US wins Olympic men's hockey gold in OT thriller: Here's full recap of Sunday's classic

“U-S-A, U-S-A!” everyone hears loud and clear at the Milano Santagiulia ice hockey arena, where Team USA clinches the first gold in decades, beating archrival Canada for a 2-1 win on Sunday, February 22, 2026.

Jack Hughes put the puck in the net with a golden goal in a 3-on-3 overtime win against Canada, while goalie Connor Hellebuyck has been instrumental in the final, saving 41 shots to force overtime.

The U.S. men’s ice hockey team became the Olympic gold medalist for the first time in over seven decades on Sunday, February 22, in the Milano Cortina Winter Games 2026.

The White House also weighed in on the Olympic triumph, with President Trump sharing a post on Truth Social, writing, “Congratulations to our great U.S.A. Ice Hockey team. THEY WON THE GOLD. WOW!”

Hughes’s OT goal was assisted by Zach Werenski, who dug the puck out from Canada’s Nathan MacKinnon and passed it cross-ice to a wide-open Hughes.

For context, the U.S. men had not beaten Canada in a best-on-best competition since the 1996 World Cup of Hockey; many current players on this U.S. roster were not even born.

The Canadians strongly missed the presence of their captain Sidney Crosby, who got injured while sustaining a lower-body injury in the quarterfinal game against Czechia. It simply dealt them a strong blow: losing the gold.

The big win on Sunday was a counter-strike by Team USA after getting beaten 3-2 by Canada in last year’s Four Nations title game.

The fun fact is that Sunday made it three times the USA and Canada clashed in the men’s hockey gold medal game. Canada had won both the previous showdowns in 2002 and 2010.

Buzzing with the victory, Team USA captain Auston Matthews, alongside Werenski and Mathew Tkachuk, skated around the ice with the No. 13 jersey of former U.S. legend Johnny Gaudreau.

Gaudreau was killed alongside his brother in a 2024 roadside accident when an SUV struck them while they both were riding bicycles.

And that’s not all, Team USA also brought two of Gaudreau’s kids out on the ice to snap with the team after the medal ceremony.