The women's team has won medals in all eight of their Olympic appearances to date, taking home gold at the 2026 Olympics in a record-breaking game. The men's team also won gold in their game against Canada,

The women's team captain, Hilary Knight, called the joke "distasteful."

The U.S. women's hockey team defeated Canada 5-0 in the group stage of the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, making a dominant statement in the much-anticipated matchup.

With no stable, full-time professional league in the states, women’s hockey would drift into the abyss of the saturated American sports landscape that’s been dominated by men for decades. Every four years, the cycle would repeat. But the PWHL has an opportunity to break that cycle this time around.