Favored or not, U.S. women seek to prove their potential on the ice as Olympic hockey play begins

MILAN — As talented and deep as the Americans appear to be, coach John Wroblewski wasn’t ready to accept his team being considered the favorite a day before the women’s hockey tournament opens at the Milan Cortina Games.

After initially sidestepping the question following practice on Wednesday, Wroblewski reflected more on the lows — rather than the highs — the U.S. has endured in the four years since he took over.

“You say we’re favorites. What if you would have asked this in February of 2024?” he said, referring to the U.S. losing a seven-game Rivalry Series of exhibition games to Canada. The Americans lost the final four games by a combined margin of 16-5.

“I mean, Canada was cleaning us up in Rivalry. We weren’t even getting the puck,” Wroblewski said. “I remember those bruises and those scars. And I’m sure you’ve got Hilary (Knight) and Megan (Keller), Alex (Carpenter) in particular, they were in those games and it’s not much fun to be in those games.”

True enough.

The two nations are 2-2 in world championship tournaments since Canada won its fifth gold medal at the 2022 Beijing Games.

And though Canada holds the edge in winning three of the past four Rivalry Series, what’s difficult to overlook is how dominating the Americans appeared in overwhelming their cross-border rivals in their most recent meetings spanning November and December.

The U.S. swept all four games by a combined score of 24-7. That included a 10-4 win in Game 3, which marked the most goals the Canadian women have ever allowed in international play.

Though the exhibition series generally isn't an indicator on how the two global powers fare in international competition, the sweep raised eyebrows over a potential shift in power favoring the Americans.

“I don’t know. You tell me?” said U.S. captain Hilary Knight, who will be making her fifth and potentially final Olympic appearance. “It’s a clean slate every time you get to a tournament. You have to work hard.”

The U.S. opens Group A play facing Czechia on Thursday in a four-game preliminary round schedule that closes with a showdown against Canada on Tuesday. And it’s more than likely the two nations will meet yet again in the gold-medal match on Feb. 18.

Led by captain Marie-Philip Poulin, Canada returns 16 player from the team that set numerous scoring records and finished 7-0 in dominating the 2022 Beijing Games. The U.S. roster, by comparison, has been transformed by a youth movement. Only 11 of 23 return from 2022 on a team featuring seven players yet to complete their college careers.

Canada coach Troy Ryan is impressed, referring to the U.S. roster as featuring one of the best young cores he’s ever seen.

But he’s not ready to give way to perception or prognosis, while acknowledging his team was not pleased with how it performed in the latest Rivalry Series.

“Joking with our team, I said, `No one put a parade together for the first three Rivalry Series wins, so I’m not going to hang myself on a Rivalry Series loss,’” Ryan said.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, I think Denmark, Utica (New York), Brampton (Ontario), and Czechia, I think we were not favored,” he added, referring to the sites of the past four world championships. “So it just feels normal.”

The U.S. has won six straight meetings against the Canadians, dating to preliminary-round and gold-medal wins at the world championships in April.

“I don’t mind being the underdog. But we don’t really see ourselves as that,” Canadian forward Brianne Jenner said. “We know what the expectations are for our country. But you know what, we’re fine with whatever story people want to tell about us. We’re ready to prove ourselves the next two weeks.”

The Czechs and Finland might also have a say in the matter. The two have split bronze over the past four world championships, with Czechia winning in 2022 and '23, followed by Finland winning the past two.

“It has allowed our confidence to grow. And with confidence comes hunger. So I think we’re a hungry group,” Czechia coach Carla MacLeod said of a team that only made its Olympic debut in 2022. “It’s only our second Olympics. But certainly there’s a belief in the room that we can go play our best games and see where it takes us.”

Switzerland rounds out Group A.

Sweden is considered the favorite to win Group B, which also features Japan, Germany, Italy and France, which is making its Olympic debut.