Team Canada takes on Team USA in sixth edition of the Rivalry Series

The GIST: Buckle up, because the Team Canada vs. Team USA Rivalry Series is so back, with the sixth edition of the annual exhibition matchup beginning tomorrow at 7 p.m. ET — it’s a thrilling dose of women’s hockey before the PWHL season starts on November 21st.

• What’s more, the series marks the final time the two powerhouses will meet before the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics, adding extra spice to this already-heated showdown.

⚙️ How it works: This year’s Rivalry Series is an Olympic tuneup edition, shortened to four games (down from five in 2024-25 and seven in 2023-24) due in part to scheduling conflicts with the upcoming Games.

• The U.S. will host the first two meetings of this “friendly” competition: Game 1 tomorrow in Cleveland, Ohio, and Game 2 on Saturday in Buffalo, New York. The series then resumes in Canada next month, with games in Edmonton on December 10th and 13th.

• As the only two women’s hockey teams to ever win Olympic gold, it’s always feisty when these fierce foes compete. And the stakes are only higher this time around with players hoping to earn a place on their respective 23-member Olympic rosters. *gulp*

🇨🇦 Team Canada features both veterans and newcomers in chemistry test: There are plenty of familiar names on the red and white’s roster, including Captain Clutch Marie-Philip Poulin and forward Sarah Nurse. One rookie to watch? Eighteen-year-old defender Chloe Primerano, who could be the youngest player to make the Canadian Olympic squad since Poulin in 2010.

🇺🇸 Team USA boasts 13 Olympic vets, plus eight NCAA players: The Americans are in similar territory, pairing the legendary Hilary Knight and Kendall Coyne Schofield with newbies. Among them: defender Laila Edwards, who’d be the first Black woman to play hockey for Team USA at an Olympics if she makes the 2026 roster. Drop — and we cannot stress this enough — that puck.