The United States women’s hockey team secured a 6-0 win against Italy in the Olympic quarterfinals at Milano Cortina 2026. However, after the game, Team USA’s focus was centered on officiating rather than the score.
Team USA controlled play from the opening puck drop at Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena. Megan Keller opened the scoring late in the first period after Gwyneth Philips denied an early Italian breakaway. Kendall Coyne Schofield struck twice in the second, finishing sharp sequences around the crease.
Laila Edwards and Britta Curl-Salemme added goals, and Hannah Bilka pushed the lead to 6-0, marking the second period and the game’s last goal. The Americans outshot Italy 51-6, including 20-2 in the first period.
Tension rose immediately after Bilka’s goal when she fell onto Italian goalie Gabriella Durante. A scrum broke out behind the net, with Abbey Murphy and Franziska Stocker exchanging shoves. Officials assessed offsetting minor penalties, and Murphy skated to the box smiling.
Head coach John Wroblewski blasted what he called blatant rule-breaking, arguing that standards were not applied evenly during the contest.
“They’re not supposed to be able to remove a player from the puck with any type of force except while playing the puck,” Wroblewski said.
“And you just see it time and time again, a team that’s maybe not as deep or skilled or as athletic as some of the players are allowed to hold up and blatantly break the rules. Meanwhile, if those same players played against the opponent the same way, as physical and as determined, they’d be going to the box every single time.”
Team USA now has five straight wins, including four shutout wins, and even defeated Team Canada 5-0.
Abbey Murphy Comments on the USA-Italy Scrum
Team USA Women’s forward Murphy also talked about the incident during the game. She talked to the media and said representing her country means never backing down in front of the net.
“When you represent your country, you hold yourself to a high standard,” Murphy said about the scrum. “So, anyone in front of the net that gets cross-checked, I’m not just going to watch that happen. That’s not me. I’m not just going to let it go.”
So far in this tournament, Italy has secured two wins in five games. This is an improvement from them, considering they lost all five games in 2006. Meanwhile, the United States advances to the semifinals at Santagiulia Arena.
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