Where to watch U.S. women’s ice hockey play in their first match at 2026 Winter Olympics

The U.S. women’s ice hockey team will play its first match of the 2026 Winter Olympics Thursday, marking the first appearance of Chicago-area stars in the Games.

This year’s team is seeking revenge, and they’ll be doing it with a roster full of young newcomers and a few key veteran stars.

The 2022 Beijing Olympics saw the U.S. fall 3-2 to rivals Canada in the gold medal game.

This year, the U.S. has a strong roster, which includes Chicago-area stars Hilary Knight, Abbey Murphy, Kendall Coyne Scholfield and more.

The two nations are the only ones to win gold in the competition since its first run in 1998.

The women’s hockey events already saw their first unexpected shift Thursday as Finland’s match against Canada was postponed due to a stomach virus depleting Finland’s roster.

On Thursday, the U.S. will kick off the competition with a match against the Czech Republic, who won bronze in the world championships in 2022 and 2023.

Here’s what to know about Thursday’s game and how to watch:

What time is the U.S. vs. Czechia game?

At 9:40 a.m. CT, the U.S. Women’s ice hockey team will take on the Czech Republic.

How can you watch the game?

Live streaming of Team USA will be available via Peacock and NBCOlympics.com. Live and tape-delayed coverage will be shown on the following channels: NBC, CNBC, and USA Network.

The full TV listings for each game can be found on the NBCOlympics.com schedule page by clicking the toggle at the top to “TV Only.”  

Streaming link below:

Who to watch?

The 36-year-old Knight, who grew up in Lake Forest, headlines the U.S. roster, which returns only 11 members from the team that won silver at the 2022 Beijing Games, and features several newcomers.

Knight will set a U.S. women’s hockey record for most Winter Games appearances after winning gold in 2018 and three silver medals. The Seattle Torrent captain previously announced these will be her final Winter Games, while planning to continue her PWHL career.

Other familiar faces include forward Coyne Schofield, a Palos Heights native who will both be competing in her fourth Winter Games, and Murphy, of Evergreen Park, another returning member of the 2022 team.

Tessa Janecke, of Orangeville, Illinois, is among the newcomers.

Hockey star Hilary Knight is the GOAT– just ask George Hughes, the man who taught Knight to skate and watched her fall in love with the game.

While those four represent Illinois on the team, many of the names on the roster have Midwest ties.

There’s veterans like defender Lee Stecklein, who plays for the Minnesota Frost and will be competing in a fourth Winter Games. 

And there’s players like Caroline Harvey, who at 23 is completing her senior season at Wisconsin; or 21-year-old defender Laila Edwards, a University of Wisconsin senior set to become the first Black female hockey player to compete for the U.S. at the Olympics.

There’s Britta Curl-Salemme, Grace Zumwinkle, Kelly Pannek and Taylor Heise, all forwards with the Minnesota Frost; Joy Dunne, a forward at Ohio State University and the youngest player on the roster at 20 years old; Kirsten Simms, a forward at the University of Wisconsin; Caroline Harvey, who plays defense at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, alongside goaltender Ava McNaughton.

Full schedule

Here’s the schedule for Team USA’s group stage games:

The full schedule, including the knockout rounds, can be viewed here.