Olympic Hockey Schedule 2026 Live Stream Info for Group, Medal Games

Kristopher KnoxFeb 3, 2026

The 2026 Winter Olympics will officially begin with Friday's Opening Ceremony. However, the first preliminary events are already underway.

Hockey, which figures to be a headline event over the next two-plus weeks, saw its first games begin on Thursday morning with the women's preliminary round. The men's competition will begin on Wednesday, February 11, and will run through the Olympics' final day.

In other words, fans attending the Olympics in Italy will have plenty of chances to see their favorite global hockey stars. While Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo are both serving as host cities, hockey will take place at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena and Fiera Milano Rho in Milan.

Here's a look at what's ahead for what should be a thrilling edition of Olympic hockey.

2026 Olympic Hockey

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Around The Games - Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics: Day -4

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General view inside the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena

Women's Tournament: February 5 - February 19

Men's Tournament: February 11 - February 22

Primary Location: Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena

Secondary Location: Fiera Milano Rho

Olympic TV Coverage: NBC, USA Network, CNBC, and NBCSN.

Olympic Live Stream: Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, NBC app, NBC Sports app, Olympics.com.

Full Broadcast Schedule: NBCOlympics.com

Preview

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Ice Hockey Training - Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics: Day -3

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Team USA

The Milano Cortina Games will feature two exciting tournaments that hockey fans worldwide should enjoy.

The men's tournament will involve 12 teams, including early favorites Team USA and Team Canada. Fans got a good preview of the competition at last year's 4-Nations Face-Face Off, which was won by Canada and also involved Finland, Sweden, and the United States.

Those rosters should look quite similar to the 4-Nations squads. Team USA, for example, is bringing 22 4-Nations participants as part of its 25-player roster.

This is all possible because the NHL has once again allowed its stars to participate in the Olympics, which it hasn't done since 2014.

"It's awesome," Vegas Golden Knights star Jack Eichel said, per The Associated Press. "It's something that we've wanted for a while."

The women's tournament will feature 10 teams and a star-studded list of PWHL standouts like Hilary Knight, Kendall Coyne Schofield, and Rory Guilday.

Both tournaments will begin with group play, which will determine seeding. In group play, each nation will play every other nation in its group once, with win-loss-tie records being tallied.

For the women's tournament, there will be two five-team groups. Group A and the top three teams of Group B will advance to the knockout stage. The men's tournament will feature three four-team groups with the winner of each group advancing to the second round of the knockout stage.

Each knockout bracket will be single-elimination.

Canada is the early favorite in the men's bracket, while Team USA is the favorite in the women's tournament.