When the puck drops for women’s ice hockey at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, three members of the Orange community will be competing for gold, representing Canada, the United States and Japan.

The University’s women’s ice hockey coach Britni Smith will be serving as an assistant coach for Hockey Canada, Melissa Piacentini ’16 will be working as a video coach for Team USA and Akane Hosoyamada ’15 will be playing defense for Team Japan.

Seeing Smith and other members of the Orange’s hockey alumni community on the Olympic stage is “an amazing feeling,” says current defensemen Sami Gendron ’26.

“It’s awesome to see how far the game has grown,” she says. “Obviously, everyone dreams of one day playing in the Olympics. So knowing your coach is there, some of the teammates you played with before are there, it just represents something bigger than yourself. And it’s really motivating to see the younger girls and the younger generations really get inspired, hopefully, to have the same dream that we all did of hopefully making it to the Olympics.”

Gendron says she hopes others watching women’s ice hockey know they can stay motivated and determined in pursuit of their own dreams of Olympic gold.

“Believe in yourself, be confident and you’ll succeed if you just keep working hard every day,” Gendron says. “One thing I really learned at Syracuse, especially, is there’s always something bigger than yourself. So remind yourself when you play, always play for something bigger than yourself and for the people around you.”

The Syracuse women’s ice hockey team is planning big watch parties with their coaches to cheer Smith on in particular, she says.

“We’re obviously very happy and proud for her, and we just can’t wait to watch her succeed,” Gendron says.

Below, learn more about Smith, Piacentini and Hosoyamada:

Britni Smith

Smith, the second head coach in Orange women’s ice hockey program history, has worked in coaching positions for Hockey Canada since 2014. A native of Port Perry, Ontario, Smith was a Top-10 finalist for the 2010 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award while a defenseman at St. Lawrence University. She was an assistant coach at Clarkson for eight years, taking the reins at Syracuse in May 2022.

She and Hockey Canada took silver at the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Czechia in April, falling only to the United States in an overtime classic for the Gold Medal Round.

“Representing Canada on the international stage is both humbling and exciting, and I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to contribute alongside some of the most accomplished athletes and coaches in the game,” Smith said in a statement when her Olympic position on the team was announced in July.

Smith said she looks forward to returning to Syracuse “with valuable experiences and insights that will further benefit our team and the continued growth of our program.”

Melissa Piacentini ’16

Piacentini ended her senior season playing forward for Syracuse as the program’s all-time leader in career points (112, accounting for both goals and assists) and was the recipient of the Syracuse Eight Courage Award. She also won the College Hockey American Player of Year award in 2016.

After graduating, she played professionally for the EVB Eagles Südtirol (formerly the EV Bozen Eagles) in Bolzano, Italy, winning the Italian league crown in 2017.

A native of Weymouth, Massachusetts, she served as a video coach for the 2024 U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team and is currently the assistant coach for the Northeastern women’s hockey team.

Akane Hosoyamada ’15 

Hosoyamada will represent Team Japan for the third time at the Olympics. A team member since 2017, she previously competed as a defender in Pyeongchang (2018) and Beijing (2022).

During her time at Syracuse, Hosoyamada played five seasons after redshirting during her sophomore year and served as team captain during her redshirt senior year. During her college career, she played 151 games, tallying 10 goals and 51 assists.

Hosoyamada told Syracuse University Today that representing both Team Japan and the University brings reflection and responsibility.

Playing for the Orange, she says she learned to trust her instincts and “embrace the process.” She says she’s carried that mindset with her after graduating, to the Olympic bench and Team Japan.

With each Olympic appearance, she says her understanding of what it means to wear her jersey has “deepened.”

“I’m proud to represent Team Japan—not just as a player, but as someone who understands the history, the growth and the responsibility that comes with it,” she says. “Syracuse University will always be a huge part of who I am. It’s where I learned how to compete, how to lead and how to handle adversity. Those lessons have stayed with me throughout my career and continue to shape how I approach moments like this. Standing on the Olympic stage again, I feel grateful, grounded and motivated to give everything I have—using my experience to help the team and to perform at our best when it matters most.”

Hosoyamada says her biggest advice to young athletes dreaming of competing in the Olympics is to not give up when you encounter adversity.

“For me, there was a season when I felt like giving up completely,” she says. “But instead of walking away, I gave myself another chance—one more season, one more push. Looking back, that decision changed everything. Growth often happens right at the point where things feel hardest, so trust the process, stay patient and keep showing up, even when it’s tough.”