USA Olympic Hockey Top Highlights, Reaction vs. Czech Republic Ahead of Women's KO Bracket 2026

The United States women's hockey team kicked off group play at the 2026 Winter Olympics with a win over Czechia on Thursday.

The top-ranked women's hockey squad in the world pulled off a 5-1 victory to move to the top of the Group A standings.

Team USA broke away in the second period thanks to a pair of goals from Joy Dunne and Hayley Scamurra that took place 83 seconds apart.

Captain Hilary Knight, who is playing in her fifth and final Winter Olympics, added to the second-period scoring with the fourth American goal.

Scamurra added a fifth American goal in the third period to seal the victory.

Alex Carpenter scored the opener for the Americans in the first period.

Team USA sits alone atop Group A because its main rival, Canada, did not play on Thursday due to illness within the Finland team.

The Americans continue Group A play on Saturday at 10:40 a.m. ET against Finland.