After the recent success of Crave’s show, “Heated Rivalry,” fans across North America have one sport on their minds: ice hockey. Luckily, the 2026 Winter Olympics held its opening ceremony on February 6, 2026 in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
In fact, the lead actors from the hit series, Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, participated in the Olympic Torch Relay roughly two weeks before the start of the Games. However, unlike the fictional rivalry between their characters on the show, these Olympic Games host a very real and historical rivalry between two women’s hockey teams.
Women’s hockey first appeared in the Olympics at the 1998 Games in Nagano, Japan. Despite being played on an international stage, two teams in particular have dominated the rink: Canada and the United States.
Over the past seven Winter Olympics, the rivals have faced each other in the championship six times. Only the Turin Games of 2006 held a championship match between Canada and Sweden, although the United States still managed to secure a bronze medal that year. Outside of the Olympics, the two North American hockey teams have competed for the title of champions of the International Ice Hockey Federation 22 out of the last 23 championships.
Although the two teams’ rivalry is well known today, it began in the 1990s. At the Nagano Games, Team USA defeated Canada 3-1 for the gold medal in an unforeseen upset. However, the next Olympics resulted in Canada winning gold, until the United States turned it around at PyeongChang in 2018. The next title went to Canada at Beijing 2022.
The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics are expected to host the most exciting women’s hockey tournament yet. Team USA is currently riding their high of defeating Canada the IIHF championship in 2025 after a 4-3 win. However, this recent win for the United States isn’t what makes this Olympic hockey tournament so highly anticipated.
In 2024, the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) launched in North America. While female hockey players from across the globe participate in the league, the majority of the players come from North America. The PWHL is made up of eight teams, with four coming from Canada and the other four coming from the United States. According to All-Star players like Canada’s Renata Fast and America’s Kelly Pannek, this league has led to unprecedented year-round training. With the players constantly in action, they’ve been able to sustain a high level of competition, a factor that won’t slow down during the Olympic international play.
Besides the maintenance of skill, the PWHL adds viewership to the Olympics. In the last two years, women’s hockey has seen a large increase in broadcasting. Additionally, it has brought in record breaking crowds. This trend has been seen across various women’s sports, including rugby and softball. In particular, the growth of women’s hockey has led to an intensification of rivalries between players and teams within the league, which is something that will follow them into the Olympics.
Although itTIt is expected that Canada and the United States will face each other in bracket play, they are scheduled to compete in the preliminary portion of the Olympic tournament. The two hockey powerhouses will battle it out on Tuesday, February 10 at 2:10 p.m. in the last round of preliminaries. This game will likely foreshadow the gold medal match that will occur later this month on February 19. Regardless, it is guaranteed that these two teams will give fans some of the most exciting moments of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.