Still believe in miracles? Americans top Canada for first Olympic hockey gold since 1980

It wasn’t the Miracle on Ice, but the 2-1 win over Canada in the Olympic men’s hockey gold medal game Sunday tasted almost as sweet for the U.S. team. The victory gave the Americans their first gold medal in hockey since the legendary upset over the Soviet Union 46 years ago.

The U.S. team’s Jack Hughes scored the game-winning goal less than two minutes into overtime to secure a golden victory for the red, white and blue.

The hard-hitting, back-and-forth affair entered the three-on-three extra period after showstopping performances by U.S. goaltender Connor Hellebuyck and his counterpart, Canada’s Jordan Binnington.

The Canadians recorded 42 shots on goal, nearly twice as many as the Americans, but Hellebuyck, the NHL’s reigning MVP, kept the U.S. men in the game. His 41 saves were the most in a gold medal contest featuring NHL players in Olympic history.

“Unbelievable game by Hellebuyck,” said Hughes, a star forward with the New Jersey Devils in the NHL. “He was our best player tonight by a mile.”

American Matt Boldy opened the scoring with a breakaway backhand goal in the first period, beating Binnington after using some slick stick handling to split two defenders.

It was the Americans’ first shot attempt of the game.

The U.S. earned a power play at the end of the first period thanks to a hooking call on Canada’s Shea Theodore. The Americans couldn’t capitalize, managing just two shots while they had the five-on-four advantage.

The Americans held their lead into the second period without clear scoring opportunities, but a Canadian turnover gave American Brock Nelson a golden opportunity. The Colorado Avalanche forward couldn’t score on a breakaway, though.

The Canadians also struggled to capitalize on their early breakaways.

Canada’s Connor McDavid, widely considered the best player in the NHL, was alone with Hellebuyck, who plays in the NHL for the Winnipeg Jets. McDavid couldn’t find the back of the net.

Disaster loomed over the U.S. a moment later. American Jack Eichel was sent to the penalty box. Teammate Charlie McAvoy joined him less than 30 seconds later for hooking.

The Canadians had 93 seconds for a five-on-three power play while the crowd in Milan led chants of “USA!”

The Americans held strong, refusing to allow a goal despite the Canadians’ two-man advantage.

As they had throughout this year’s Games, Canada found their equalizer in the second period.

Defenseman Cale Makar scored on a laser from the right circle, sizzling just over the pad of Hellebuyck.

The defenses of both squads stiffened from the end of the second to the beginning of the third.

The U.S. nearly regained the lead when a shot by Brock Faber hit two of the net’s posts. It ricocheted harmlessly back onto the ice.

Hellebuyck maintained the draw with a jaw-dropping save in the opening minutes of the final frame. He went on to save eight shots in the first five minutes of the third period.

After spending most of the third period on their heels, the Americans received a potential golden opportunity when Canada’s Sam Bennett drew blood from Hughes, who began bleeding from his mouth and appeared to lose a few teeth.

The Americans couldn’t convert the power play, and Hughes found his way into the penalty box just moments later when he was called for a high stick.

The two squads entered a sudden-death overtime tied at 1.

Hughes, playing on an Olympic roster with his brother Quinn, wrote his name into the history book with a shining goal just under two minutes into the extra period.

As the Americans celebrated, they hoisted the Stars and Stripes into the air and displayed the No. 13 jersey of former teammate Johnny Gaudreau. The former NHL star was the all-time leading U.S. scorer in international play before he and his brother were killed in a car crash in August 2024.

The Americans have kept his jersey in their locker room throughout the Olympic run. The group brought his children — including Johnny Jr., who celebrated his second birthday Sunday — onto the ice to pose for the gold medal photo with their father’s jersey.

“This is all about our country right now. I love the USA. I love my teammates. The USA hockey brotherhood is so strong. We had so much support from ex-players,” Hughes said. “I’m so proud to be American today.”

The gold medal match was the most anticipated Olympic hockey game in years. This year’s Games were the first to feature NHL players since 2014, offering the tournament a “best-on-best” intensity that continued throughout the festivities.

The North American rivals have met three times in gold medal games, with the Canadians winning in 2002 and 2010.

The Canadians were without captain Sidney Crosby, who suffered a lower-body injury during the quarterfinal win against Czechia. The 38-year-old was trending toward playing after missing Canada’s semifinal but was ultimately a late scratch.

Crosby scored the golden goal, an overtime game-winner, to beat the Americans in Vancouver 16 years ago.

“There’s hatred there,” American forward Brady Tkachuk said before the game. “They’ve been the top dogs. They’ve been the best for the last bunch of years, and for us, we want to be in that position, be the best.”

Now, the Americans can call themselves the best.

“WHAT A GAME!!!” President Trump wrote on Truth Social. “LOTS OF WINNING!!”

The U.S. men had won just two hockey medals, a pair of silvers after losses to Canada in the finals in 2002 and 2010, since their last gold.

The Canadians have not secured an Olympic gold since 2014, when the nation’s NHL players posted a dominant performance at the Sochi Games.

The Americans performed well across sports at the Olympics. The U.S. contingent recorded the most medals in the nation’s history across 25 Winter Olympics with 33 total medals, including 12 golds.

Alysa Liu, a former figure skating prodigy who temporarily retired after the 2022 Olympics, became the first American woman to win gold in the category since 2002. Her medal-winning free skate and jubilant celebration quickly went viral on social media.

Not every American completed a comeback, though.

Alpine skier Lindsey Vonn sent shock waves through the sporting world when she tore her ACL less than two weeks before the competition. The 41-year-old, who had been retired for five years, decided to compete anyway.

She crashed again during the downhill event, fracturing her leg in a frightening scene. She was airlifted off the mountain and underwent several surgeries before flying back to the U.S. for further treatment.

“My Olympic dream did not finish the way I dreamt it would. It wasn’t a storybook ending or a fairy tale, it was just life. I dared to dream and had worked so hard to achieve it.” Vonn wrote on Instagram. “I have no regrets.”

Ilia Malinin hasn’t had the same approach to his Olympic disappointment. The figure skater from Vienna, Virginia, entered the Games as a heavy favorite on the ice. He acquired international renown for incorporating backflips into his program and being the only skater to land the quadruple axel in competition.

He opened the competition by helping the U.S. secure gold in the team event, but his solo attempt at gold ended in disaster.

A near-flawless short program was followed by a disastrous free skate, in which Malinin bailed on a planned quadruple axel and fell to the ice twice. He finished eighth.

“All I know is that it wasn’t my best skate,” said Malinin, noting on social media that the pressure created an “inevitable crash.”

“And it was definitely something I wasn’t expecting. And it’s done, so I can’t go back and change it, even though I would love to,” he said.

Away from the rinks, hills and courses, controversies surrounded these Olympics. They began at the opening ceremonies, when onlookers booed Vice President J.D. Vance and Israeli athletes. The conflicts continued when Mr. Trump called skier Hunter Hess a “loser” for saying the U.S. didn’t represent “everything that’s going on” stateside.

Hess flashed “L” signs with his fingers after a successful qualifying run in the freestyle skiing halfpipe event Friday. He finished in 10th place.

In the skeleton races, Ukrainian Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified for refusing to change his helmet. The headgear pictured people who died as a result of the ongoing conflict with Russia. Olympic organizers said the apparel violated their policies on political statements.

“I never expected it to be such a big scandal,” said Heraskevych, who qualified to compete in the skeleton event. “I think it’s the wrong side of history for the IOC.”

The 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics officially concluded Sunday evening with a closing ceremony at a historic arena in Verona, Italy.

• This article is based in part on wire service reports.