Making an Impact on the Ice

It is safe to say that the Big Ten might make the biggest impact on the ice on the women’s side – and quickly. With Team USA being conference-heavy, particularly from the WCHA/Big Ten, here are our thoughts after watching them dominate Czechia, 5-1.

Laila Edwards on the Top Defense Pairing

Edwards has been a talking point for news outlets over the last year as the first Black woman to ever represent Team USA in women’s hockey.

“If you love hockey, you belong. No matter what you look like,” Edwards said to a crowd of reporters after the victory.

The senior Wisconsin leader is not typically a defender. In fact, the role is new for her. She has played as a forward at Wisconsin and even notched a tournament MVP for Team USA as a forward just a few years ago. The transition to defense was a strategic move by Team USA to utilize Edwards’ on-ice vision and powerful shot in a new way – and clearly, it’s working. The Badger recorded her first point with an assist on Alex Carpenter’s goal, which opened the scoring in what became a 5-1 win.

“Just gotta get it out of the way. The first one’s always the hardest,” Edwards noted. “It’s always great when you cash in on special teams.”

Joy Dunne Brings the Buckeye Mentality to Milan

Dunne, a junior at Ohio State, stands at about 5’11” and is tough and gritty on the ice. If you’re going to try to knock her down, good luck. Then off the ice, Dunne is as sweet as they come.

She scored her first Olympic goal and could not have been more humble about it.

“I’m just all smiles,” Dunne said postgame, never breaking her beaming grin. “It was a great play by Tessa (Janecke from Penn State). I’m just so thankful I was in the right spot, and it was my job to bury it.”

And that she did.

Dunne is joined by two other former Buckeyes, Hannah Bilka and Cayla Barnes (both from the class of 2024), with whom she won a national championship in 2024. The trio hopes to do the same while chasing gold in Milan.

“We’d have to recreate some pictures, that’s for sure,” Dunne said. “We know what it takes to win, and it’s going to take even more here. We’re ready.”

Depth across All Teams

While the biggest Big Ten footprint is on Team USA, there were also three athletes with conference ties on Team Czechia. Their head coach, Carla MacLeod, is a Wisconsin alumna. Former Minnesota Golden Gopher Natálie Mlynková recorded an assist on the Czech team’s lone goal, and Wisconsin standout freshman Adéla Šapovalivová continues to use her speed and hockey IQ to disrupt opposing teams’ play.

“I miss being on her team, but she’s relentless,” USA defender Caroline Harvey (Wisconsin) said when asked about playing against her former teammate. “She doesn’t give you anything. She’s a hard competitor to play against.”

On Team Sweden, a Buckeye connection showed up in a 4-1 win over Germany. Current Ohio State sophomore Mira Jungåker scored her first Olympic goal (which was also the first for the Big Ten in 2026), with OSU teammate Jenna Raunio earning the assist.

The conference also had an impact on Team Italy, as Penn State’s Matilde Fantin scored a goal against France in a 4-1 victory.

The Czech team will not have much of a break when they return to the ice against Switzerland on Friday, February 6.

Final Thoughts

After just one game, Big Ten-affiliated athletes have already totaled 14 points on the ice, including seven for the USA, five for Sweden, one for Czechia, and one for Italy. It is safe to say the impact is B1G and getting B1GGER.

Keep up with the Olympic schedule here .