AT THE GAMES — The medal count is live, and the host country has an early advantage.
As the first medals began to be awarded at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, Italy, it was a good day for Switzerland and Italy on the ski slopes.
But first, let's head to the hockey rink, where Team USA keeps rolling in our latest edition of KSL at the Games featuring highlights of Utah residents at the 2026 Winter Olympiad.
Salt Lake resident ties record as hockey improves to 2-0
Hilary Knight didn't just score a goal for the second consecutive game to pace the United States women's ice hockey team to a 5-0 win over Finland.
She also made history.
The 36-year-old captain from Sun Valley, Idaho tallied the fourth goal in the win and her 14th career goal in Olympic play, tied for the most by an American woman with Natalie Darwitz and Katie King.
"I had no idea. I just love scoring, and that pure elation of finding the back of the net. It's a little-kid moment. When you score, it's pure excitement," Knight said after the game, per NBC. "Those are legendary players and just to be in the same sentence as them is super special."
Knight, who is making her fifth Olympic appearance with Team USA, hopes to bring a second gold medal back home to Salt Lake City where her and her partner, U.S. Olympic speedster Brittany Bowe, recently bought a home. The forward for the PWHL's Seattle Torrent has also been activate in community hockey events in the Beehive State, including an all-girls clinic hosted by the Utah Mammoth last summera.
"I'm just able to be freely who I want to be. And need to be," Knight told nbcolympics.com last summer. "As top-tier athletes, you really know what that person may need, whether it's support or space. And I think both of us being at a high level for a pretty long time helps us understand one another."
HILARY KNIGHT TIES THE U.S. OLYMPIC RECORD ‼️
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 7, 2026
With 14 goals, Hilary Knight has tied the record for the MOST goals in U.S. #WinterOlympics women's hockey history. pic.twitter.com/TNoaXySSag
Finland, which couldn't play in Thursday's opening game against Canada due to a norovirus outbreak on the team, out-shot the States 49-11 in front of a crowd that included U.S. Vice President JD Vance and YouTube star and boxer Jake Paul. But Alex Carpenter converted a power-play goal to open the scoring, and Taylor Heise, Megan Keller and Abbey Murphy also also scored for the United States, which has outscored Czechia and Finland 9-1 in the team's 2-0 start.
The U.S. will face Switzerland on Monday before hosting defending Olympic champion and North American rival Canada.
Medals out
Swiss racer Franjo von Allmen won the first gold medal of the Milan Cortina Games, finishing the men's downhill Saturday in 1 minute, 51.61.
The 24-year-old finished .20 seconds faster than Italy's Giovanni Franzoni for his first career Olympic crown, while 36-year-old Italian Dominik Paris claimed the final spot on the podium.
The load paced Italy to three medals on the day, a feel-good start that included the host nation's first gold by speedskater Francesca Lollobrigida in the 3,000-meter race on her 35th birthday.
See the entire medal count here.
