Syracuse Hockey in the Olympics Recap
2/19/2026 4:23:00 PM | Ice Hockey
The Orange had three representatives in the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games
MILAN, ITALY - Syracuse University was represented across three different nations competing in the games, USA, Canada, and Japan.Â
Two Orange alum and current head coach Britni Smith competed in Milan for gold in this year's Olympic Winter Games. Melissa Piacentini '16 was Team USA's Video Coach, Smith served as an Assistant Coach for Team Canada, and Akane Hosoyamada '15 played for Team Japan making her third Winter Olympics appearance.
Piacentini helped USA earn its third-ever gold medal in women's ice hockey after defeating Smith's Canada team in overtime 2-1.
USA finished 4-0 in the preliminary group round outscoring opponents 20-1 over the four matches. Including a 5-0 win over Canada to finish the group stage. The US did not give up a goal in playoff its first two matches defeating Italy 6-0 in the Quarterfinals and Sweden 5-0 in the Semifinals. But in the gold medal match Canada struck first, but USA scored the equalizer late in the third and eventually the game-winner in overtime to secure gold.
Canada went 3-1 in group pool-play, with the only loss coming from USA. But despite the loss, Canada was dominant in pool play outscoring opponents 14-1 in its three pool play wins. Canada allowed only two goals in playoff contention while defeating Germany 5-1 in the Quarterfinals and Switzerland 2-1 in the Semifinals. Canada then fell to USA in overtime after a hard fought battle and finished silver.
Japan finished 1-3 in Group B, the lone win coming from a 3-2 victory over France. Unfortunately, Hosoyamada and Japan did not continue into the quarterfinals as the team failed to qualify and finished in ninth place.
