympic champions. They captured their fifth Olympic gold medal in Beijing in 2022. Poulin led the way with two goals and an assist in the 3-2 final win over the Americans.
The U.S., meanwhile, owns just two Olympic titles from Nagano (1998) and PyeongChang (2018). The only European team ever to make the final, meanwhile, is Sweden (2006).
The Rivalry Series remains an important measuring stick for the North American women’s hockey superpowers. Yet its role in preparing them for IIHF competition has been reduced by the PWHL’s provision of regular high-level competition. The PWHL schedule resumes after the international break on 16 December.
The 36-year-old Knight, who is captaining a brand-new PWHL expansion franchise in the Seattle Torrent, said she is enjoying herself ahead of her final Olympics: “I kind of pinch myself every single day to be able to practice at KCI [Kraken Community Iceplex], to be able to play games at Climate Pledge Arena, to have 16,000 fans come out for our home opener, and to have over 8,000 for our last game. It’s so special to be part of that sports culture in Seattle, and we’re really looking forward to putting our stamp on the league.”
The U.S., meanwhile, owns just two Olympic titles from Nagano (1998) and PyeongChang (2018). The only European team ever to make the final, meanwhile, is Sweden (2006).
The Rivalry Series remains an important measuring stick for the North American women’s hockey superpowers. Yet its role in preparing them for IIHF competition has been reduced by the PWHL’s provision of regular high-level competition. The PWHL schedule resumes after the international break on 16 December.
The 36-year-old Knight, who is captaining a brand-new PWHL expansion franchise in the Seattle Torrent, said she is enjoying herself ahead of her final Olympics: “I kind of pinch myself every single day to be able to practice at KCI [Kraken Community Iceplex], to be able to play games at Climate Pledge Arena, to have 16,000 fans come out for our home opener, and to have over 8,000 for our last game. It’s so special to be part of that sports culture in Seattle, and we’re really looking forward to putting our stamp on the league.”
Edmonton's Rogers Place, which hosted the last two Rivalry Series games, will serve as the main venue for the 2027 IIHF World Junior Championship.
photo: Lucas Aykroyd
In addition to hosting the last two Rivalry Series games, Edmonton boasts a rich IIHF history. It hosted IIHF World Junior Championship games in 1995, 2012, and 2022. Last month, Hockey Canada announced that Edmonton will co-host the 2027 World Juniors with Red Deer.
The Alberta capital is also among several candidates for a PWHL expansion franchise next year, which would of course increase the visibility of female IIHF stars in Edmonton. It hosts two PWHL Takeover Tour (neutral-site) games this season, with the also-brand-new Vancouver Goldeneyes battling the Minnesota Frost (27 December) and then Boston (7 April) at Rogers Place.
It will be intriguing to see if this Rivalry Series outcome foreshadows or is utterly unlike the way Milan plays out. Prior to the 2022 Olympics, the U.S. took a 3-0 Rivalry Series lead, but Canada stormed back to win it with four unanswered victories.
There are many examples of the importance of not reading too much into pre-Olympic encounters. Heading into the 2002 Olympics, the Americans had won eight straight exhibition games versus Canada, but they lost the gold medal game 3-2 as Canada’s Jayna Hefford potted the winner in Salt Lake City.
The 2026 Olympic women’s hockey tournament runs from 5 February to 19 February.
The Alberta capital is also among several candidates for a PWHL expansion franchise next year, which would of course increase the visibility of female IIHF stars in Edmonton. It hosts two PWHL Takeover Tour (neutral-site) games this season, with the also-brand-new Vancouver Goldeneyes battling the Minnesota Frost (27 December) and then Boston (7 April) at Rogers Place.
It will be intriguing to see if this Rivalry Series outcome foreshadows or is utterly unlike the way Milan plays out. Prior to the 2022 Olympics, the U.S. took a 3-0 Rivalry Series lead, but Canada stormed back to win it with four unanswered victories.
There are many examples of the importance of not reading too much into pre-Olympic encounters. Heading into the 2002 Olympics, the Americans had won eight straight exhibition games versus Canada, but they lost the gold medal game 3-2 as Canada’s Jayna Hefford potted the winner in Salt Lake City.
The 2026 Olympic women’s hockey tournament runs from 5 February to 19 February.