Matthews, Tkachuk praise 2026 U.S. women’s Olympic team following dominant run
The United States women’s hockey team continues to receive praise from its male counterparts.
When speaking to the media earlier in the week, forward Matthew Tkachuk discussed the dominance of the women’s team as it pursues another gold medal.
“They’ve been beating everybody pretty easily but it’s because of how well they’ve been playing,” Tkachuk told reporters. “It has nothing to do with their opponents. They’ve been playing at a level women’s hockey, from what I’ve heard, hasn’t seen in many, many years.”
“Watching them, being around them, they’re a very determined group,” Matthews said. “There’s a lot of high-end players there. Some girls that have been around for a little bit and some that are coming up that are extremely impressive. We’re rooting for them big on Thursday.”
Auston Matthews: "Watching them, being around them, they're a very determined group. There's a lot of high-end players there. Some girls that have been around for a little bit & some that are coming up that are extremely impressive. We're rooting for them big on Thursday."
Matthew Tkachuk has high praise for Team USA 🇺🇸 (H/T @HeleneStJames)
This isn’t the first time the men’s team has given outward praise of the women’s roster. Tkachuk previously compared defender Caroline Harvey, who leads the tournament with nine points, to Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Orr. The Tkachuk brothers and other members of the men’s squad have been seen at a few women’s games in the lead-up to the gold medal game.
The U.S. women’s team is set to take on rival Canada in the championship game on Thursday in Milan, as the Americans look to clinch their first Olympic gold medal since PyeongChang, and the third since the sport was introduced to the Winter Games at the Nagano Olympics in 1998.
While the team might not have been lighting up the scoreboard the way it has in previous tournaments, the way they’ve been controlling play against all their opponents, including Canada in the group stage, has earned this group the label of arguably the best women’s team ever brought to the Olympics. The U.S. has outscored its opponents 31-1 through six games, having not given up a goal since the first game of the tournament. The team enters the final with a shutout streak of 331:23, an Olympic record.
Puck drop for the women’s gold medal game at Milano Santagiulia is set for 1:10 p.m. ET on Thursday. It will mark the seventh time Canada and the U.S. will meet in the final, with the Canadians beating the Americans five times, including four years ago in Beijing.
The men’s team continues its quest for gold on Wednesday, as they take on Sweden in the quarterfinals.