Team USA’s women delivered a dramatic finish in Milan, erasing a late deficit against Canada before sealing a 2-1 overtime triumph to reclaim Olympic gold at the 2026 Winter Games.
With under three minutes left in regulation and their goalie pulled, the Americans were on the brink of silver. That changed when veteran captain Hilary Knight positioned herself in front of the net and redirected a blast from Laila Edwards past Canadian goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens, igniting the crowd at the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena and forcing sudden-death overtime.
Just over four minutes into 3-on-3 overtime, Megan Keller ended it. After Taylor Heise spotted Canada mid-line change and fired a long pass up the ice, Keller maneuvered around defender Claire Thompson, created space in tight and slipped the puck through Desbiens’ legs for the championship winner. “Everything happens so fast,” Desbiens said. “On the shots you never quite know where it goes and it squeaked in. I’ll see that one for a long time.”
The comeback capped a milestone night for Knight. The 36-year-old, competing in what is expected to be her final Olympics, broke the U.S. career record for goals at the Games with her 15th and secured her second gold medal — adding to a collection that now includes five Olympic medals overall. “There was no way we were losing this game,” Knight said. “That’s all. Simple as that. We had some awesome heavy hitters on the ice. I knew we were going to get possession, so I just had to find a place in front of the net.”
The victory marked the United States’ third Olympic gold in women’s hockey and first since 2018. Canada has won five of the previous seven Olympic gold medals. Since women’s hockey debuted at the 1998 Nagano Games, either the U.S. or Canada has claimed every Olympic and world championship title.
“I’ve been on a lot of teams throughout my career, but there’s something special about this one,” forward Kendall Coyne Schofield said. “I think it’s ultimately how enjoyable it is to be in that locker room and how everyone is willing to do whatever it takes for this team, no matter what the role is.”
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