Team USA has won gold after defeating Team Canada by a score of 2-1 in overtime.
In yet another massive Canada and USA women’s Olympic hockey matchup, it was Team USA that prevailed, winning gold in a 2–1 overtime heartbreaker for Canada.
It was Kristin O’Neill who opened the scoring for Canada at the beginning of the second period, receiving a feed from Laura Stacey and capitalizing off a short-handed break. With the net empty and a couple of minutes left in the third period, USA captain Hilary Knight scored to tie the game up at one apiece. Knight previously announced that 2026 would mark the final Olympics of her career.
Boston Fleet captain Megan Keller played the hero in overtime for Team USA, capitalizing on a chance off the rush set up by Minnesota Frost forward Tayloer Heise.
The defeat comes after a preliminary round that saw Canada win all games but one against the U.S. From there, Canada won by 5–1 against BC local Jobst-Smith and Germany in the quarter-finals, then took down Switzerland in a close 2–1 game during the semi-finals.
Five members of the PWHL’s Vancouver Goldeneyes represented Canada during the 2026 Winter Olympics: forwards Sarah Nurse and Jenn Gardiner, defenders Claire Thompson and Sophie Jaques, and goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer. Other Goldeneyes players who took part in this year’s Olympics are Michelle Karvinen (Finland), Tereza Vanišová (Czechia), and Nina Jobst-Smith (Germany).
Earlier in the day, Switzerland took a 2–1 overtime win against Finland to win Bronze, with Alina Müller of the Fleet scoring her second-ever bronze medal-winning goal for her country. Both Switzerland and Sweden took part in quarter-final upsets, with the two teams taking down bronze-medal favourites Finland and Czechia respectively.
With the women’s tournament now wrapped, the PWHL season will resume on February 26 when the Montréal Victoire take on the New York Sirens at 4:00 pm PT. Vancouver’s first game back takes place at the Pacific Coliseum on March 1 at 1:00 pm PT against the Toronto Sceptres.
Feb 19, 2026; Milan, Italy; Megan Keller (5) of the United States scoring the game winning goal against Ann-Renee Desbiens (35) of Canada in overtime of the women's ice hockey gold medal game during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn ImagesMake sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
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