Hughes scores in overtime as US
beats Canada for first men's hockey gold at the Olympics since 1980
[February 23, 2026]
By STEPHEN WHYNO
MILAN (AP) — The United States is on top of the hockey world for the
first time in nearly a half-century. No miracle needed.
Jack Hughes scored less than 2 minutes into overtime and the U.S.
beat Canada 2-1 in the gold medal final at the Milan Cortina
Olympics on Sunday, earning the nation’s third men’s title at the
Games and its first since the “Miracle on Ice” in 1980 — 46 years to
the day of the upset over the mighty Soviet Union, too.
Unlike that ragtag group of college kids that pulled off one of the
biggest shockers in sports history in Lake Placid, the Americans in
Milan were a machine that rode goaltender Connor Hellebuyck and a
roster full of NHL players through the tournament unbeaten.
Still, they were underdogs again against the stacked Canadians and
came out on top — again.
“This is all about our country right now,” said Hughes, who lost at
least one and maybe two of his front teeth taking a high stick
during the game. “I love the U.S.A. I love my teammates. It’s
unbelievable. The USA Hockey brotherhood is so strong.”
Early in the three-on-three overtime, Zach Werenski took the puck
away from Nathan MacKinnon and passed it to Hughes, who was wide
open streaking to the net. Hughes fired a shot past Jordan
Binnington 1:41 in to send players into a wild celebration as the
rival Canadians watched from the bench.
Asked his favorite moment during his Olympic debut, captain Auston
Matthews quipped, "I think when Jack scored. ... I’ll definitely
remember Jack’s goal.”
There was a note of sadness amid all the joy as Werenski and Matthew
Tkachuk carried a Johnny Gaudreau No. 13 jersey around the ice in
tribute to the beloved player who was killed along with his brother
in 2024.
Gaudreau's parents, Guy and Jay, his widow, Meredith, and their
oldest children were in attendance. It was Johnny Jr.'s second
birthday and he was brought on the ice with older sister Noa for the
team photo.
“We just wanted to show the Gaudreau family our support,” Brady
Tkachuk said of the player known as “Johnny Hockey." “He was so near
and dear to a lot of us, and we miss him dearly. We did it for him.”
Hellebuyck was extraordinary, stopping 41 of the 42 shots he faced
as Canada tilted the ice toward him over the final two periods. He
made the save of the tournament by getting his stick on the puck on
a shot from Devon Toews in the third period, then minutes later
denied Macklin Celebrini on a breakaway — something he also did to
Connor McDavid earlier.
“He was our best player by a mile," winger Matt Boldy said. "He’s an
absolute stud. He wants to be in those moments. He wants to make the
saves. And he did just that, so he was definitely our MVP.”
It was a glorious weekend for Team USA, with the women's hockey team
also defeating Canada in overtime to win gold. For the men, it was
only fitting the Americans needed to go through Canada, their
northern neighbor that beat them at the 4 Nations Face-Off a year
ago and has won every international competition over the past 16
years that featured the world's best players.
Not anymore.
Winning a fast-paced, riveting game that was full of big hits and
plenty of post-whistle altercations, the U.S. got a goal from Boldy
6 minutes in and led until Cale Makar tied it late in the second
period. Hellebuyck and the penalty kill was a perfect 17 for 17 at
the Olympics.
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United States players celebrate after defeating Canada during a
men's ice hockey gold medal game between Canada and the United
States at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb.
22, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
“I can’t even believe this,” Hughes said. “I mean
it’s such an unbelievable game, USA-Canada. Such a good game.
There’s so many great players. We’re a great team. That’s exactly
how we wanted it to go. We’re underdogs to Canada, (but we) beat
them. It could have gone either way.”
Hughes paid a painful price when he took the high
stick and wound up face down on the ice. The teeth were out, but the
celebration wasn't far away.
“More people are going to be looking at his medal than his teeth,"
Boldy said.
The U.S. finally came through after generations of churning out
talent from the grassroots level like a production line. All but two
of the 25 players on the team went through USA Hockey’s National
Team Development Program.
That group of 23 includes captain Auston Matthews, the top line of
Brady and Matthew Tkachuk and Jack Eichel, and the second set of
brothers, Jack and Quinn Hughes. Much of the team played together
either at the program, under-18s, the world junior championship or
some combination of them.
The U.S. winning silenced criticism of general manager Bill Guerin
and his management group choosing a roster full of experienced
veteran players to fill specific roles and leaving four of the top
10 American goal-scorers in the NHL this season at home. The players
they brought got the job done.
"There are whisky drinkers and milk drinkers and we got a lot of
whisky drinkers on this team," coach Mike Sullivan said. “One of the
things that Billy Guerin and I talked about from the very beginning
was trying to build a team in the true sense of the word, so we
looked at a deep group of American talent and these decisions were
very difficult. They weren’t easy. You look at how this group is
constructed, there was a thought process that we had players that
could play in all situations.”
Some decisions were no-doubters, like Sullivan giving the net to
Hellebuyck, who stopped 131 of the 137 shots he faced throughout the
tournament and was at his best against Canada.
“He was our backbone — today even more so than the rest of the
tournament," forward Vincent Trocheck said. "He saved our lives
there a couple times in the third. He was unbelievable.”
Canada, back-to-back Olympic champions in 2010 and ’14 and winners
of three of the first five, fell short while playing without injured
captain Sidney Crosby. The 38-year-old two-time gold medalist and
three-time Stanley Cup champion left the quarterfinal game against
Czechia and sat out the semifinal game against Finland.
“It was a tough decision,” Crosby said. “Obviously, in your head you
always want to be out there and find very way possible. But not at
the expense of what needs to be done. And them watching how we
played today, the guys played incredible.”
McDavid, who wore the “C” in Crosby’s absence, suffered another
devastating defeat on the doorstep of a title. He and the Edmonton
Oilers have lost to Matthew Tkachuk and the Florida Panthers in the
Stanley Cup Final each of the past two years.
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