US defeats Canada – The US men’s hockey team beat Canada 2-1 in overtime in thrilling fashion The Olympic final exactly 46 years after Team USA beat the Soviet Union on the way to their last gold medal.
Jack Hughes, who lost a tooth due to a high stick during the game, scored 1:41 into 3-on-3 OT off a pass from Zach Werenski, sending the players into a wild celebration as the rest of Team Canada watched from the bench.
“I can’t believe this,” Hughes said. “I mean, it’s an unbelievable game, USA-Canada. Such a good game. There are a lot of good players. We’re a big team. That’s the way we wanted it. We’re the underdogs in Canada (but) we beat them. It could have gone either way.”
Unlike that ragtag group of college kids who pulled off “Miracle on Ice,” one of the biggest upsets in sports history at the 1980 Lake Placid Games, the Americans in Milan were a machine that rode goaltender Connor Hellebuyck and a stacked roster full of NHL players to the tournament undefeated.
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“This is about our country right now,” Hughes said. “I love the USA, I love my teammates. It’s unbelievable. The USA Hockey brotherhood is so strong.”
Werenski and Matthew Tkachuk own a Johnny Gaudreau No. 13 jersey circling the ice as a tribute to the player who was killed and his brother when they were hit by a driver in 2024. Gaudreau’s parents, Guy and Jay, his widow, Meredith, and their older children were in attendance. It was John Jr.’s second birthday.
“Congratulations to our USA Ice Hockey team. THEY WIN THE GOLD. WOW!” President Trump said in a Truth Social post, adding: “WHAT A GAME!”
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Mr. Trump congratulated the team on a video call as they gathered in the locker room after the game.
“He just talked to the team, you know, expressed how proud he was of the team, and congratulated everybody on the win,” coach Mike Sullivan said.
The US took the lead early in the game with a goal by Matt Boldy exactly 6 minutes into the game. He got the puck from Auston Matthews, put it over his head to get between Canadian defensemen Devon Toews and Cale Makar. He then slipped past goalkeeper Jordan Binington.
It took Canada until the end of the second period to tie the game with a goal by Makar, assisted by Toews.
There were many chances for each team to win the final. The US had more than three minutes of power play time past the midway point of the third after Sam Bennett scored on a layup by Hughes, who then stuck it past Nick Suzuki to give Canada the same advantage.
US defeats Canada
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Hellebuyck was the best player on the ice, stopping 41 of 42 shots. He saved the contest by getting his stick on Toews’ puck in the third period, then minutes later he denied Macklin Celebrini as he came off the sideline.
“Unbelievable game by Hellebuyck,” Hughes said. “He was our best player by a mile.”
It was the third time that the United States and Canada met in the gold medal game.
Speaking to CBS News Friday night before the game, forward Brady Tkachuk said a win “would mean the world, to be honest. So many players have come before us. So many people in our lives. You just feel the whole country supporting you to do that. We’re not just playing for ourselves, we’re really playing for all of America.”
“This is everything we’ve wanted since we were little,” forward Vincent Trocheck said Friday. “Watching the ‘Miracle’ grow … we all dreamed of being here, of winning a gold medal.”
On hand to witness the win was former US captain Mike Eruzione, who scored the go-ahead goal in the “Miracle on Ice” team that stunned the Soviet Union en route to a gold medal at the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Games.
