Hilary Knight-led Team USA faces Olympic gold-medal showdown against Canada in women's hockey

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MILAN (AP) — Captain Hilary Knight and the tournament favored U.S. women’s hockey team is going for gold in its seventh Olympic final matchup against rival Canada at the Milan Cortina Games on Thursday.

The Americans have romped through the field in winning all six games by a combined margin of 31-1, and haven’t allowed a goal since the second period of a tournament-opening 5-1 win over Czechia. The two nations have met in all but one Olympic final — the 2006 Turin Games won by Canada — since women's hockey made its debut at the 1998 Nagano Games.

The 36-year-old Knight has already announced these will be her USA Hockey record fifth and final Games, with a shot at adding a second gold medal to go with her three silvers. The game is being played a day after Knight proposed to U.S. speedskater Brittany Bowe.

The defending Olympic champion Canadians have shown signs of age during a tournament in which they dropped a 5-0 preliminary round decision against the U.S., and eked into the final with a 2-1 win over Switzerland.

The loss to the Americans was the most lopsided and also the first time the Canadian women were shut out in Olympic play.

Canada has captain Marie-Philip Poulin back in the lineup after missing two games — including the loss to the U.S. — with a right knee injury.

The Swiss faced off against Group B-winner Sweden in the bronze medal game earlier in the day.

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AP Olympic coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics