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Ice hockey at Milano Cortina 2026 will feature the very best deliver an exhilarating display of blistering skating, crunching body checks, sharp stickhandling, and precise puck movement. A total of 12 nations on the men's side and ten on the women's will compete at the Winter Olympics 2026.
Keep reading to discover how to watch 2026 Winter Olympics ice hockey live streams from anywhere with a VPN and for free!
Winter Olympics 2026 Ice Hockey live streams take place from February 5-22
• FREE live streams — BBC iPlayer (U.K.) / CBC Gem (Can) / 9Now (Aus)
• Watch anywhere — try Norton VPN 100% risk free
In the men’s tournament, the teams are divided into three groups of four. The top team from each group, along with the best-performing runner-up across all groups, will advance directly to the quarterfinals. The remaining eight teams will face off in knockout matches to claim the final four quarterfinal spots, making every group-stage game crucial.
The women’s format is slightly different. The ten teams are split into two groups of five, with Group A deliberately stacked with stronger sides. All five teams from Group A advance directly to the quarterfinals, while the top three from Group B also progress, leaving the bottom two sides eliminated after the group stage. This setup creates a high-stakes environment for the Group B teams, where every point matters.
Historically, the men’s podium has been dominated by Canada, the US, and Finland. Canada leads the medal table with 16 (nine gold, four silver, three bronze), followed by Russia with 14 and the US with 11. Yet both Canada and the US failed to medal at the Beijing 2022 Games, adding extra motivation for their squads this time around. In the women’s competition, the fight for medals is expected to center on Canada and the US again, who have each amassed seven Olympic medals so far.
While the on-ice action promises to be thrilling, off-ice headlines have focused on venue issues. The purpose-built PalaItalia Santa Giulia is still under construction, and the secondary ice hockey site, Fiera Milano, was not originally intended to host top-tier matches. Organizers may now have no choice but to use it for high-profile games while the NHL have held talks over removing their players due to venue confusion.
Read on to find out how to watch ice hockey at the Winter Olympics 2026 — including details on international TV channels, free live streams, and a full schedule of events.
Watch Winter Olympics 2026 Ice Hockey live streams for FREE
Great news! There are plenty of ways to watch free coverage of the 2026 Winter Olympics ice hockey events in different parts of the world.
The U.K. (BBC iPlayer), Canada (CBC Gem) and Australia (9Now) all have live coverage online, which you can access through the platforms' free-to-air websites and apps.
And in the U.S. you can get all of the coverage provided by NBC, USA Network and CNBC for free thanks to the 21-day trial to YouTube TV.
Away from home? You may not be able to watch the action like you normally would due to regional restrictions. Fortunately, there’s an easy solution — you can use a VPN to watch ice hockey at the Winter Olympics 2026 for free. We’ll show you how to do that below.
Watch Winter Olympics 2026 Ice Hockey from anywhere
Away from home at the moment and blocked from watching the action on your usual subscription?
You can still watch Winter Olympics 2026 ice hockey live thanks to the wonders of a VPN (Virtual Private Network). The software can make your devices appear to be back in your home country regardless of where you are, making it ideal for viewers away on vacation or on business. Our favorite is Norton VPN — we explain why in our Norton VPN Review.
Using a VPN is incredibly simple.
1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, Norton VPN is our favorite.
2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance, if you're in the U.S. and want to view a Canadian service, you'd select Canada from the server list.
3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to CBC Gem or another streaming service and watch Winter Olympics 2026.
How to watch Winter Olympics 2026 Ice Hockey live streams in the U.S.
NBCUniversal has all your Winter Olympics 2026 Ice Hockey watching needs covered in the U.S. TV coverage of the biggest events will be hosted across its numerous channels, including NBC, USA Network and CNBC.
To watch every second of all the ice hockey action, however, you'll need access to its online Peacock streaming service.
To stream the ice hockey events on Peacock, you'll need at least a Premium subscription (from $10.99/month or 109.99/year).
Remember those outside the U.S. can still watch ice hockey live streams using Norton VPN.
How to watch Winter Olympics 2026 Ice Hockey live streams in the U.K.
Many matches of the Winter Olympics 2026 ice hockey will be free to watch on the BBC and BBC iPlayey, including the latter stages of the tournament.
However, Discovery Plus will have the most comprehensive coverage with every game shown. Its standard Entertainment plan costs £3.99/month.
If you're a Brit abroad, you can still follow Winter Olympics 2026 ice hockey live streams thanks to Norton VPN.
How to watch Winter Olympics 2026 Ice Hockey live streams in Canada
Winter Olympics 2026 ice hockey coverage in Canada is carried by CBC on TV, with more than 2,000 hours of content to be live streamed for FREE online on the CBC Gem streaming platform. All you need to do is register for a free account to watch.
If you’re currently away from Canada, you can use a VPN such as Norton VPN to make your device believe it's back home in Canada.
How to watch Winter Olympics 2026 Ice Hockey live streams in Australia
Aussies can watch the biggest Winter Olympics 2026 ice hockey action for free across the 9Network and its 9Now streaming site and app.
Stan Sport will stream every match of the tournament with prices starting at AU$32/month.
Not in Australia right now? Use Norton VPN to watch all the ice hockey action as if you were at home.
Winter Olympics 2026 Ice Hockey Women's Schedule
Group A: Canada, United States, Finland, Czechia, Switzerland
Group B: Sweden, Germany, Italy, France, Japan
Thursday, 5 February 2026
Sweden vs Germany
Italy vs France
United States vs Czechia
Finland vs Canada
Friday, 6 February 2026
France vs Japan
Czechia vs Switzerland
Saturday, 7 February 2026
Germany vs Japan
Sweden vs Italy
United States vs Finland
Switzerland vs Canada
Sunday, 8 February 2026
France vs Sweden
Czechia vs Finland
Monday, 9 February 2026
Japan vs Italy
Germany vs France
United States vs Switzerland
Canada vs Czechia
Tuesday, 10 February 2026
Japan vs Sweden
Italy vs Germany
United States vs Canada
Finland vs Switzerland
Friday, 13 February 2026
Quarter-Final 1
Quarter-Final 2
Saturday, 14 February 2026
Quarter-Final 3
Quarter-Final 4
Monday, 16 February 2026
Semi-Final 1
Semi-Final 2
Thursday, 19 February 2026
🥉 Bronze Medal Match
🥇 Gold Medal Match
Winter Olympics 2026 Ice Hockey Men's Schedule
Group A: Canada, Czechia, Switzerland, France
Group B: Finland, Sweden, Slovakia, Italy
Group C: USA, Germany, Latvia, Denmark
Wednesday, 11 February 2026
Slovakia vs Finland
Sweden vs Italy
Thursday, 12 February 2026
Switzerland vs France
Czechia vs Canada
Latvia vs USA
Germany vs Denmark
Friday, 13 February 2026
Finland vs Sweden
Italy vs Slovakia
France vs Czechia
Canada vs Switzerland
Saturday, 14 February 2026
Sweden vs Slovakia
Germany vs Latvia
Finland vs Italy
USA vs Denmark
Sunday, 15 February 2026
Switzerland vs Czechia
Canada vs France
Denmark vs Latvia
USA vs Germany
Tuesday, 17 February 2026
Qualification Playoff 1
Qualification Playoff 2
Qualification Playoff 3
Qualification Playoff 4
Wednesday, 18 February 2026
Quarter-Final 1
Quarter-Final 2
Quarter-Final 3
Quarter-Final 4
Friday, 20 February 2026
Semi-Final 1
Semi-Final 2
Saturday, 21 February 2026
🥉 Bronze Medal Match
Sunday, 22 February 2026
🥇 Gold Medal Match
Winter Olympics 2026 Ice Hockey FAQs
How many ice hockey events will be held at the Winter Olympics 2026?
A total of two ice hockey events will take place at the Milano Cortina 2026: Men's and Women's. Each event will consist of several preliminary matches, knockout games, quarter finals, semi finals, and the finals.
A total of 30 men's games and 32 women's games will take place at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena and Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena from February 5 to February 22.
How many teams will compete in ice hockey at the Winter Olympics 2026?
A total of 12 teams in the men’s category and 10 teams in the women’s category will face each other in ice hockey at the Winter Olympics 2026. Every men’s team can consist of a maximum of 25 players, while the women's team can have 23 players. This means around 300 male ice hockey athletes and 230 female athletes will participate at the Milano Cortina 2026.
How to watch Winter Olympics 2026 from anywhere
More from Tom's Guide
- How to watch Winter Olympics 2026
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We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
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