The Team USA women’s hockey roster has a North Dakotan on it.
The women’s hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics opened Thursday morning in Milan, Italy. Team USA beat Czechia, 5-1. Team USA enters as the top seed in Group A, ahead of Canada, Finland, Czechia and Switzerland.
Britta Curl-Salemme is representing Bismarck, N.D., on the roster. The 2018 Bismarck St. Mary’s graduate has played for Team USA at various levels since 2016 but is competing in her first Olympics. She joins Grand Forks natives Monique and Jocelyne Lamoureux as the third North Dakotan to play at the Olympic level for Team USA women’s hockey.
The Lamoreaux twins helped win a gold medal in 2018.
In high school, Curl-Salemme played five seasons under the old co-op known as the Bismarck Blizzard. She totaled 189 goals and 116 assists and won four state championships in her career. As a senior, she added an Under-18 gold medal at the World Championships in Russia to her list of accomplishments.
High school girls’ hockey in Bismarck is now split into two co-ops, Bismarck Century and Legacy/Bismarck. Teams from both sides of the state compete in the same division, which includes Devils Lake. Both Bismarck teams are near the top of the standings.
After high school, Curl-Salemme went on to the University of Wisconsin, one of the top women’s hockey programs in the country. She won three national championships with the Badgers — in 2019, 2021 and 2023. She reached the national championship four times in five seasons. Per the NDHSAA, she ranks first all-time for Wisconsin in games played and seventh in goals scored.
Before being added to Team USA’s Olympic roster, Curl-Salemme was already a professional hockey player. She was drafted ninth overall by the Minnesota Frost in 2024. She’s currently in her second season in the Professional Women’s Hockey League after winning the Walter Cup Championship during the 2024-25 season.
Curl-Salemme was listed as part of Line 2 in Team USA’s first game Thursday. She did not record any points in the 5-1 win.
Team USA’s next three games are scheduled for Feb. 7 against Finland, Feb. 9 against Switzerland and Feb. 10 against Canada.
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