When Team USA and Canada meet in the women’s ice hockey gold medal game at Milan Cortina— the rivalry will double as an NCAA showcase. Both rosters are 23 for 23 with NCAA ties, powered by the same college programs that shape Frozen Four runs and national title races.
By the numbers
- Team USA: 23 for 23 with NCAA ties
- Canada: 23 for 23 with NCAA ties
- Total in the rivalry: 46 Olympians with college connections
- Current NCAA student-athletes in the matchup: 7 (all on Team USA)
Both teams are 100% NCAA-built in 2026 — all 46 Olympians have college ties — and the stakes are as familiar as the names on the back of the jerseys: national champions, Frozen Four veterans, and a collection of the NCAA’s top individual award winners who have already spent years learning how to win when the margins are thin.
Related: NCAA women’s ice hockey is powering the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics
This Olympic rivalry is also a college hockey reunion. Team USA and Canada bring rosters built by NCAA women’s ice hockey, with players developed at powerhouse college hockey programs like Wisconsin, Ohio State, Minnesota and Clarkson now facing each other on the sport’s biggest stage.
GOING FOR GOLD: From campus to Milan Cortina: The NCAA roots behind Team USA women’s hockey
Team USA roster with NCAA connections:
- Cayla Barnes (Boston College, Ohio State)
- Hannah Bilka (Boston College, Ohio State)
- Alex Carpenter (Boston College)
- Kendall Coyne Schofield (Northeastern)
- Britta Curl-Salemme (Wisconsin)
- Joy Dunne (Ohio State)
- Laila Edwards (Wisconsin)
- Aerin Frankel (Northeastern)
- Rory Guilday (Cornell)
- Caroline Harvey (Wisconsin)
- Taylor Heise (Minnesota)
- Megan Keller (Boston College)
- Hilary Knight (Wisconsin)
- Ava McNaughton (Wisconsin)
- Abbey Murphy (Minnesota)
- Kelly Pannek (Minnesota)
- Gwyneth Philips (Northeastern)
- Hayley Scamurra (Northeastern)
- Kirsten Simms (Wisconsin)
- Lee Stecklein (Minnesota)
- Haley Winn (Clarkson)
- Tessa Janecke (Penn State)
- Grace Zumwinkle (Minnesota)
2026 GAMES: Inside the NCAA’s impact in the 2026 Milan Cortina Games
Top NCAA programs represented on Team USA women’s hockey
- Wisconsin (6): Curl-Salemme, Edwards, Harvey, Knight, McNaughton, Simms.
- Minnesota (5): Heise, Murphy, Pannek, Stecklein, Zumwinkle.
- Boston College (4): Barnes, Bilka, Carpenter, Keller.
- Northeastern (4): Coyne Schofield, Frankel, Philips, Scamurra.
- Ohio State (3): Barnes, Bilka, Dunne.
Current NCAA student-athletes on Team USA (7):
- Wisconsin: Edwards, Harvey, McNaughton, Simms.
- Minnesota: Murphy.
- Ohio State: Dunne.
- Penn State: Janecke
Team USA: NCAA award winners and champions to know.
Team USA’s roster features a championship spine. Eleven players have won at least one NCAA team national title and together they have 20 combined NCAA championships: Britta Curl-Salemme, Cayla Barnes, Hannah Bilka, Joy Dunne, Laila Edwards, Caroline Harvey, Hilary Knight, Ava McNaughton, Kelly Pannek, Kirsten Simms and Lee Stecklein.
The roster’s top individual honors are just as loaded. Team USA includes Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winners Alex Carpenter, Kendall Coyne Schofield, Aerin Frankel and Taylor Heise.
Canada roster with NCAA connections (23 for 23)
- Erin Ambrose (Clarkson)
- Emily Clark (Wisconsin)
- Ann-Renée Desbiens (Wisconsin)
- Renata Fast (Clarkson)
- Sarah Fillier (Princeton)
- Jenn Gardiner (Ohio State)
- Julia Gosling (St. Lawrence)
- Sophie Jaques (Ohio State)
- Brianne Jenner (Cornell)
- Jocelyne Larocque (Minnesota Duluth)
- Emma Maltais (Ohio State)
- Emerance Maschmeyer (Harvard)
- Sarah Nurse (Wisconsin)
- Kristin O’Neill (Cornell)
- Kayle Osborne (Colgate)
- Marie-Philip Poulin (Boston U.)
- Ella Shelton (Clarkson)
- Natalie Spooner (Ohio State)
- Laura Stacey (Dartmouth)
- Kati Tabin (Quinnipiac)
- Claire Thompson (Princeton)
- Blayre Turnbull (Wisconsin)
- Daryl Watts (Boston College, Wisconsin)
Top NCAA programs represented (schools with 2 or more athletes) on Canada:
- Wisconsin (5): Clark, Desbiens, Nurse, Turnbull, Watts.
- Ohio State (4): Gardiner, Jaques, Maltais, Spooner.
- Clarkson (3): Ambrose, Fast, Shelton.
- Princeton (2): Fillier, Thompson.
- Cornell (2): Jenner, O’Neill.
NCAA award winners and champions to know on Canada
Canada arrives with an NCAA championship core. Eight players on the roster have won NCAA team national titles: Erin Ambrose (Clarkson), Emily Clark (Wisconsin), Jenn Gardiner (Ohio State), Sophie Jaques (Ohio State), Jocelyne Larocque (Minnesota Duluth), Renata Fast (Clarkson), Ella Shelton (Clarkson), and Daryl Watts (Boston College, Wisconsin).
Canada also brings elite collegiate award winners, including Patty Kazmaier selections Ann-Renée Desbiens (Wisconsin), Daryl Watts (Boston College), and Sophie Jaques (Ohio State). Watts and Fillier were also Julie Chu Rookie of the Year winners.
Why this matters when the puck drops
This matchup is not just USA vs. Canada. It is NCAA champions vs. NCAA champions with rosters that have already collided in conference races, Frozen Four runs and title games.
And when these teams meet in Milan Cortina, the NCAA fingerprints will be everywhere, from Wisconsin’s championship core to Ohio State’s recent title run pipeline, from Kazmaier winners to goalie award winners and from current student-athletes chasing medals mid-semester to seasoned alums who built their edge on college ice.
