2026 Olympic Women’s Hockey Preview: Finland

The Finnish women’s Olympic ice hockey team hopes to extend their medal streak to three consecutive Olympic games at Milano-Cortina 2026.

But with only a few PWHLers on their roster, some are wondering if emerging nations like Czechia could overtake Finland’s spot as the perennial bronze-medal winner in women’s hockey.

Here’s a breakdown of the 2026 Finnish group:

LOOKING BACK TO 2022

Finland drew a difficult preliminary round at Beijing 2022, losing their first three games by a combined score of 19-5. However, they defeated the Russians 5-0 in their final game, setting up a quarterfinal with Japan.

The Finns handed the Japanese a 7-1 defeat, advancing to the semifinals to face the U.S. The Americans got out to a 3-0 lead, eventually winning 4-1, with Anni Keisala stopping 38 of 41 shots.

In the bronze medal game, the Finns defeated the Swiss 4-0, earning their fourth Olympic bronze medal since women’s hockey was introduced at the Olympics in 1998.

OFFENSE

Boston Fleet Susanna Tapani has the most PWHL experience in this forward group, with 19 goals and 20 assists for 39 points in 69 career regular-season games. Overall, she has helped Finland earn two Olympic bronze medals. 

Michelle Karvinen is in her first PWHL season with the Vancouver Goldeneyes, but she’s made a name for herself through European leagues and on the international stage. She is Finland’s all-time leading scorer at the World Championships and has been part of every silver and bronze medal moment for the country since she made her national team debut in 2009. 

Beyond Tapani and Karvinen, SDHL all-star Petra Nieminen will be heavily relied on; she has 22 goals and 43 points for Lulea HF this season, and has recorded at least 45 points every season since 2018-19. 

Noora Tulus, who played seven games with the New York Sirens in 2024-25, is an elite Swedish league forward and will provide some veteran experience for the Finns. Expect the same from Viivi Vainikka, who made her Olympic debut in 2022 and is an offensive force in Sweden this season. 

DEFENSE

Ronja Savolainen is in her second season with the PWHL’s Ottawa Charge and has carved out a role for herself as one of the team’s most valuable defenders. Through 15 games this season, Savolainen has three goals and two assists for five points, averaging more than 22 minutes a game. Expect her to play a major role in this group. 

Finnish national team captain Jenni Hiirkoski, who has earned three Olympic bronze medals and eight World Championship bronze medals, as well as a silver medal at the infamous 2019 World Championships, is again producing at a near point-per-game pace with Lulea HF in the Swedish league. Her experience on Olympic ice will prove vital. 

Minnesota Golden Gophers captain Nelli Laitinen made her Olympic debut in 2022 but has been part of the women’s senior national team since 2018. Now in her fourth season of college hockey, she’s one of the NCAA’s top blueliners and will be a top PWHL draft prospect down the road. But for now, she will be one of the Finns’ most valuable defenders in Milano-Cortina. 

GOALTENDING

The likely starter for the Finns is Sanni Ahola, who is currently the backup netminder for the PWHL’s Charge. In two starts this season, Ahola is 0-1-0-1 with a .927 save percentage (SV%) and 1.93 goals against average (GAA). She was the nation’s starting goalie for their bronze-medal results at the 2024 and 2025 World Championships, but this will be her first appearance in the Olympics. 

Veteran Finnish netminder Anni Keisala will compete for starts in Milano-Cortina. She helped backstop the nation to a bronze medal in Beijing 2022, posting a .915 SV% in seven games. She’s also helped Finland earn four bronze medals at the World Championships. 

Ahola’s fellow St. Cloud State alumnus, Emila Kyrkko, also made the team and has looked strong in the NCAA, going 6-4-2 with a .939 SV% and 2.02 GAA in 13 games. She is also making her Olympic debut. 

COACHING

Leading the way for Finland is Juuso Toivola, who is currently an assistant coach with the PWHL’s Charge. When the team hired him last August, GM Mike Hirshfeld highlighted his experience with several of the team’s Finnish stars. 

“Juuso has been Finland’s head coach for the last four IIHF Women’s World Championships and has been a fixture in women’s hockey in Europe,” said Hirshfeld in a team statement. “He has worked with our defender Ronja Savolainen and goalie Sanni Ahola at the international level. Our team has an international flavour where he will fit right in.”  

Toivola, 54, has been part of Finland’s national team program since 2002. He took over as head coach of the senior national team at Beijing 2022 and led Finland to a bronze medal. He’s also helped Finland earn two bronze medals at the 2024 and 2025 World Championships, and helped the Finns earn bronze at the 2018 Olympics. 

BURNING QUESTION

Does Finland have enough talent to keep up?

While almost 90% of the PWHL consists of Canadian and U.S. players, Finland still has some representatives from the three-year-old league. However, when you consider that the Czech national program has taken a major step forward in the number of professionals it produces, it’s clear the Finns have some competition for whom we would consider the sport’s third-best nation. 

With some high-skill youth players in their lineup, as well as two young netminders who could be the backbone of the program’s future, it will be fascinating to see how Finland performs on the world stage.

PREDICTION

The Finns start the tournament with games against Canada and the U.S., which is about as close to a “murderer’s row” as you can get in women’s hockey. They close out the round robin with games against Czechia and Switzerland, so there’s room for them to get some points and face a lighter opponent in the quarterfinals. 

Finland has won the bronze medal four times (1998, 2010, 2018 and 2022) and has earned the third-most medals after Canada and the U.S. Expect the European nation to have a good chance at medalling in Milano-Cortina. 

FULL ROSTER

Forwards

Elisa Holopainen
Michelle Karvinen
Ida Kuoppala
Julia Liikala
Petra Nieminen
Emma Nuutinen
Jenniina Nylund
Julia Schalin
Susanna Tapani
Noora Tulus
Viivi Vainikka
Sanni Vanhanen
Emilia Vesa

Defenders

Jenni Hiirikoski
Sini Karjalainen
Nelli Laitinen
Sanni Rantala
Ronja Savolainen
Elli Suoranta
Siiri Yrjola

Goaltenders

Sanni Ahola
Anni Keisala
Emilia Kyrkko

PRELIMINARY ROUND SCHEDULE

Here’s Finland’s schedule for its group stage games: 

Here’s Czechia’s schedule for its group stage games:

• Thursday, Feb. 5 vs. Canada – 3:10 p.m. ET
• Saturday, Feb. 7 vs. U.S. – 10:40 a.m. ET
• Sunday, Feb. 8 vs. Czechia – 3:10 p.m. ET
• Tuesday, Feb. 10 vs. Switzerland – 3:10 p.m. ET

The quarterfinals will begin on Feb. 13 and conclude the following day. Both semifinals are taking place on Feb. 16. The tournament will wrap up on Feb. 19 with both the gold and bronze medal games.