MILAN, Italy – The United States beat Canada 2-1 in overtime to win the men’s ice hockey gold medal at the Milan Cortina Winter Games, ending a 46-year wait for the title, Reuters reported, while the BBC noted the Americans’ breakthrough at the 2026 Olympics.
Jack Hughes scored 1:41 into overtime after taking a pass from Zach Werenski, while Matt Boldy opened the scoring for the U.S. and Cale Makar tied it for Canada in regulation, according to ESPN and NHL.com game recaps.
Overtime delivers the gold
The gold medal game went to 3-on-3 overtime, and Hughes’ finish sealed the result in a sudden-death extra session, a sequence detailed by NHL.com and corroborated by Reuters.
U.S. goaltender Connor Hellebuyck turned aside 40-plus shots to keep the game level through regulation, a workload cited by Reuters, ESPN, and Fox News in their accounts of the final.
The victory delivered the United States’ first men’s Olympic hockey gold since 1980, a milestone highlighted by Reuters, the BBC, and ESPN in postgame coverage.
A Milan finale
The final was played Feb. 22 at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, and the U.S.-Canada matchup delivered the rivalry showcase the tournament expected, as described by Reuters and NHL.com.
The broader Olympic hockey recap from NBC Olympics also underscored the North American rivalry as the defining storyline of the men’s event.
Additional details reported
Canada played without captain Sidney Crosby because of a lower-body injury, the U.S. women also won gold earlier in the Games, and American players honored the late Johnny Gaudreau by carrying his jersey on the ice, details reported by Reuters, the BBC, and ESPN among others.
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Image: Henke Rink ice rink. Credit: Jacktansin. Source: Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY-SA 3.0. Modifications: cropped to 16:9 and resized to 19201080.
