USA vs Czechia Preview & Prediction | 2026 Winter Olympics | Women’s Ice Hockey | Preliminary Round

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A stacked USA roster heads into Milano Cortina as a clear gold medal contender, making Czechia huge underdogs in this match.

Kick-off date/time:

How to watch on TV: UK – TNT Sports (some events will also be televised on the BBC / TNT Sports / Not Televised / USA – NBC, USA Network, CNBC & NBCSN

How to watch online: UK – discovery+ (some events can be streamed live on the BBC’s digital platforms / USA – Peacock & nbcolympics.com

USA vs Czechia prediction

Gold medal winners in 1998 and 2018 but silver medallists in 2022 after losing to Canada, USA are out to reclaim the top prize and certainly boast the roster to get the job done. Everyone you look across this USA squad, there’s quality personnel. Whether it be players from the Professional Women’s Hockey League or the very best from Women’s College Ice Hockey, USA have game-changers from top to bottom. 

The NCAA champion Wisconsin Badgers are represented by Laila Edwards and Caroline Harvey, the latter a likely top three pick in the next PWHL draft. Abbey Murphy of the Minnesota Golden Gophers, another top draft pick in the making has also made the squad. Speaking of the PWHL, the best USA stars from that league will be on show such as Taylor Heise, Kendall Coyne Schofield, Hilary Knight and Lee Stecklein, the latter three having won gold in 2018. 

Czechia are one of the better teams on paper outside of the US/Canadian juggernauts and reached the quarter-finals back in 2022, finishing second-place in their group before losing 4-1 to USA. A proud hockey country, they boast a selection of PWHL players themselves along with young talents currently playing at colleges in the USA. Czechia are also well represented in the Swedish domestic league. However, against this incredibly strong USA side, it’s very hard to see them getting any points. Expect USA to triumph and by a substantial margin.

USA vs Czechia tip: USA to win with -3.5 handicap