United States beats Canada to win women’s Olympic gold medal
The red, white and blue is golden in Milan.
Thanks to a highlight-reel goal from Megan Keller, the United States defeated Canada in overtime to win the women’s hockey gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Canada carried a 1-0 lead heading into the third period. Despite so many glorious scoring chances, it looked like the Americans wouldn’t break through. However, with just over two minutes to go in regulation, with the goalie pulled, captain Hilary Knight tipped in a Laila Edwards point shot to tie the game.
TIE GAME! TIE GAME! THE CAPTAIN!
It was a historic goal, as Knight, playing in her fifth and final Olympic Games, broke the American women’s record for goals and points at the Winter Games.
Then, in overtime, Canada had a couple of glorious chances to win the game. However, it was Keller who made a great move to get by Claire Thompson, sneaking a shot by Ann-Renée Desbiens to score the winner.
A GOLDEN GOAL FOR GOLD!
For the United States, it’s the third gold medal in women’s hockey. It also marked the first time since 1998 that the Americans beat Canada in both the preliminary round and the final.
It was the third time the women’s Olympic final has gone to overtime. Canada’s Marie-Philip Poulin scored the winner in Sochi in 2014, while the Americans pulled out a win in the shootout in PyeongChang four years later.
Contrary to the group-stage matchup between the two teams, Canada came out swinging. They skated harder than they have all tournament, and put the Americans on their heels for the first time in Milan. The U.S. certainly had some good looks of its own, but Canada was certainly the better team in the opening 20 minutes.
The game remained scoreless until the first minute of the second period, when a lucky bounce led to a 2-on-1 shorthanded break for the Canadians, and Laura Stacey fed Kristin O’Neill, who made a nice move to beat Aerin Frankel to put Canada out in front.
KRISTIN O'NEILL 🚨 SHORTHANDED 🇨🇦 🇨🇦 1 - 0 🇺🇸
It was only the second goal that the U.S. has given up at these Winter Games, and the first in 352:17 of game time, an Olympic record.
The remainder of the middle frame saw swings of momentum, with the U.S. having a couple of long stretches of offensive zone time, but Canada managed to carry the one-goal lead heading into the third.
The Americans ended up outshooting Canada 33-31. Both teams failed to capitalize on their two power-play chances.
Here are the standouts from Thursday’s final:
United States
Aerin Frankel, G
While she gave up her first goal since the team’s first game of the tournament, Frankel was sensational. When Canada was leading, the Green Monster bunkered down, making numerous key stops, including a huge save on Sarah Fillier in the second period. The longer the game went on, the more you felt that Frankel wasn’t going to be beaten again.
Haley Winn, D
This was quietly one of Winn’s better games in the tournament. Sure, she has had some production earlier on, but she did a solid job of keeping some of Canada’s top stars at bay in her own end, while being part of the offensive pressure on the other. She’s been part of the national team for a couple of years, but she’s showing a veteran presence about herself that will make her a marquee player on this roster for years to come.
Canada
Laura Stacey, F
When Stacey was taken off of her partner Marie-Philip Poulin’s line, we wondered if she could carry the play herself. Even after assisting on O’Neill’s goal, the 31-year-old was buzzing, creating scoring chances, causing havoc in the attacking zone and being tough to stop. She used her speed and energy that have made her a national team mainstay to stand out against the Americans.
Ann-Renée Desbiens, G
There were a lot of skeptics who didn’t believe Desbiens could play up to Frankel’s standards, especially given how things played out last Tuesday. Yet, the veteran netminder showed why she was still Canada’s No. 1 goaltender, stoically coming up big saves to keep her team in front for as long as she could.
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