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Fresh off a dominant preliminary round that culminated in a historic 5-0 shutout of rival Canada, the United States women's hockey team returns to the ice Friday for a high-stakes quarterfinal matchup against host nation Italy. While the Americans enter as the top overall seed after a perfect 4-0 run in Group A, the Italians have become the feel-good story of the Winter Olympics, riding the energy of the home crowd to their first-ever Olympic quarterfinal appearance.
The U.S. defensive unit, led by phenom Caroline Harvey, has been virtually impenetrable, posting three consecutive shutouts and outscoring opponents 20-1 throughout the tournament. Captain Hilary Knight enters Friday's contest on the verge of history; after recording an assist against Canada, she is now tied with Jenny Potter for the most career Olympic points (32) by an American. A single point would make her the undisputed scoring queen of U.S. Olympic hockey.
On the other side, Italy -- ranked 18th in the world -- has defied all expectations. Led by the scoring of Kristin Della Rovere and the steady play of defender Laura Fortino, the Italians secured their spot in the knockout stage with key wins over France and Japan. While they face a massive talent gap against the Americans, the "Azzurre" have proven they can play a disciplined, low-event style that frustrates even elite offenses.
Through the first period, the U.S. is dominating, outshooting Italy 20-2. But, goaltender Gabriella Durante has 19 saves as the game is 1-0 through 20 minutes.
Here's the box score after the first period.
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USA vs. Italy hockey box score
USA stats
USA vs Italy – 2026 Winter Olympics (First Period)
USA Skaters
| 5 | Megan Keller | D | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7:40 | +1 | 3 |
| 10 | Laila Edwards | D | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7:35 | +1 | 1 |
| 17 | Britta Curl | F | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5:12 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Hilary Knight | F | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5:58 | 0 | 3 |
| 25 | Alex Carpenter | F | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5:57 | +1 | 1 |
| 4 | Caroline Harvey | D | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7:15 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | Haley Winn | D | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3:50 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Taylor Heise | F | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5:18 | +1 | 1 |
| 37 | Abbey Murphy | F | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5:17 | 0 | 4 |
| 2 | Lee Stecklein | D | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4:09 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Cayla Barnes | D | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6:30 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Kelly Pannek | F | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3:02 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Grace Zumwinkle | F | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4:06 | 0 | 2 |
| 26 | Kendall Coyne | F | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3:20 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | Rory Guilday | D | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1:41 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Kirsten Simms | F | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3:56 | 0 | 1 |
| 22 | Tessa Janecke | F | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5:26 | 0 | 1 |
| 24 | Joy Dunne | F | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4:54 | 0 | 1 |
| 16 | Hayley Scamurra | F | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2:13 | 0 | 0 |
USA Goaltenders
| 33 | Gwyneth Philips | 7:35 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1.000 |
Italy Skaters
| 8 | Anna Caumo | F | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8:47 | 0 |
| 11 | Justine Reyes | F | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7:05 | -1 |
| 18 | Franziska Stocker | F | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7:50 | -1 |
| 19 | Kristin Della Rovere | F | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8:12 | 0 |
| 93 | Nadia Mattivi | F | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9:49 | 0 |
| 10 | Aurora Abatangelo | F | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6:12 | 0 |
| 13 | Laura Lobis | F | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5:58 | 0 |
| 17 | Matilde Fantin | F | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7:36 | 0 |
| 77 | Laura Fortino | D | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8:10 | 0 |
| 82 | Kayla Tutino | F | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7:26 | 0 |
| 2 | Amie Varano | D | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5:44 | 0 |
| 3 | Manuela Heidenberger | D | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6:30 | 0 |
| 12 | Rebecca Roccella | D | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5:50 | 0 |
| 15 | Greta Niccolai | F | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4:58 | 0 |
| 27 | Kristen Guerriero | F | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6:12 | 0 |
| 4 | Carola Saletta | D | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5:40 | 0 |
Italy Goaltenders
| 31 | Gabriella Durante | 7:50 | 20 | 1 | 19 | .950 |
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