The ice hockey competitions of the 2026 Winter Olympics was played at two venues located in the Milan cluster: the PalaItalia and one of the Fiera Milano pavilions.
The men's tournament had 12 teams competing, and the women's tournament 10. Russia and Belarus were banned from competing in international championships through the International Ice Hockey Federation's (IIHF) 2026 program due to their military aggression in Ukraine; the International Olympic Committee ruled that Russian and Belarusian could compete as "Individual Neutral Athletes" (AIN) but not in team events.
The United States won gold medals in the men's and women's tournaments, both in overtime finals against Canada, which marked their first time winnning both tournaments in the same Olympics. The bronze medal went to Switzerland in the women's tournament and Finland in the men's tournament.
Medal summary Medal table
Medalists Men'sWomen's
Venues +Ice hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics venuesMilanPalaItaliaFiera MilanoCapacity: 16,000 (11,800 of which for the public)Capacity: 6,500
Competition schedule Ice hockey competitions were scheduled to start one day before the opening ceremony with the following schedule:
PRPreliminary roundPOPlayoffsQFQuarter-finals SFSemi-finals BBronze-medal matchGGold-medal match Wed 4 Thu 5 Fri 6 Sat 7 Sun 8 Mon 9 Tue 10 Wed 11 Thu 12 Fri 13 Sat 14 Sun 15 Mon 16 Tue 17 Wed 18 Thu 19 Fri 20 Sat 21 Sun 22 Men's tournament PR PR PR PR PR PO QF SF B G Women's tournament PR PR PR PR PR PR PR QF QF SF B G
Men's tournament
The tournament featured twelve countries, eight qualifying through the IIHF World Ranking, the host Italy, and three through qualifying tournaments. The format remained the same as the previous four Olympics; three groups of four competed in three games to determine seeding, each played every other team in their group, followed by four rounds of elimination games. Each group winner received a bye into the second round, along with the highest ranked of the remaining teams. The remaining eight teams played an eliminating qualification game to advance to the quarter-final round. Each quarter-final winner advanced to the semi-finals, with the winners playing for the gold medal and the losers playing for the bronze.
On 2 February 2024, the IIHF announced that an agreement had been reached with the National Hockey League (NHL) for a break in its regular season to allow the league's players to participate in the Olympics for the first time since 2014. The NHL was originally scheduled to compete in 2022 as well but opted out due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Qualification
Qualification for the men's tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics was determined by the IIHF World Ranking following the 2023 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships. The top eight joined the hosts and three qualifiers.
Participating nations The groups were established following the 2023 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships. Qualifiers one, two and three are the winners of the final qualification tournaments. Their designation was determined by their qualification seeding.
Group AGroup BGroup C
Notable firsts Although not an official award, the first known Gordie Howe hat trick in Olympic ice hockey history was achieved by Tom Wilson of Team Canada on 15 February 2026, when he fought French skater Pierre Crinon in retaliation for Crinon's forearm hit to Nathan MacKinnon's jaw earlier in the game. Wilson and Crinon were both ejected from the game for fighting. It was Wilson's first Olympic goal that contributed to the feat.
Women's tournament
Ten countries competed in the women's tournament, six qualifying through the IIHF World Ranking, the host Italy, and three through qualifying tournaments.
Qualification
Qualification for the women's tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics was determined by the IIHF World Ranking following the 2024 Women's Ice Hockey World Championships.
Participating nations The groups were established following the 2024 Women's Ice Hockey World Championships. Qualifiers one, two, and three were the winners of the final qualification tournaments. Their designation was determined by their qualification seeding.
Group AGroup B
Qualification summary / Participating NOCs Nations Men Women Athletes 48 48 25 48 48 48 48 23 25 25 48 48 48Total: 13 NOCs 12 10 530
See also Para ice hockey at the 2026 Winter Paralympics
References
External links Official Results Book – Ice Hockey