MILAN, Italy - It's an end of an era and the start of something new. Team USA defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime in the men's hockey Olympic final on Sunday, ending Canada's reign as the king of best-on-best international hockey. Jack Hughes beat Jordan Binnington with a wrist shot on the winner. It was the first time that Canada didn't win a best-on-best international tournament since 2006, having won at the 2010 and 2014 Olympics, as well as the 2016 World Cup and last year's 4 Nations Face-Off. For the U.S., it was their first gold medal since a team of amateurs shocked the world and won at the 1980 Olympics. "We're just blessed, grateful for this opportunity," Brady Tkachuk said. "1980 set up that next generation, ’96 World Cup set up our generation. We just won, and we're going to hopefully create some more superstars who want to play not just hockey but want to represent the United States of America. It's one of the greatest feelings I've ever had, and just to be alongside everyone here, it's so special." But unlike 1980, don't call this one a miracle. This was a star-studded American roster, arguably the greatest collection of players to have worn the Red, White and Blue. The U.S. went undefeated throughout the tournament. "The United States of America, the greatest country in the world, deserves this because we've been knocking at the door for a long time, and we've got the game of hockey right now, and I'm honored to be a part of this team," Matthew Tkachuk said, Perhaps most importantly, they had a goalie who stood on his head when it mattered the most. Connor Hellebuyck, who won the Vezina and Hart Trophy with the Winnipeg Jets last season, had a reputation as a goalie who had been unable to come up when the stakes were high. But in Sunday's final, he was the difference-maker, stopping 41 of 42 shots against a high-octane Canadian team that featured three of the NHL's top four scorers in Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Macklin Celebrini. "(Hellebuyck's game) will go down as one of the best performances of all-time," Matthew Tkachuk said. "It has to. Right up there with Jimmy Craig, all the great United States goaltenders, I mean even NHL, whatever terms of hockey... it's right up there." This was the first time that Canada and the United States had met in the final of the Olympics since 2010, when Sidney Crosby scored "the golden goal" in overtime in Vancouver. Sixteen years later, it was Hughes with "the golden goal" for the U.S. Crosby was ruled out of the final [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/canada-s-sidney-crosby-ruled-out-for-gold-medal-game-against-team-usa-at-the-olympics] after suffering a lower-body injury in the quarterfinal against Czechia. The 38-year-old's spot in the lineup was filled by Nick Suzuki, who joined Mitch Marner and Mark Stone on the second line. The Hockey News Big Show Live At The Games: Reacting To USA Beating Canada For Men's Hockey Gold [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/34092acb-c2ad-4564-ac88-27a60dfde7fa.jpeg] The Hockey News Big Show Live At The Games: Reacting To USA Beating Canada For Men's Hockey Gold Andrew McInnis, Michael Augello and our correspondents in Milan went live to recap Team USA beating Team Canada 2-1 in the men's hockey gold medal game. [https://thehockeynews.com/news/podcast/the-hockey-news-big-show-live-at-the-games-reacting-to-usa-beating-canada-for-men-s-hockey-gold] Matt Boldy scored the opening goal of the game on a beautiful goal, where he took a pass from Auston Matthews and then split Canada's defense of Cale Makar and Devon Toews, before sneaking a backhand deke past goalie Jordan Binnington. It was Boldy's second goal of the tournament and gave the U.S. a 1-0 lead at 6:00 in the first period. It was the third straight game where Canada allowed the first goal. The goal also temporarily silenced what was a pro-Canadian crowd at Santagiulia Arena, where the mostly red-clad fans had been booing the U.S. team as they entered the ice for the much-anticipated final. From the start of the game, it was clear that both teams hoped to set a physical tone. Team USA's Brady and Matthew Tkachuk sandwiched Canadian defenseman Colton Parayko with a hit on the opening shift, while Canada's Tom Wilson sent Dylan Larkin flying with a big bodycheck behind the U.S. net. The U.S. received the first power play, when Canada's Shea Theodore hooked Brock Nelson. However, Canada successfully killed it off. "There was a lot let go to start, maybe they're changing it up now," Wilson said of the officiating when talking to TNT's Jackie Redmond during the first intermission. [https://x.com/Jackie_Redmond/status/2025571161271140538?s=20] "I don't know. I thought we played really fast. You can see when we play with pace, they can't handle it." The shots after the first period were 8-8 for Canada. In the second period, Canada came out with much more urgency. Not that it amounted to much at times. Connor McDavid seemed to beat U.S. goalie Connor Hellebuyck with a wrist shot, only to have the puck dribble just wide of the net. The Team Canada captain was then sprung loose on a breakaway, only to run out of real estate while attempting a deke on Hellebuyck. Moments later, Canada went on a 5-on-3 power play after Jake Guentzel and Charlie McAvoy were called for consecutive penalties. The U.S. had been perfect on the penalty kill in this tournament. And once again, Hellebuyck was up to the task, stopping Macklin Celebrini on repeated attempts to keep the U.S. ahead 1-0. With 1:44 remaining in the period, Canada finally broke through on a much-needed goal from Makar. Taking a pass from Toews off an offensive zone face-off, Makar skated down the wing and beat Hellebuyck with a blocker-side wrist shot to tie the game 1-1. It was Makar's second goal and sixth point of the tournament. At the buzzer to end the period, Canada and the U.S. got into a scrum, with Wilson and Brad Marchand going after America's Vincent Trocheck and J.T. Miller. After two periods, Canada outshot the U.S. 27-15. And for the most part, they were creating most of the chances. Canada coach Jon Cooper changed up the lines to start the period, with Wilson back on a line with McDavid and Celebrini, and Nathan MacKinnon centering Mitch Marner and Mark Stone. The change nearly led to a goal right away, as Marner deked around the U.S. defense and found a pinching Toews in front of the net. However, Toews was stopped on a tap-in goal by a ridiculous paddle save from Hellebuyck to keep the game tied. Shortly after, a blocked shot from Mark Stone led to a Celebrini breakaway. But like McDavid before him, Celebrini could not beat Hellebuyck on his shot attempt. MacKinnon had a similar golden opportunity on a tic-tac-toe passing play where he ended up at the side of the net with Hellebuyck out of position. But somehow, instead of giving Canada the lead, MacKinnon hit the side of the net. With 6:34 remaining in the third period, the U.S. finally got the break they had been looking for as Canada's Sam Bennett received a four-minute double minor penalty for high-sticking Jack Hughes. On the ensuing power play, Hughes was called for a high-sticking penalty of his own, negating what had been huge advantage for the U.S. All of a sudden, Canada was on the power play. But despite outshooting the U.S. 41-26 after 60 minutes, Canada could not capitalize, and the game headed to overtime, where Jack Hughes finished the job. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Image [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/8127be64-29a5-4c3a-8ebc-51fffbeb115e.jpeg] For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
