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The US women’s hockey team returned to the United States from their gold medal run at the Winter Olympics to the applause and cheers of their fans.
Unlike previous Winter Olympics, most of the women’s team will continue to play hockey professionally.
The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) is in its third season. The league includes four US and four Canadian teams. PWHL teams are well represented on Team USA and help put the league at the forefront of the millions who watched the entire Olympics this month.
“I could take a week in Mexico, but I understand that’s impossible,” Taylor Heise joked in an interview with Fox News Digital. “But yeah, we’re all excited to go back and start over with the PWHL. It’s definitely a league that gave us a platform to play and kind of look back at the WNBA and how it started. It’s a constant grind, and it’s not just going from here to here in two days.
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“With our expansion and everything, it’s definitely been a difficult process for a lot of people, teams traveling and stuff like that. But I just think, you know, 7.7 million people watched that gold medal game, which is amazing in a way, I just think it’s really special because I think we’ve gained a lot of new fans.
“Whether you’re a fan of women’s hockey or you’ve watched the Olympics and now you see that we play in a professional league, it’s very special. And I expect we’ll have a few more fans come out to our games and decide they want to be PWHL fans in the future.”
There are a number of players who still play college hockey, too. The women’s hockey season is in the midst of the conference playoffs.
Here are the gold medalists returning to the ice.
The Boston Fleet
Megan Keller (5) of the United States and Hannah Bilka (23) of the United States celebrate after winning the women’s ice hockey gold medal after defeating Canada during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the Milan Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 19, 2026. (Photos by Amber Searls/Imagn)
The Boston Fleet had three players on Team USA this year. Megan Keller, Haley Winn and Aerin Frankel. Keller scored the game-winning goal against Canada in overtime to secure the gold medal while Frankel capped the charge with an interception. Fleet tops the PWHL with a 10-2-2 record. Boston is back in action on Saturday against the Ottawa Charge at 2pm ET.
Minnesota Frost
Taylor Heise #27 of the United States Team Laila Edwards #10 of the United States Team celebrates the victory after the Ice Hockey Gold Medal Game between the USA and Canada (2-1 OT) on the thirteenth day of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 19, 2026 in Milan, Italy, Milan, Italy, Milan, 2026. (EyesWideOpen/Getty Images)
Minnesota Frost had a strong representation on Team USA with six players. Lee Stecklein, Kelly Pannek, Grace Zumwinkle, Britta Curl-Salemme, Taylor Heise and Kendall Coyne Schofield all took the ice for the Stars and Stripes. The Frosts have more time to prepare for their next game, which is Sunday at 1 pm ET against the Montreal Victoire.
. Frost is 9-3-3 this season and is behind Frost in the PWHL standings.
Montreal Victoria
Hayley Scamurra was the only player from Montreal Victoire to compete against Team USA and the defender brought home the gold medal. Montreal will face the New York Sirens on Thursday at 7 pm ET. Victoire is 10-5-0 this season and is in third place on the PWHL standings.
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Ottawa payment
Rory Guilday and Gwyneth Philips represented the Ottawa Bill while on Team USA at the Olympics. The Charge are in the middle of the PWHL standings with a 9-7-0 record. Ottawa will return to the ice on Saturday to face the Boston Fleet at 2 pm ET.
Seattle Torrent
Hilary Knight, captain of Team USA, was among four Seattle Torrent players on the Olympic roster. Cayla Barnes, Hanna Bilka and Alex Carpenter joined her. Seattle will need a big push in the second half of the season to make the playoffs. Torrent is 5-7-2 so far this season. They begin their season again on Friday against the Toronto Scepters at 10 pm ET.
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College hockey
Laila Edwards (10) of the United States and Megan Keller (5) of the United States celebrate after winning the gold medal in women’s ice hockey after defeating Canada during the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 19, 2026. (Photos by Amber Searls/Imagn)
There were a number of college players who played for Team USA. Abbey Murphy (Minnesota), Joy Dunne (Ohio State) and Tessa Janecke (Penn State) were on the team with Caroline Harvey of Wisconsin, Kristen Sims, Laila Edward and Ava McNaughton. There was no Olympic break for their teams.
Minnesota, Penn State and Wisconsin are all in the Western College Hockey Association playoffs. Each team will play on Friday at 6 pm ET. The Golden Gophers play the St. Cloud State, the Buckeyes will play against St. Thomas and the Badgers face Bemidji State.
The Nittany Lions are in the semifinals of the Atlantic Hockey America playoffs. Penn State returns to the ice Friday at 6 pm to take on Syracuse.
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