The former Husky and current Buffalo Sabre will represent Team USA.
The 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan-Cortina, Italy kick off with the Opening Ceremonies on Friday, Feb. 6, but competition actually begins before that.
For instance, the women's hockey tournament begins play on Feb. 5 and ends its competition on Feb. 19. The men's hockey tournament begins on Feb. 11 and concludes on Feb. 22. As a result of NHL players participating in the men's hockey bracket, the NHL season will pause on Feb. 6. It will resume on Feb. 25, meaning the season is on essentially a three-week hiatus.
The good news for University of Connecticut hockey fans is that the Huskies hockey teams will be in action in that time - and UConn alum Tage Thompson (Buffalo Sabres) will be playing in the Olympics, representing Team USA.
About Tage Thompson
A 28-year-old center, Thompson is a nine-year veteran of the St. Louis Blues and Buffalo Sabres. As of this posting, he has 55 points this season for the surprising Sabres. He has 28 goals and 27 assists. Buffalo is in third place in the Atlantic Division with 65 points, behind only Tampa Bay (70) and Detroit (69).
He spent two collegiate seasons playing in Storrs, scoring 64 total points (32 in each year). He had 33 career goals and is the highest drafted player in UConn history. He led the nation in power play goals (13) in his freshman campaign and was a third-team Hockey East All-Star in his sophomore season.
He has significant experience representing Team USA, as noted by his Olympic bio:
The 28-year-old born in Phoenix is a three-time gold medalist with Team USA, including the 2025 World Championship, where he had six goals in 10 games. Thompson also won gold at the 2015 U18 World Championship and the 2017 World Juniors, and he took home bronze in the World Championship in 2018 and 2021.
About the Olympic hockey format
There are three groups of four teams, and each group plays a round-robin against the other members of its group. The top seed in each group receives a bye into the quarterfinals, as does the highest remaining country.
The eight remaining teams then have to play an extra game to get the other four quarterfinalists.
About Team USA's pool play schedule and how to watch
Team USA Olympic men’s hockey TV schedule:
THU 2/12 vs. Latvia
(3:10 PM) SAT 2/14 vs. Denmark
(3:10 PM) SUN 2/15 vs. Germany
(3:10 PM) All games on USA Network and Peacock.
Playoffs on TUE 2/17
QFs on WED 2/18
SFs on FRI 2/20
Final on SUN 2/22, 8:10 AM on NBC
About UConn hockey during the Olympic break
On the men's side:
Feb. 6 - at Northeastern (7 p.m. ET)
Feb. 13 - at Maine (7 p.m. ET)
Feb. 14 - at Maine (7 p.m. ET)
Feb. 20 - at Boston College (7 p.m. ET)
Feb. 21 - vs. Boston College (3 p.m. ET)
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