USA Wins OT Thriller vs Canada for First Men’s Hockey Gold Since 1980
By Helene St. James, Cydney Henderson, Mike Brehm
MILAN — The USA’s Olympics gold medal drought is over, and the U.S. men’s hockey team did it on the anniversary of another watershed moment.
Team USA defeated archrival Canada 2-1 on Sunday, Feb. 22 when Jack Hughes scored at 1:41 of overtime for the Americans’ first gold medal since 1980. He took a pass from Zach Werenski and ripped a shot past Canada goalie Jordan Binnington, who had stymied the USA in overtime of the 4 Nations Face-Off final.
“This is all about our country,” Hughes told NBC. “I love the USA, I love my teammates. It’s unbelievable. The USA Hockey brotherhood is so strong.”
Hughes had been high-sticked in the third period and appeared to lose a tooth. He joins brother Quinn with key overtime goals in the 2026 Winter Olympics.
But Connor Hellebuyck kept the game tied with a huge 41-save effort. He robbed Toews, getting his stick on a shot when the defenseman had a wide open net.
The win gave the USA men’s and women’s teams a gold medal sweep in Milan, both with 2-1 overtime victories against Canada.
Matt Boldy scored in the first period for the USA, splitting the defensive pair of Cale Makar and Devon Toews. Makar tied it late in the second period as Canada, playing without injured captain Sidney Crosby, dominated play after the first period.
“Unbelievable game by Hellebuyck,” Hughes told NBC
The Americans’ win happened 46 years to the day after the USA upset the Soviet Union at the 1980 Olympics on the way to the country’s previous gold medal.
“This is it,” 1980 captain Mike Eruzione, who scored the Miracle on Ice game-winning goal, said during an interview with NBC in the first intermission. “It’s over for us. This is their team. This is their time.”
This Olympics is different because the USA and Canada are loaded with NHL players. But Canada is the USA’s biggest rival and had the Americans’ number recently.
But now the USA has three men’s hockey gold medals, joining the 1960 and 1980 teams.
USA TODAY is in Milan and provided live coverage of the gold medal game between the United States and Canada. Here’s what to know about the game. Here are highlights:
Connor McDavid named Olympic men’s hockey tournament MVP
Connor McDavid was named the men’s hockey tournament MVP and best forward after finishing with 13 points for silver medalist Canada. That set a record for an NHL player at the Olympics, breaking the 11 points shared by Finland’s Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu in 2006.
The USA’s Connor Hellebuyck and Quinn Hughes won best best goalkeeper and defender, respectively. Here are the winners:
Most Valuable Player
Connor McDavid, CAN Tournament Directorate Three Best Players
Best Goalkeeper: Connor Hellebuyck, USA
Best Defender: Quinn Hughes, USA
Best Forward: Connor McDavid, CAN
Media All-Star Team
Goalkeeper: Connor Hellebuyck, USA
Defender: Quinn Hughes, USA
Defender: Cale Makar, Canada
Forward: Connor McDavid, Canada
Forward: Macklin Celebrini, Canada
Forward: Juraj Slafkovsky, Slovakia
Team USA congratulated by President Donald Trump
Players were singing, their arms slung around one another, belting out “Dream on,” and “We are the champions,” when a phone rang.
It was Donald J. Trump.
“The players just had the President on, I don’t know what it was, what do you call it, FaceTime, whatever, in the locker room,” coach Mike Sullivan said about an hour after the USA men had clinched the gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics. “He just spoke to the group, expressing how proud he was of the group and congratulating everybody on the win.”
It was uncertain if a trip to the White House is coming because the players and Sullivan are all returning to their NHL jobs on Feb. 23. They were originally scheduled to fly to New York’s JFK airport, but the flight plan was changed to Miami because of the storm battering the northeast.
Team USA honors Johnny Gaudreau family
After receiving their gold medals, Team USA posed for its championship photo. But first, a player went into the stands to get the children of the late Johnny Gaudreau. They brought them onto the ice and had them pose with a Gaudreau jersey and the team. USA players have said they are playing for Gaudreau, who was killed in 2024.
USA Hockey has brought along Gaudreau’s jersey and displayed it in the locker room at international tournaments. Gaudreau and his brother Matthew died when hit by a car while they were bicycling.
Jack Hughes wins it for the USA
Jack Hughes scores at 1:41 of overtime for the golden goal and a 2-1 victory. He had been high-sticked in the third period and appeared to lose a tooth. This is the second big overtime goal for the Hughes family. Brother Quinn scored in the quarterfinals against Sweden.
Overtime underway
First goal wins a gold medal. Jordan Binnington robs the USA early.
Overtime facts
In the three overtimes in the quarterfinals, no overtime lasted longer than 3:27. Overtime is 3-on-3 in Olympics. Quinn Hughes (USA) and Mitch Marner (Canada) scored in overtime in 2026.
USA women’s hockey cheering on men’s team
The U.S. women’s hockey team defeated Canada to capture gold and the squad was front and center to cheer on the U.S. men as they look to do the same. Laila Edwards, Caroline Harvey, Abbey Murphy and Kendall Coyne Schofield were among the women’s national team members in attendance.
Hannah Bilka told USA TODAY Sports that the men’s team has “winners in that locker room.” She added, “Good luck. I think they are such an incredible team… and I know that they can do it.”
USA vs Canada score: USA 1, Canada 1, heading to overtime
Canada came out flying in the third, running up a 10-2 edge in shots. USA spent so much time defending it hardly got any pressure on Binnington. It took a four-minute power play, with Sam Bennett high-sticking Jack Hughes, for USA to threaten. Jake Guentzel had a point blank shot from the slot. The last 49 seconds of the power play was wiped out when Hughes clipped Bo Horvat, giving Canada 1:11 with a power play.
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Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2026/02/22/usa-hockey-vs-canada-olympics-live-score-updates-results/88803464007/