On the 46-year anniversary to the day of The Miracle on Ice in Lake Placid, the United States defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime to secure Olympic gold.
MILAN — The balance of power in international hockey shifted under the bright lights of Milano Santagiulia Arena.
The United States didn’t just beat Canada on Sunday night — it seized the throne. A 2–1 overtime victory in the Olympic gold medal game ended nearly two decades of Canadian dominance in best-on-best competition and announced, emphatically, that the Americans now sit atop the sport’s global hierarchy.
Jack Hughes authored the decisive moment, snapping a wrist shot past Jordan Binnington in overtime to deliver the golden goal and silence a sea of red. Sixteen years after Sidney Crosby’s immortal strike in Vancouver, it was an American superstar finishing the story this time.
For Canada, the defeat marked its first loss in a best-on-best international tournament since 2006. Olympic gold in 2010 and 2014, the 2016 World Cup, and last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off had fortified a dynasty. On this night, that era closed.
For the United States, it was a return to Olympic glory not seen since 1980 — but this was no underdog fairy tale. There were no amateurs shocking the world. This roster was loaded with franchise players, Vezina winners, Hart Trophy recipients and generational scorers in their prime. The Americans marched through the tournament undefeated and finished the job against the sport’s most decorated rival.
If there was a defining difference, it stood in the American crease.
Connor Hellebuyck delivered a performance that will echo through U.S. hockey history. Facing a Canadian lineup featuring three of the NHL’s top four scorers — Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Macklin Celebrini — Hellebuyck turned aside 41 of 42 shots. He erased breakaways, swallowed rebounds and authored a third-period paddle save so audacious it felt like a turning point in the sport’s mythology.
For a goaltender who had long carried the narrative of postseason disappointment, this was the night he rewrote it.
The final itself unfolded with edge and venom from the opening shift. Brady and Matthew Tkachuk opened by flattening Colton Parayko in tandem, setting a bruising tone. Tom Wilson answered moments later, detonating Dylan Larkin behind the American net. Every shift crackled with menace.
Matt Boldy struck first. Off a crisp feed from Auston Matthews, Boldy sliced between Cale Makar and Devon Toews and tucked a backhand past Binnington six minutes into the opening period. The goal hushed a heavily pro-Canadian crowd and marked the third consecutive game in which Canada conceded the first tally.
Canada’s pushback came in waves.
The second period tilted dramatically in their favor. McDavid missed by inches on a wrist shot that beat Hellebuyck but slid wide. Later, he burst in alone only to be denied again. A 5-on-3 power play followed after consecutive U.S. penalties, yet Hellebuyck held firm, stoning Celebrini repeatedly to preserve the lead.
Finally, with under two minutes left in the frame, Makar broke through. Off an offensive-zone faceoff, he took Toews’ pass, drifted down the wing and snapped a blocker-side shot past Hellebuyck to knot the game at 1–1. The goal ignited the building and triggered a scrum at the buzzer, with Wilson and Brad Marchand tangling with Vincent Trocheck and J.T. Miller as tempers simmered over.
Through two periods, Canada had seized territorial control, outshooting the Americans 27–15 and dictating pace. Jon Cooper reshuffled his lines entering the third, loading McDavid with Wilson and Celebrini while shifting MacKinnon alongside Mitch Marner and Mark Stone. The adjustments created immediate danger.
Marner danced around defenders and found Toews pinching at the doorstep, only for Hellebuyck to sprawl across the crease and swat away what looked like a sure goal. Celebrini later broke free on a partial breakaway and was denied. MacKinnon rang a golden chance off the outside of the net with Hellebuyck scrambling.
Canada finished regulation with a 41–26 edge in shots, but the scoreboard refused to bend.
A late third-period double minor to Sam Bennett handed the U.S. a prime opportunity, yet a high-sticking penalty to Hughes neutralized the advantage and flipped momentum briefly back to Canada. Still, neither side found the winner in regulation.
Overtime felt inevitable. So did the tension.
And then Hughes ended it.
The puck hit his blade, space opened for a heartbeat, and the shot exploded past Binnington. American gloves and sticks launched skyward. The dynasty had fallen. The new standard had been set.
This was not a miracle. It was a declaration.
The United States didn’t arrive in Milan hoping to challenge Canada’s supremacy. It arrived to claim it.