Image copyright Twitter / Shannon Miller Image caption Julie Chu (left) and Caroline Ouellette with baby Liv

They used to battle it out on the ice for the gold, but these two former women's hockey rivals now have a common goal - caring for their baby girl.

Caroline Ouellette, Team Canada captain at the 2014 Winter Games, and her wife Julie Chu, a former US women's hockey captain, welcomed their first child.

Both women played for the Canadian Women's Hockey League's Montreal Canadiennes last season.

The couple announced their daughter's birth on social media.

"I feel truly blessed to experience this incredible adventure with my love and best friend Julie. I did not realise it was possible to love this much until I met this little buddle of joy!" she wrote on Instagram.

"We have already been blessed with so many things in our life: Amazing friends and family, Love, Representing our countries, and doing things we are passionate about each day. We couldn't have felt luckier, until we were blessed with the most incredible Gift so far on Sunday, November 5," Ms Chu gushed.

Ms Ouellette was the captain of Team Canada at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi while Ms Chu captained the Americans from 2011 to 2013.

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Both women played for the Canadian Women's Hockey League's Montreal Canadiennes last season.

Ms Chu is not on active roster with La Canadiennes this season as she is coaching Concordia University's women's team.

Ms Ouellette, who was pregnant with daughter Liv when the La Canadiennes won the Clarkson Cup, will be taking some time off to care for the family's newest addition.