Who's on USA women's hockey team for 2026 Winter Olympics?

If the last handful of Winter Olympics have proved anything, the U.S. women's hockey team and Canada are the teams to beat.

That's expected to repeat itself at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. Team USA, fresh off a win at the world championships and a sweep of the Rivalry Series, looks to edge their rival on the Winter Games stage for the first time since the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics and just the third time in history.

Leading the way for the U.S. women's hockey team once again are five-time Olympian Hilary Knight and four-time Kendall Coyne Schofield. Knight is looking for her second Olympic gold medal in her final Winter Games.

Laila Edwards also is expected to draw significant attention. The University of Wisconsin senior forward/defender was among the NCAA scoring leaders last season, is a first-time Olympian and the first Black woman to play for the U.S. Olympic hockey team.

The U.S. women's hockey team begins play in Milan against Czechia (formerly Czech Republic) on Thursday, Feb. 5 at 10:40 a.m. ET. The USA is competing in Group A with Czechia, Finland, Switzerland and Canada.

Those teams have already qualified for the quarterfinals, and their Group A play record will determine their seeding in the knockout round. The top three teams from Group B also qualify for the quarterfinals.

"Whenever we sign up to play for Team USA, it's to win a gold medal, and that mindset hasn't changed," Knight said in October to USA TODAY Sports' Nancy Armour. "... I think we have such a fantastic team. I want our legacy to be cemented on that world stage and I want people to know the names that are in the room and part of that is winning a gold medal. I think we're capable of doing it."

The gold medal game is set for Thursday, Feb. 19.

Here's what to know about the U.S. women's hockey team roster for the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics:

Who's on USA women's hockey team? Full roster breakdown

Here is the full U.S. roster for the Milano Cortina Olympics:

• Goaltenders: Ava McNaughton, Aerin Frankel and Gwyneth Phillips
• Defenders: Lee Stecklein, Cayla Barnes, Caroline Harvey, Megan Keller, Rory Guilday, Haley Winn and Laila Edwards
• Forwards: Kirsten Simms, Kelly Pannek, Grace Zumwinkle, Hayley Scamurra, Britta Curl-Salemme, Hilary Knight, Tessa Janecke, Hannah Bilka, Joy Dunne, Alex Carpenter, Kendall Coyne Schofield, Taylor Heise and Abbey Murphy

USA women's hockey schedule for Milano Cortina Winter Olympics

Here's a breakdown of the U.S. women's hockey Group A schedule at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, including start times and TV channel information:

• Game 1 (Group A Play): vs. Czechia | Thursday, Feb. 5 at 10:40 a.m. ET | USA Network, Peacock and NBCOlympics.com
• Game 2 (Group A Play): vs. Finland | Saturday, Feb. 7 at 10:40 a.m. ET | USA Network, Peacock and NBCOlympics.com
• Game 3 (Group A Play): vs. Switzerland | Monday, Feb. 9 at 2:40 p.m. ET | USA Network, Peacock and NBCOlympics.com
• Group 4 (Group A Play): vs. Canada | Tuesday, Feb. 10 at 2:10 p.m. ET | USA Network, Peacock and NBCOlympics.com

Note: The knockout round for women's hockey begins on Friday, Feb. 13 with the quarterfinal. The semifinals are set for Monday, Feb. 16, while the bronze and gold medal games are set for Thursday, Feb. 19.