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USA And Canada Face Off In Fight For Olympic Gold During Men’s Ice Hockey Final
After an exciting Winter Olympics, Team USA and Team Canada faced off in the men’s ice hockey final on Sunday morning (February 22).
Team USA made it to the final match after scoring a 6-2 victory over Slovakia in the semi-finals. After that win, the team geared up for their 20th-ever meeting against Canada at the Winter Games.
A lot was riding on Team USA as they moved into this game. If they won, they’d earn their first gold in 46 years. If they earned silver, they’d still make history by making it onto the podium for the first time in nearly two decades.
A Breakdown Of The Match’s First Three Periods
The first few minutes of the game were defined by a couple of scraps between players. Unlike in the NHL, where fighting and brawling are tolerated to some degree, such is not the case in Olympic hockey. Still, these early scuffles did not result in any ejections.
Team Canada took four shots early on, but it was Matt Boldy of Team USA who scored the first goal 6 minutes into the game. He soared past Canada’s Cale Makar and Devon Toews to launch the puck into the net. That was the only goal scored in the first period.
Canada had a solid opportunity to score a goal in the second period during a 5-on-3 power play after Team USA’s Charlie McAvoy and Jake Guentzel were placed in the penalty box. But the remaining three players managed to keep Canada from scoring during that phase.
Canada came back when Cale Makar scored a few minutes later, finally placing them on the board after taking 25 prior shots. The score stood at 1-1 at the end of the second period.
The third period was full of action, with Canada taking several shots in an attempt to rack up more points. But Team USA’s goalie, Connor Hellebuyck, put up a strong fight and managed to protect the goal, despite Canada’s best efforts. The score remained at 1-1 at the end of the third period, and the match moved into overtime.
Team USA and Canada played 3-on-3 hockey for just a little under two minutes before Team USA’s Jack Hughes scored, making the U.S. the gold medal winners!
While being interviewed after the game, Hughes said, “We’re USA [hockey], we’re so proud to be Americans.“
He added, “The USA hockey brotherhood is so strong…we’re so proud to win for our country.”
Jack Hughes of Team USA celebrates with his teammates after scoring the game-winning goal in the men’s ice hockey final match at the Olympics. (Photo Credit: JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP via Getty Images)
How Team USA’s Men’s Hockey Team Made History At The Olympics
This was a history-making victory for Team USA. The country had only won two gold medals in men’s hockey, the first in 1960 and the second in 1980.
That means Team USA’s 2026 Olympic win was their first in 46 years. This year’s win occurred on the 46th anniversary of the “Miracle on Ice.” That was a semi-final game against the Soviet Union. The U.S. won gold against Finland two days later, on February 24, 1980.
Prior to 2026, Team USA only won 11 Olympic medals for men’s ice hockey: 2 gold, 8 silver, and 1 bronze. Their last time on the podium was in 2010, when they won silver in Vancouver.
Additionally, this year’s victory helped add further to a record set by Team USA as a whole. Earlier, the country broke its record for the most gold medals ever earned at the Winter Olympics. Now, adding in the men’s hockey medal, that total rises to 12.
motions were running high after the match for many reasons. One of the most emotional moments came when the team welcomed Johnny Gaudreau’s children onto the ice to celebrate their victory as they held up his jersey.
Team USA pays tribute to Johnny Gaudreau, welcomes his children onto the ice after receiving their gold medals at the 2026 Olympics. (Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP via Getty Images)
Johnny Gaudreau was an American hockey player who was killed by a drunk driver in 2024. His brother, Matthew, was also killed.
